On the Winnipeg Jets, Anaheim Ducks, Expansion Draft, and the Pittsburgh Penguins …
Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Source saying on Wednesday night that there were no offers for Jacob Trouba on the table that where close to what Jets would accept at this point.
“Time is precious, time is precious,’’ Trouba’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, said Wednesday via phone. “Obviously we’ve been working on this since May. We’ve been overt and transparent about it. We continue to try to facilitate a mutually advantageous transaction. There’s certainly several of them out there and, at some point, I’m confident that one of them will happen and confident that both parties will work in good faith.’’
Trouba is obviously losing money every day, but they are looking at big-picture.
“This is a career decision, one which was deliberated upon,” Overhardt said.
Both sides are willing to be patient, and GM Cheveldayoff is letting teams know he won’t move Trouba for the sake of moving him. He wants a young, top-four, left-handed defenseman.
Teams continue to call the Ducks about Cam Fowler. They will need to move out salary, but it may not be an issue just yet. Fowler may not be traded at all. The Ducks and Hampus Lindholm are moving closer to a deal, but not there yet. Other options for the Ducks aside from moving Fowler are Simon Despres, who is on the IR.
The NHL sent a list of players with no-movement clauses that must be protected to the NHLPA. The NHLPA has 30 days to respond to the list. Confusion occurs as some players have NMC’s as well as limited no-trade clauses.
Think the Penguins are going on the belief that they have to protect Marc-Andre Fleury because of his no-movement clause. They respect him and will look to treat him well no matter the outcome.
1) Trade him with his (no-move) consent to a desired team either before the March 1 trade deadline or before the June expansion draft;
2) Ask him to waive his no-move for purposes of putting himself in the expansion draft;
3) Buy out his contract, making him a free agent and allowing the Penguins to protect Murray from the expansion draft;
4) Make a trade with Las Vegas that ensures the new club doesn’t select Murray even if the Penguins can only protect Fleury.
Don’t think the Penguins have made any decisions on what they will do yet. They will let the year play out for now. The Penguins could net a bigger return for Murray after the season, though it’s doubtful they go that route.
Once Matt Murray returns, the Penguins will have to put Mike Condon on waivers, or they could look to move him. The Canadiens would have the first waiver claim opportunity for him. The Penguins could call the Kings to see if they are interested.