On the St. Louis Blues …
Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: (chat) If the Blues suffer any more injuries, depth could become an issue.
Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene would be a great fit for the Blues, but the timing isn’t great for the Blues. GM Doug Armstrong appears to be hoping that Brayden Schenn could be a No. 1 center, with Robert Thomas developing into a No. 2 and Tage Thompson being able to handle being center in the NHL. If Schenn is not able to develop, it would still be hard for the Blues to acquire Duchene. Salary cap space and the Avs wanting a top-four defenseman are big obstacles for the Blues. Avs GM Joe Sakic hasn’t appeared to be interested defensive prospects just yet.
Injuries during training camp have given Dmitrij Jaskin some extra looks. If he doesn’t respond or fit in when others get healthy, they could look to move him for a draft pick.
On the Edmonton Oilers …
Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Connor McDavid‘s left winger, Patrick Maroon, is a free agent after the season and his camp and the Oilers have held preliminary talks.
Do the Oilers wait until after Christmas to see if his 27 goals last year were a one-off?
Possible comparables of wingers who play with a top center: Islanders Anders Lee who makes $3.75 for this season and next year. Patrick Eaves at $3.15 million for three years.
Three years at $4 million per or if the Oilers want to do four years, maybe in the $3.4 million per range?
On the Toronto Maple Leafs …
Chris Johnston: Defenseman Roman Polak (PTO) hasn’t been cleared by doctors to return to game action yet. He won’t be rushing back as he feels that management will make a final decision based on his past with the team.
On the KHL …
Aivis Kalnins: Confirming the report that Nikolai Zherdev will sign with Dinamo Riga of the KHL.
Igor Eronko: Nikita Tryamkin on leaving the Vancouver Canucks for the KHL: “I wanted to play as much as possible that’s why I left. My icetime never went up, I was always sat in last minutes.