Maple Leafs close to a contract with Nylander?
Howard Berger: “Loud, though unconfirmed, whisper tonight that #Leafs and William Nylander have agreed on a contract. Announcement Monday?”
Kings would likely have to retain salary in a Kovalchuk trade
Dennis Bernstein: can see a scenario where Ilya Kovalchuk doesn’t finish the season with the Los Angeles Kings.
Dennis Bernstein: To trade Kovalchuk this season the Kings would likely have to retain salary.
Blues may need to change their core, but it’s not easy
Jeremy Rutherford: “I disagree with Blues fans who see Chicago making a move and say Blues are doing nothing. They fired their coach. Listen: any trade the Blues make that doesn’t alter their core/leadership won’t help. So how many guys are we talking about 3-4? Army could trade them tonight but …
Jermey Rutherford: tweet continued: “For what … to save this season? Many of those same fans are saying it’s already lost. Army needs to uproot the core and a couple of those players have no-trade clauses. Plus, now is probably not the best time to get the best return for those guys. The Blues are stuck in a hole.”
Another Coyotes trade candidate
Craig Morgan of The Athletic: (this piece from yesterday before the Brendan Perlini and Dylan Strome trade, and that both were mentioned as trade candidates)
Richard Panik is one of the likely trade candidates for the Coyotes. Panik has six points this season and has been a healthy scratch on occasion.
There shouldn’t be many players that are off limits to teams.
Coyotes GM John Chayka obviously has to consider the return on any player he moves out and “it’s unwise to devalue your assets because your team is underperforming, but sometimes, an even trade can be effective because it sends a message to the team about accountability and comfort.”
