Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: The Minnesota Wild are still looking for a No. 1 or No. 2 center.
With regards to Matt Dumba, the Winnipeg Jets have a big need for a right-handed defenseman, but they don’t have a center to offer. The same goes for the Vancouver Canucks. The Calgary Flames could offer a center. When Paul Fenton was the GM of the Wild, he went hard after William Nylander – still not sure the Maple Leafs would do it.
Eric Staal plans on reporting to the Buffalo Sabres and is not going to retire. The Sabres are looking to upgrade in net.
The Canucks want to sign Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev and Tyler Toffoli, and then possibly clear space after. The Canucks have a number they won’t go higher than, and the trade interest has been strong.
Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas has told goaltender Frederik Andersen at least twice that teams are inquiring about him. The Leafs aren’t shopping him, and Dubas would only be interested if they were able to in bring in a better goalie.
More than one team asked the Canucks about Manny Malhotra, who the Leafs hired yesterday.
Newly hired Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito on the report of ownership wanting to cut payroll: “No one said that me,” he said after a pause. “That’s news to me.” He could look at moving someone from their blue line to create some cap flexibility: “I’m going to listen to anything. But I’m going to say no to most things.”
The Panthers could be a team that lands defenseman Mark Borowiecki.
Teams are calling the Arizona Coyotes about Darcy Kuemper, including the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks.
Teams calling the Coyotes about Oliver Ekman-Larsson, including the Boston Bruins, Flames, and Oilers.
The Colorado Avalanche have called the Coyotes about Niklas Hjalmarsson.
Montreal Canadiens forward Phillip Danault‘s name is “out there” but some GMs don’t believe Marc Bergevin actually wants to trade him.
The Canadiens looked at Devan Dubnyk before trading for Jake Allen.
Would it be a surprise to see a Marc-Andre Fleury and Tristan Jarry tandem with the Pittsburgh Penguins? Vegas would likely need to buy Fleury out for this scenario to happen, and it may not be something the Golden Knights want to do.