On the New York Islanders, Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers and GMs on the last year of their contracts …
TSN Insider Trading: Pierre LeBrun: Spoke with John Tavares earlier this week and “the more you talk to John Tavares, the more it sounds like he’s a guy that’s making excuses to stay put rather than leave which is not necessarily a guarantee that he will stay but the one thing he told me was that he needs more time.” It’s a big decision for Tavares, so he wants to take as much time as needed.
Pierre LeBrun: Injuries didn’t play a role in the Ducks trading Sami Vatanen to the Devils for Adam Henrique and Joseph Blandisi. The Ducks had been looking for a left-handed top-six forward. The Ducks were talking with a couple Eastern Conference teams about Vatanen.
Darren Dreger: Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli is unlikely to make a dramatic deal like the one the Ducks and Devils just made. He’s interested in doing a smaller deal and will talk about players like Drake Caggiula, Jujhar Khaira, and Anton Slepyshev.
Bob McKenzie: The Flyers won’t be firing head coach Dave Hakstol. They could make a trade. They have been happy with their first and fourth lines, but their middle-six hasn’t worked out the way they would have liked. GM Ron Hextall isn’t wanting to trade one of his middle-six, but to bring a player to get them going. Hextall won’t move any of his young pieces.
Bob McKenzie: It is becoming more common that GMs enter a season without an extension in place – Chuck Fletcher, Ken Holland, Doug Armstrong, Jim Benning and Lou Lamoriello are all in the last year of their deals.