- Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: There are some GMs who are concerned that the players won’t use their five percent escalator to increase next seasons salary cap.Curtis Glencross has a no-trade clause. The Bruins, Penguins, Lightning (possibly) and the Jets have shown interest at some point this year. It doesn’t seem like contract talks are gaining any traction. Glencross may prefer Anaheim.
Jaromir Jagr seems like a bad fit for the Canadiens. The Canadiens best weapon is their speed and Jagr would slow them down. Sabres Torrey Mitchell could be a fit and he won’t cost much. The Canadiens are looking for size up front. One executive doesn’t know why they would want to trade Lars Eller.Several teams were interested in Jiri Sekac in the offseason. He’s been a healthy scratch the past two games and maybe GM Marc Bergevin could contact those teams to see if they are still interested.
The Bruins will start Malcolm Subban in Edmonton tonight, putting the rumor-mongering into overdrive. It’s believed the Oilers will meet with Boston University’s Matt O’Connor this week.
Rumors that the Sharks would trade Antti Niemi or depth players to make room for young players.
Wild GM Chuck Fletcher said last week that they will wait until the end of the season to talk about a contract with Devan Dubnyk.
“We’re just going to let him play right now,” the Wild’s GM said. “No need to worry about anything else.”
The Kings have interest in Leafs Roman Polak. The Kings also have discussed Dion Phaneuf, but they are not alone. It comes down to the price and how they feel about the term. Polak has a year left at $2.75 million. Some teams prefer to get term if giving up an asset.
The Blues and Lightning are among the teams interested in Zbynek Michalek who missed Monday’s game with a lower-body injury. Lightning GM Steve Yzerman isn’t sure about the rental market. The Stars inquired about Andrej Sekera, though he and Stars head coach Lindy Ruff didn’t always see eye-to-eye in Buffalo. The Blackhawks may see if Sekera fits, though they don’t have a lot of cap room.
The Capitals have considered adding blueline depth.
Blue Jackets Cody Goloubef could be an inexpensive option for someone.
One GM thinks that if the Oilers get one of the top two centers in the draft, the likelihood of them trading Jordan Eberle or Taylor Hall is less. Could be a quiet deadline for the Oilers outside of Jeff Petry.
Some say the Panthers are serious about Phil Kessel, others say no.
Kessel has a list of eight teams he can be traded too. Dion Phaneuf has a list of 10 teams and Tyler Bozak has a list of 12 teams.
The Oilers offered Olli Jokinen the most money last offseason, but his family preferred warmer weather after stops in Calgary and Winnipeg.
Stars GM Jim Nill wouldn’t comment, but it’s thought the Stars considered trading for Phaneuf, before deciding against it. Friedman thinks they will eventually go after someone in the mold of a Johnny Boychuk or Brent Seabrook.
- Todd Cordell: Darren Dreger on TSN radio said that Jaromir Jagr wanted to be traded awhile ago, but GM Lou Lamoriello insisted that they were still in the playoff race. Dreger added that Lamoriello and Jagr’s agent were to talk yesterday.
- Adrian Dater: Avs Jan Hejda could end up with the Penguins or Bruins. Ryan O’Reilly will likely be dealt this summer.
- James Mirtle: Some fans are wanting the Leafs to “showcase” Olli Jokinen on the top line, but it is more important to the Maple Leafs to get value for Tyler Bozak.
- Gabrielle T-F: The Russian government is looking to limit the number of foreign athletes in the country, which may lead to a foreign KHLers to leave after the season.