On the Pittsburgh Penguins …
Sam Werner: “It’ll be interesting to see where the #Pens make their final three cuts. Sestito and one of McClement/McKegg seem like smart bets.” … “Carrying 8 D isn’t ideal, but Pouliot and Ruhwedel would both have to clear waivers to go down. So would Kuhnhackl or Archibald.” … “Hornqvist still hasn’t skated with the team yet. Maybe he opens the season on IR? That would certainly help the numbers game.” … “Or, of course, maybe they just finally pull the trigger on a trade that clears all this up.”
On the Detroit Red Wings …
Prashanth Iyer of The Athletic Detroit: Riley Sheahan‘s name has been linked to the Pittsburgh Penguins and is a “buy low” trade target. The Red Wings need to clear some salary cap space, and the pending RFA Sheahan is one option for the Wings.
Sheahan is only 25 years old and could be an above average third-line center. Getting fair value won’t be easy after the season Sheahan had last year.
Iyer thinks the asking price from the Penguins should start with defenseman Derrick Pouliot and a second or third round pick.
On the Vegas Golden Knights …
Chris Nichols: Vegas GM Geoge McPhee: “We’ll see how the year goes, whether we want to extend him or whether he’s playing for a contract for someone else…”
Rory Boylen of Sportsnet: The Vegas Golden Knights have 11 defensemen with only Shea Theodore exempt from waivers. Ideally, the Golden Knights would move a couple defensemen for draft picks.
GM George McPhee on Hockey Central at Noon.
“We’ll probably have to do something,” McPhee acknowledged. “I’ve just started returning calls to clubs yesterday that expressed some interest in obtaining a defenceman. I wanted to take some time, four games, to get to know them a little bit better.”
On the blue line, they have five pending UFAs: Jason Garrison, Luca Sbisa, Clayton Stone, Brayden McNabb and Deryk Engelland. Jon Merrill, Colin Miller, and Shea Theodore will be RFAs.
The 32-year old Garrison looks like a decent trade candidate.
“We’re starting to have those discussions,” McPhee said. “There’s interest in probably moving one defenceman at this point.”