The Ottawa Senators will approach pending UFA Claude Giroux
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen: 36-year-old Claude Giroux is in the final year of his three-year, $19.5 million deal.
Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios when asked if he would be approaching Giroux about remaining with the team beyond this season.
“Of course. I won’t get into contract discussions because that’s not fair to anybody but certainly Claude is a heck of a player.”
NHL Rumors: The New York Islanders Checking Their Option But Don’t Expect Much
If the Pittsburgh Penguins want to win, they’re going to have to do something
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now: If the Pittsburgh Penguins are serious about winning this season, GM Kyle Dubas is going to have to make a trade.
Moving Evgeni Malkin to a line with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell has worked for now, but it leaves them thinner down the middle.
Dubas brought in Cody Glass, Kevin Hayes and Anthony Beauvillier this past offseason for a hopeful offensive boost, but it hasn’t been enough. They don’t need short-term fixes to just sneak into the playoffs, they need a more long-term addition to get them back into Cup contention.
If Malkin remains on the wing, the Penguins don’t have a second-line center on their roster or a prospect who is ready for the role.
NHL Rumors: Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and the Buffalo Sabres
The Nashville Predators need some sort of wakeup call
Jim Biringer on RG.org: Nashville Predators GM Barry Trotz on ESPN 102.5 The Game on the teams struggles and he throws out the “rebuild” word.
“If we don’t get it going, then I’m going to start our rebuild plan a little bit. What we did in the summer was, as I said, fantasy hockey until we become a good team. If we do not become a good team then we’re going to see a lot more of our kids starting their process.”
A source said that some changes are possible but they need a wakeup call. Defenseman Dante Fabbro‘s name has come up and he may need a change of scenery.
The Predators are going on a two-week road road trip and it will be crucial to the direction they end up going in.