- Elliotte Friedman: Evander Kane’s recent benching doesn’t mean he’ll be traded by the Jets. There would be plenty of teams interested if they decide to trade him. Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff may quietly test the trade market for Kane. The Jets could look to trade a defenseman for a forward to increase their options.
Friedman thinks the Predators may take a run at Thomas Vanek.
For the Canucks: “the Aquilini family’s gone quiet, letting the season play out before announcing any decisions. One owner said last week he thinks they are looking at the financial implications of a “clean sweep,” starting all over again. It’s a big number, because you also have to factor in the replacements and how much that will affect your on-ice business. Do you want to buy out anyone? What do you want to add? Mike Gillis was telling the truth last week when he said he didn’t know if he’d be back. I don’t think anyone there knows yet what ownership will do.”
Friedman could see the Panthers having interest in Dave Bolland.
- Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: (mailbag) Hurricanes Eric Staal could be made available, but the cost would be huge. If the Oilers were interested, the Hurricanes would likely be looking for something other than Sam Gagner and Nail Yakupov. They would be interested in getting a high end defenseman back. Staal has a cap hit of $8.25 million cap hit with salaries of $9.25 million and $9.5 million. The Hurricanes may be more interested in moving Cam Ward. If Paul Maurice remains with the Jets, Matheson could see them taking a run at Ward. The Jets would then need to find a taker for Ondrej Pavelec.
- The Fourth Period: The Hurricanes are expected to move goalie Cam Ward this offseason. Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner’s name has been in the rumor mill. The Leafs were among the teams that inquired about Skinner earlier this season. The Canes had spoken with a few teams about Ward, who holds a no-trade clause.
- The Fourth Period: Nikolai Kulemin doesn’t appear to be in the Leafs future. They did have him on the trade market earlier in the season, but decided to hold on to him. It has been rumored that the Penguins could have interest in the pending UFA. James Reimer and Nazem Kadri are expected to be traded this summer.
