Blue line targets for the Pittsburgh Penguins
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pittsburgh Penguins blue line has been hit with players in COVID protocol – Marcus Pettersson, Chad Ruhwedel and Brian Dumoulin. The Penguins will likely run into some injuries before the end of the season. They are thin on the blue line and may need to test the trade market to see what is available.
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Justin Holl is believed to be available and could be just what the Pittsburgh Penguins need. The 29-year old right-handed defenseman has a year left at $2 million. Darren Dreger has said someone would have to overpay to get Holl, where James Mirtle has been told by a team that the price for Holl wasn’t that high.
Maple Leafs Travis Dermott could also be available, but he’s left-handed and may not make the Penguins top-six when everyone is healthy.
Penguins backup goaltender Louis Domingue might interest the Maple Leafs who are without Petr Mrazek.
Buffalo Sabres Mark Pysyk may not be available but someone the Penguins should keep an eye on. The 29-year old right-handed defenseman carries a $900,000 cap hit.
Michael Frolik is not happy with the Canadiens who didn’t grant his trade wish
Anthony Martineau of TVA Sports: (through google translate) Last season Micheal Frolik had high hopes after signing with the Montreal Canadiens but he was met with frustration and disappointment. He was unable to crack the lineup after being told there was a spot for him and wasn’t traded when he asked for one.
“It was an extremely difficult year for me. In fact, I still don’t know why the Canadians made me sign a contract. When the club submitted their offer, I was told there would be a job waiting for me. But executives signed Corey Perry right after. I already knew the team was tight in terms of payroll, so I was like, “oh, that’s not good.”
“Then it was the start of an endless merry-go-round. A player was injured, then a skater was called up, but it was never me. I went to the coaches office a lot to make my case, but I was constantly told that I was not playing because of the salary cap. That was all they could tell me, it looks like! I said to them: “ok, but exchange me, in that case!”. They didn’t want to hear anything.”
Frolik thinks that after basically losing last season, his NHL career is likely over. He’s 142 games away from reaching 1,000, which was a goal of his.