On the San Jose Sharks …
Kevin Kurz of The Athletic: (mailbag) Don’t think you can assume at this point that the Sharks plan to trade defenseman Paul Martin. Martin should be back to playing with Brent Burns, with the hope of turning his game around.
best guess is that either Joakim Ryan or Marcus Sorensen will be sent to the minors – neither requires waivers – when Barclay Goodrow is ready to return.
If put on waivers, it’s doubtful that anyone would claim Mikkel Boedker. He’s played a bit better of late, but he could be on thin ice.
Don’t believe that Sharks have the assets to make a major trade acquisition like Evander Kane. They may not be a position to trade the likes of Dylan Gambrell or Josh Norris, and they don’t have a second or third round picks this year.
The Sharks could look for a bottom-six forward if the price is reasonable.
On the Pittsburgh Penguins …
Chris Nichols of Fan Rag Sports: Elliotte Friedman was on Sportsnet 650 and said the Penguins are looking to add some offense.
“I think they’ve had some interest in Evander Kane. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were interested in Pacioretty. They’re looking. I think if they could, they’d add a winger and a center. I wouldn’t be surprised if they could do both.”
Friedman adds that the Penguins could be running out of time – they know they need to do something.
One GM told Friedman that he hopes nobody helps out the Penguins as they’ve won two Stanley Cups in a row.
Darren Dreger was on TSN 1040 and was commenting how Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is going to do something. Dreger notes that the Penguins look like a tired team.
“So I’m not willing to write them off yet. I think that the goal for the Penguins is a pretty simple one: claw your way back into contention in terms of a playoff spot. If that team qualifies for the playoffs in the East, then all bets are off. Because again, their leadership can find a way to grab hold of the situation.
“But I suspect that Jimmy will try and pull a couple of things off to try and energize that group.”