- Pat Leonard of hte NY Daily News: Rangers Marc Staal said that things are “status quo” with regards to contract extension talks.
“It hasn’t been a distraction at all for me, actually,” Staal said at the Dr. Pepper Star Center. “I think I’ve played well. It hasn’t affected the way I’ve approached things on the ice.”
Staal hopes that things can get done before the March 2nd trade deadline.
“I’m sure both sides don’t want it to get to that point,” Staal said. “So hopefully it happens sooner rather than later.”
Staal is said to be looking for a six-year deal at $6 million per year. The Rangers are thought to be offering six-years at $5.5 million per. The Rangers will also have to deal with pending UFAs Martin St. Louis and Mats Zuccarello. Zuccarello’s agent said there is nothing to report.
- Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News: Flyers GM Ron Hextall said he’s open to making a move.
“If we can help our team in any way, we’ll do it,” Hextall said. “You can’t be in my position and stop because you like the way things are going. If you make the assessment that someone is going to help your team, you’ll do it.”
Trade talks may heat up as more teams will be falling out of the playoff race.
- Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Oilers GM Craig MacTavish on going out to get better goaltending.
“It’s based on what I would value a certain level of goaltender right now. You can draw your own conclusions on where we are in that regard but I said when we met before (Dec. 3) we’re not in a position to expend future assets for this group now. The moves we made yesterday (picking up Matt Fraser on waivers and trading Derek Roy for Mark Arcobello) were lateral moves.”
- Craig Custance of ESPN: Wild coach Mike Yeo has earned the chance to correct the Wild’s issues, but Dan Bylsma could be an alternative for them. GM Chuck Fletcher knows Bylsma from their Penguin days.