On the Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and the Dallas Stars …
Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: If the Oilers aren’t comfortable with Jonas Gustavsson or Laurent Brossoit backing up Cam Talbot heading into the playoffs, they should look at Winnipeg Jets Ondrej Pavelec.
The New Jersey Devils could use a defenseman. Would they be interested in a Mark Fayne return? If he didn’t have a $3.6 million cap hit next year, they might be more interested.
The New York Islanders contacted the Colorado Avalanche about Matt Duchene but found the asking price was too high. The Avs were probably looking at Matthew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier and Travis Hamonic.
Marc-Andre Fleury could be a trade target of the Dallas Stars this offseason.
On the Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues …
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Marc-Andre Fleury wants to be the No. 1 guy, but that isn’t going to happen in Pittsburgh. Will Penguins GM Jim Rutherford ask Fleury to waive his no-movement clause before the trade deadline or wait until after the season? Darren Dreger was on NBCSN on Wednesday talking about the situation and wonders if the St. Louis Blues might be interested this for this season.
“I believe what Jim Rutherford, the general manager of the Penguins, though is hoping for is that the bubble teams in terms of the playoffs start to separate a little bit and maybe there’s a hint of desperation.
“I look at a team like St. Louis, as an example. It appears they’ve made their bed with Jake Allen, but if the St. Louis Blues believe they’re on the cusp or right there among the contenders and goaltending might be somewhat iffy or in question – look, Marc-Andre Fleury is a goaltender who has proven that he can take that team to another level.”
Allen’s contract extension doesn’t kick in until next season – four years and $17.4 million. Fleury has another two years on his contract with a salary cap hit of $5.75 million.