- Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun: When asked why he hasn’t traded Roberto Luongo already, Canucks GM Mike Gillis said:
“Roberto has a no-trade, so in discussions prior to the lockout, he had a say in where he was prepared to go. Once the lockout starts, you’re not permitted to even talk about player transactions, subject to huge fines and loss of draft picks. Then the lockout ends and suddenly, you’re trying to make a decision in four or five days about a premier player in this league, and it’s tough to make a trade of this magnitude in eight months, let alone four days. So we have him here, and we’re happy having him here.
“There wasn’t really time to do anything but this. And we’re going to let it play out. Lots of stuff is going to happen here in the first month.”
Gillis added that they have a potential deal in place for Luongo, but it may not happen.
“We have a potential deal in place with one team that has to do something with another player that they have — and it’s not who anybody thinks it is — and so we have to wait. (But) we’ve been offered packages that don’t fit what our plan is, what we need,” said Gillis.
“Excess salary coming back with a player who can’t play in our lineup. They say, ‘OK, we’ll do this, but you’ve got to take this.’ Well, we’re not taking it. We’ve had lots of proposals like that with good pieces that can help us but the other part doesn’t help us, and oftentimes they have term attached to them, so we’d just be turning around and buying out a guy.
“I’d rather keep the guy we know, who’s a good person.”
- Steve Simmons via twitter: Simmons confirms that the potential deal in place (noted above) doesn’t involve the Maple Leafs.
- Mike Chambers of the Denver Post: Ryan O’Reilly’s agent, Mark Guy, said yesterday that O’Reilly isn’t looking for a short-term deal at $5 million season. Guy wouldn’t comment on what has been offered or how far apart they are.
“People report numbers without any mention of term and it is just as important a consideration,” agent Guy wrote in a text message.
“It is not accurate to say a player wants X dollars without factoring the term, (and) any suggestion that Ryan is asking for $5 million on a deal similar to (Matt) Duchene is completely inaccurate,” Guy said.
- Elliotte Friedman of CBC: Friedman looks at 3 remaining restricted free agents. Jamie Benn: Friedman guesses his deal gets done first. Benn’s agent has said he wants a 3 to 5 year deal, the Stars are looking for a longer deal. Benn is w0uld be a UFA in 4 years. Money is also an issue. Jeff Skinner’s 6 year, $34 million contract with the Hurricanes is proving to be a problem for the Stars. Ryan O’Reilly: O’Reilly remains in Russia. He led the Avalanche with 55 points last year, and can play at both ends of the ice. How to quantify a player like O’Reilly is tough to do. He’s 4 years away from being a UFA. P.K. Subban: The Canadiens are thinking “Let’s go short-term and not too high.” Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin recognizes that Subban’s skill set isn’t easy to find.It would take a brave owner to sign one of these three to an offer sheet. The Canadiens will have to decide soon if they will keep Alexander Galchenyuk up or burn a year of his contract. Senators coach Paul MacLean doesn’t want Daniel Alfredsson to play in all 48 games. Maple Leafs Nazem Kadri’s play has caused them to pull their offer for Luongo off the table. The market for Luongo is shrinking, and with the Canucks injuries, teams will “throw you anvils instead of lifejackets.” When Brodeur’s future with the Devil’s was uncertain, they inquired about Luongo. Friedman wonders if the Flyers would be interested in defenseman Chris Campoli.
- John Hoven via twitter: Hoven thinks that Kings Simon Gagne is more likely to be traded for help on blueline than Jonathan Bernier.