On the San Jose Sharks …
Kevin Kurz of the CSN Bay Area: It’s unlikely the Sharks will make a big trade before the deadline. They could look at bringing in a backup goaltender. Aaron Dell does have a 6-3-1 record with a 2.05 GAA and .930 save percentage, but they may look for a more veteran backup, like they did last year with James Reimer.
“I don’t know what else he could do to show that he’s an NHL caliber goalie so far,” DeBoer said on Feb. 11. “Those are decisions that Doug makes, but in my mind, that’s not an issue right now for us.”
On the Colorado Avalanche …
Terry Frei: prediction is that neither of Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog gets traded by the trade deadline.
On the Montreal Canadiens ….
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Pierre LeBrun was on TSN 690 talking about the Montreal Canadiens and the idea of trading one of their top prospects like Mikhail Sergachev for a forward like Matt Duchene. LeBrun said he was talking to two GM the other day about the Canadiens.
“One of them said, ‘To heck with the future, your job’s on the line. Go get Duchene and whoever else and try to win now, even if it costs you your best prospect. How do you know for sure your prospect is going to be a great player? I mean, does anyone really know?’
“But the other GM said, ‘No. You drafted this guy and your staff believes he’s Andrei Markov’s heir apparent. That’s worth more than almost anything on the market.’
Two different options from two guys who run teams.
LeBrun goes back to Martin Hanzal who wouldn’t cost the Canadiens as much, but isn’t as impactful as Duchene. He’s not a top line player, but he fills a specific need of the Canadiens – size, defensive presence and is good on the draw.