Elliott Friedman of Sportsnet: There wasn’t enough time for the Maple Leafs and Red Wings to come together on a complex deal in such a short time. The Braydon Coburn return for a none rental trade changed things – Radko Gudas, a first and third round pick. The Leafs think Phaneuf is better than Coburn so they have to say, “we’ve got to have at least that.” Coburn’s contract isn’t nearly as bad as Phaneuf’s though. Before the Coburn trade went down, guessing a Phaneuf deal was centered around Stephen Weiss and Brendan Smith. There were rumors that the Maple Leafs wanted Anthony Mantha, but not sure if that was a sticking point. You have to ask high. Sticking point may have been the draft picks. GM Ken Holland had made is clear that he wasn’t trading their 1st round pick, and they don’t have a second.
The salary cap floor is at $51 million. The Maple Leafs are paying $51.5 million to players not in their lineup: Nathan Horton ($26 million), Mikhail Grabovski ($14.3 million), Tim Gleason ($5.3 million), Mike Komisarek ($2.3 million), C0lton Orr ($925,000), Matt Frattin ($800,000), Frazer McLaren ($700,000), Troy Bodie ($600,000), Carl Gunnarsson ($400,000), Daniel Winnik ($160,000). Coming off the books this offseason are: Komisarek, Orr, McLaren, Bodie and Winnik.
The Blackhawks never approached Patrick Sharp to submit his trade list. It’s believed the asking price for the Capitals could have been Joel Ward and a first round pick. Talks could be re-visited in the offseason.
Hard see how the Bruins can have Brett Connolly, Loui Eriksson, David Patrnak and Reilly Smith down the right wing next season.
A source heard last June that the Islanders offered their 2014 5th overall pick for Keith Yandle.
The Coyotes were unable to trade Martin Erat as they couldn’t retain any more salary. They had already used their three on Zbynek Michalek, David Rundblad and Keith Yandle.
The Senators will have to make a decision on their goaltending tandem of Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner.
Increasing belief that the Maple Leafs may not be willing to commit long-term to Jonathan Bernier just yet. They may have tested his value. The Sharks could be logical fit, but the Sharks would likely wait to see all of their options in the offseason.
The Sabres, Oilers, Sharks, Leafs and others will be interested to see what the Ducks do with Frederik Andersen and John Gibson. Both have one year left on their deals at $1.9 million.
The Sabres will look at younger options, but it’s believed they have interest in Antti Niemi. Could they be interested in Kari Lehtonen?
