Scouting the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers
Charlie Roumeliotis: Scouts listed to attend last night’s Blackhawks and Rangers game include the Tampa Bay Lightning (2), Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, and the Washington Capitals.
Sabres STILL looking for a scoring, top-six forward … They have defensemen to offer up
David Pagnotta: The Buffalo Sabres are still trying to find a top-six forward that can score.
GM Jason Botterill is looking for someone with term. He’s willing to give up talent in return. They could move one of their defensemen – Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour or Colin Miller.
John Vogl of The Athletic: The Buffalo Sabres lack scoring and they don’t really have any snipers in their system. It’s something GM Jason Botterill needs to keep in mind with the approaching trade deadline.
Rasmus Ristolainen‘s name will come up, and he knows he can’t control any of the trade talk.
Ristolainen carries a $5.4 million salary cap hit through 2021-22. If they were to move Ristolainen and maybe include a prospect, they might be able to land an NHL-ready forward.
The Maple Leafs and Sabres talked Ristolainen
Pierre LeBrun: Pierre LeBrun said yesterday that the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Sabres have talked about defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. It may be more of an offseason trade.
Leafs looking for depth
Jason (@Account4hockey): Elliotte Friedman said yesterday on Sportsnet 590 that he believes the Maple Leafs are pretty active on the trade market. They are looking for depth forwards and maybe a defenseman or two. They are looking at right-handed defenseman.
Left wingers and bonus overages for Oilers
Jonathan Willis: The Edmonton Oilers are looking for a depth defenseman, but thinks that finding a left-winger should be a higher priority.
Daniel Nugent-Bowman: The Oiler are hoping to avoid having bonus overages counting towards next year’s salary cap number.
GM Ken Holland has previously stated he’d like to have $3 million set aside for Mike Smith who has a $2 million cap hit.