- John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Sabres GM Darcy Regier,
“The things that we will look to add will focus on things beyond this year,” Regier told The Buffalo News by phone this evening. “It may include this year, but the focus is going to be on next year and maybe even beyond that. So things that we do are going to be with that light in mind.”
“The value of draft picks is probably a little higher, meaning that with the cap going down and the new contracts on the other side that have been signed, I think it’s added value to draft picks,” Regier said. “In some ways, it’s going to be harder to acquire draft picks for players in the event you’re trying to trade a player to get draft picks. I think the value in past years, I think you could probably expect a little higher value in draft picks than you can now.”
Trades could start happening soon.
“There’s things going on in the background, but I think what happens is teams generally have an order in which they would like to acquire players, so the players in front have to drop before the other moves take place,” he said. “It’s bottlenecked right now, but I think it’ll open up as we get closer to Wednesday.”
Jason Pominville has not been asked to submit a list of eight teams he won’t accept a trade too yet.
- The Fourth Period: Red Wings GM Ken Holland has already started trade talks with a few teams. He wants a top-six winger, a depth forward and a top-pairing defenseman.
“We’re going to work the phones and explore if there’s a move that can make us better,” Holland told NHL.com. “I’m not going to make a move for the sake of making a move. We’re a work in progress. We’re trying to have patience, and the more we’ve been able to hang in the race … it maybe gives me more patience.”
They have shown interest in Flames Jay Bouwmeester, Coyotes Keith Yandle and Maple Leafs John-Michael Liles. The asking price for Bouwmeester and Yandle is high.
Holland wants to make a move up front.
“I’m going to explore the market up front to see if there’s a fit,” he said. “I’m going to work the phones a little bit. I’ve talked to some people.”
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: The Red Wings landed Danny DeKeyser yesterday, and he’s expected to be at practice today. He won’t play tomorrow or Monday.
“He’ll be with us the rest of the regular season. When he plays is up to Mike Babcock, but we’re not holding tryouts. We’re trying to make the playoffs. Danny understands that we’re in a playoff race.”
Johan Franzen’s lower-body injury appears to be day-to-day. Mikael Samuelsson or Patrick Eaves could fill in for Franzen if he can’t go.