NHL Rumors: Friedman on the Eastern Conference

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: The Montreal Canadiens are testing the market for Christian Dvorak, Jeff Petry and maybe Josh Anderson. Some don’t think the Habs want to trade Jake Allen. The Canadiens won’t completely strip it down.

The Ottawa Senators and Canadiens had discussed Colin White before the trade deadline.

The New Jersey Devils could move the No. 2 pick. Fans are drooling over Alex DeBrincat or J.T. Miller, but would either of those two sign an extension? There have been some trade rumors involving RFA Jesper Bratt. Can they continue to grind and get a deal done?

The Philadelphia Flyers have already made a pitch to the Chicago Blackhawks for Alex DeBrincat. Could be a landing spot for Johnny Gaudreau.

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Patrik Laine aren’t close. They will look to upgrade their blue line.

The Ottawa Senators are looking for help at right wing and right defense. They’ve received calls on Connor Brown. Will anyone be interested in Matt Murray?

The Detroit Red Wings and Dylan Larkin are working on an extension. He has a no-trade clause that kicks in July 13th. They maybe interested in goaltender Jack Campbell but are not a favorite at this point.

Contract talks between the Buffalo Sabres and Victor Olofsson are progressing.

The New York Islanders appear to want to keep Semyon Varlamov. They could look to move Anthony Beauvillier or Josh Bailey. They could be in on Gaudreau.

Nicklas Backstrom’s injury/uncertainty clouds the Washington Capitals salary cap situation. They had been trying to re-sign Conor Sheary. Will they bring back both Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek or deal one? They could target Darcy Kuemper if he becomes available. Could be a landing spot for J.T. Miller.

The Toronto Maple Leafs top priority this offseason is their goaltending. Don’t think they are interested in Matt Murray anymore. The Anaheim Ducks may not have viewed the Maple Leafs as having the right pieces for John Gibson over the years. Would Darcy Kuemper be interested in playing in a market like Toronto? Pending RFA Rasmus Sandin is a trickier than they had thought. Pending UFA Valeri Nichushkin is exactly what the Maple Leafs need. What about Max Domi?

The Boston Bruins will talk to David Pastrnak later this month about a contract extension. They won’t be the only team interested in pending UFA Vincent Trocheck. Don’t expect a rebuild.

Carolina Hurricanes pending RFA defensemen Ethan Bear and Tony DeAngelo are allowed to talk to other teams. They aren’t close on a Martin Necas extension. Pending UFAs Nino Niederreiter and Vincent Trocheck will test free agency. Could they be interested in Evgeni Malkin? Had always thought Malkin and the Panthers but don’t know if they could make it work.

Florida Panthers Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar can sign contract extensions and both could be looking for eight-years. They probably can’t afford Mason Marchment any more. The Panthers say they haven’t laid any groundwork for a Sergei Bobrovsky trade. They could be interested in undrafted Hunter Staios from Hamilton (OHL).