On the Buffalo Sabres …
Darren Dreger: Trade interest in Sabres forward Evander Kane is heating up. A Kane trade could still be a trade deadline move as the market gets bigger. A Sam Reinhart trade in the next two months is unlikely.
On the Montreal Canadiens …
Jimmy Murphy: One NHL scout on Wednesday night: “Man the vultures are swirling over Bergy (Marc Bergevin) with trade offers.”
On the Ottawa Senators …
Luke Fox: Pending restricted free agent forward Mark Stone: “I want to be part of the solution here, not part of the problem.” Stone added that he and his camp will wait until the season is over to talk about his next contract.
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet 960 when asked about the Ottawa Senators and why GM Pierre Dorion basically said that defenseman Erik Karlsson could be available.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I mean… I don’t know,” considered Friedman. “I have a lot of thoughts about that particular subject. Look, I guess they’re just laying the groundwork for the possibility he could get traded. I think that’s what they’re saying. I think it’s very interesting messaging to me. But to me that says what you say – he’s available.
“Look, I think Erik Karlsson wants to be an Ottawa Senator for the rest of his career. That’s his first choice to me. But I think there’s a lot of players there who doubt they can win under current ownership. I think he’s one of them. I think his preference would be to stay under different ownership.
“But I think the Senators sent the word out that if you really are serious, give us a call with a serious offer. I guess he’s going to be somebody that teams are going to fish on. And if you can get Erik Karlsson for two playoffs – it’s going to cost you, but I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody tries. He’s a heck of a player.”
adds that maybe it’s a sign that the Senators don’t think they’ll be back to keep Karlsson.
