On the Tampa Bay Lightning …
GM Steve Yzerman on the Nikita Nesterov trade to the Canadiens.
Erik Erlendsson: The trade was made for roster reasons as the Lightning felt they would lose either Nesterov or Luke Witkowski on waivers.
Erik Erlendsson: The Lightning didn’t want to carry eight defensemen and they like the balance they have with their right and left defensemen. Can expect Witkowski to be with the team indefinitely.
Erik Erlendsson: They gained minimal salary cap space from the trade, so cap space wasn’t really a factor in making the trade.
Erik Erlendsson: The trade doesn’t mean a roster spot was created for defenseman Slater Koekkoek, who still has a year left of waiver eligibility.
Scouting the Carolina Hurricanes and Los Angeles Kings game …
Luke DeCock: Scouts listed to attend last night’s Hurricanes-Kings game: Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, and Buffalo Sabres. They are mostly the usual crew that show up.
On the Philadelphia Flyers …
Alessandro Seren Rosso: Flyers prospect Mikhail Vorobyov told Sport Express that he’ll be waiting until after the season to decide on what he’ll do for next year.
On the Washington Capitals …
Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Mid Atlantic: Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said he likes their depth, especially upfront. Their health leading up to the deadline will help determine what they could do before the deadline.
“I’m not sure yet,” MacLellan said, asked by Koken if he’s inclined to make any moves. “It’s going to depend on our health going into the deadline.”
“We’ve had a chance to see Vrana and Sanford, so we know we have some depth there. And there are a couple of other guys that have played well in Hershey that we could possibly use.”
MacLellan likes many aspects of their game so far. They’ve been trying to bank some extra cap space by playing under the 23-man limit.
“We’ll explore everything,” MacLellan added, “but I’m more comfortable with our depth than I have been the past two years.”