On the New Jersey Devils …
Arpon Basu of NHL.com: The Devils have made 34-year old Mike Cammalleri a healthy scratch. He hadn’t scored in 18 games going into the weekend, but has 30 points in 51 games.
He has two years left on his deal at $5 million, so teams may not be interested in acquiring that contract.
Cammalleri does have a no-trade clause, but he could be willing to waive it if he continues to be scratched.
On the Philadelphia Flyers …
Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post: The Flyers could use scoring winger or a second line center. Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene could fill either of those roles, but the cast to acquire him is high.
Flyers GM Ron Hextall has enough young defenseman or goalie prospects that might interest Avs GM Joe Sakic. Hextall may not want to give up their first round draft pick this, but many think it’s not a strong draft.
Hextall should look to get rid of any expiring contracts if he can find an interested team.
They may keep one of their pending free agent defensemen – Mark Streit, Michael Del Zotto and Nick Schultz. May only get a late round pick, but it’s better than nothing.
Both Michel Neuvirth and Steve are unrestricted free agents and it’s possible that neither are back next season.
On the Pittsburgh Penguins …
Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review: The Penguins are looking for a defenseman leading up to the trade deadline.
“We were going to go into this market this month with the understanding that if the right defenseman was there, for what we felt was the right price, then we would move on it,” Rutherford said Saturday.
It’s the sellers that will determine when the trade market gets moving.
“We’re going to have to go through these next two weeks and go along on the timeframe of everyone else,” Rutherford said. “We’ll be looking at adding one or two more defensemen.”
Rutherford knows there will be plenty of teams also looking to acquire defensemen. Teams want to add depth, especially on the blueline.
