On the St. Louis Blues …
Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: (mailbag) If the Blues are looking/needing a No. 1 or No. 2 center, they are not getting a top one through trade. It could be someone like Bruins David Krejci, though it doesn’t sound like he’s available.
The Flames and Brian Elliott had been talking about a contract extension, though the talks appeared to have cooled off. Elliott may now be a backup to Chad Johnson.
There has been talk that Kevin Shattenkirk wants to play/sign an extension with a team closer to his home on the east coast. Rutherford spoke with Shattenkirk’s camp and they said he’d also consider playing in the West, but it would depend on the team.
On potential trade fits …
Kevin Allen of USA Today: Looking at players who would be fits for five teams.
New York Rangers: The Rangers could use a defenseman like Dougie Hamilton. The Flames need scoring and would likely ask for J.T. Miller. That won’t work for the Rangers though. With Hamilton’s $5.75 million cap hit, the Rangers would likely have to move Kevin Klein‘s $2.9 million to the Flames or someone else. The Rangers have the pieces to get a deal done.
New York Islanders: The Islanders could use someone like Evander Kane. The Islanders only have about $800,000 in salary cap space, so they would need to move out salary.
Boston Bruins: Could use Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. The Bruins could overpay for Shattenkirk if they think they could re-sign the pending free agent.
Montreal Canadiens: The Canadiens could use some more scoring and Martin Hanzal could be a fit. The Canadiens could package a young player and pick for the pending free agent.
Detroit Red Wings: They could use some scoring help and have also been looking for a young defenseman. Darren Dreger said that Hurricanes are wiling to move Ryan Murphy. The Colorado Avalanche, Arizona Coyotes and Vancouver Canucks are a few of the teams interested in Murphy.
