The New York Islanders are looking for some additional scoring
NHL Network: Elliotte Friedman on the New York Islanders and if they’re still looking to add some more scoring to their lineup.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Jamie Hersch: “One more for you here. Islanders. They just signed Oliver Wahlstrom to a one-year deal. Do you think they’re still looking for another winger to provide even more offense?”
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Friedman: “Yes I do. You know, I’ll tell you this. A lot of Islanders fans have been sending me notes about (Vladimir) Tarasenko. Lou Lamoriello, you know, god love him, we all know he’s not going to tell me anything.
I just, the one thing I heard, and again this one of those things can blow up in your face, but one thing I heard was that it was not a match. And maybe that’ll change.
Tarasenko switched agents. I looked into it recently. I was told some teams are going to have to clear money before Tarasenko makes his decision. He’s got a couple things he waiting to see what happens before he makes his choice. So this one might not happen immediately, but I heard Tarasenko and the Islanders were possibly a bad match and not going to happen.
But I do think they’re looking for another scorer. Yes, absolutely.
Patrik Laine open to playing some center again
Craig Merz of NHL.com: Patrik Laine played some center at the end of last season and is willing to give it another go if Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Mike Babcock wants to give him a shot.
“We’ve talked about it a little bit,” Laine said on Tuesday. “I’ve been working on quite a bit of stuff, but you never know. I mean, there’s always a possibility. It’s totally up to what they want, but I’d be open to it.
“We had a good talk. hard but honest, so I respect that. But everything we talked about there is private and I’m not going to tell you this.”
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When the Blue Jackets had injuries at center last year, Laine said he’d move to center to help out the team. They’ve added a little more depth this offseason so a move may not be needed.