On the New York Rangers …
- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Multiple sources saying there has been interest in the Rangers 29-year old defenseman Keith Yandle.The Stars have been watching the Rangers, and maybe the Rangers could get Valeri Nichushkin as part of a package for Yandle.
League sources saying the Rangers are no longer signaling that Yandle is available.
“Of course I hear a lot of the talk whether I want to or not. It’s just about impossible to escape,” Yandle said. “But I wouldn’t categorize it as a ‘challenge’ not to allow it to be a distraction. I come to the rink every day and do my job.”
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Keith Yandle would bring the Rangers a nice return, but LeBrun doesn’t think they’ll move him. Would look for the Rangers to add a third or fourth line winger. Not sure if they would do a bigger deal to bring in a top-six
On the Tampa Bay Lightning …
- Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1040 on Tampa Bay Lightning and Jonathan Drouin.
“I think just about everybody is talking to Tampa. When I say everybody, I would say anywhere from 10-15 teams have pretty significant interest in this player, and I would lump the Canucks in that group of 10, 12, 15 teams.
…
“I can’t sit here and tell you that Drouin will be traded by the Monday 3 p.m. Eastern deadline, but I’ve got to believe that there’s some pretty significant offers on the table from multiple teams – not just a handful – from many teams. And I think if anything, the list is growing as opposed to getting smaller at this time of the year. We’ll see where this goes.
“Does Vancouver have interest? I’m sure they do. Would I necessarily categorize them as a front-runner? I couldn’t even do that. I couldn’t even tell you who the front-runners are because I think there are so many varied proposals that Tampa has, that they’re busy doing all of their due diligence on both NHL players that might be part of a package, as well as prospects. And I suspect that when it’s all said and done, Drouin is the kind of player that will probably generate something on both fronts.”