- Aaron Portzline: Two different sources said tonight that the Blue Jackets are shopping defenseman James Wisniewski. They are trying to trade him before Monday’s deadline.
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: The Penguins will be buyers, but they have limited cap space. GM Jim Rutherford has already added David Perron and Max Lapierre to his forward group, but he’s looking for another forward but it will likely have to be a bottom-six.
Needs: A few weeks ago they were looking to add an experienced defenseman, as well as a bottom-six forward. They had tried to trade for Cody Franson, but couldn’t do what the Predators ended up doing. They also looked at Marc Methot before he re-signed with the Senators. The Pens don’t appear to have much interest in the current rental market at this point as the price may not match the return. Depth guys like Scott Hannan or Jan Hejda could meet the price they like. Adding a bottom-six like Daniel Winnik is possible, he one of the forwards on their list list.Finances: They have between $500,000 to $600,000 in cap room to play with. The Penguins could send a player back in the deal or ask the team to retain some salary to create a little more room.
- Jim Matheson: Lighting GM Steve Yzerman has said he’s looking for a veteran right-handed defenseman. Jeff Petry? Yzerman has some Olympic ties with the Oilers upper management.
- Jonathan Willis: Wouldn’t be a surprise if the Oilers looked to add a center via waivers or deadline trade if Anton Lander is out for awhile.
- Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: The Oilers are calls from teams in both the Eastern and Western conferences. The Oilers have two games from now until the deadline, and Petry has been dealing with a rib injury. Sources saying
“we’ve seen enough of Petry to know he can play…it’s not like the Oilers have to play him before the deadline.”
The Ducks, Canadiens, Red Wings, Penguins, Lightning and Rangers are looking for defensemen. Oilers GM Craig MacTavish is looking for a draft pick and a player for Petry. The Canadiens are looking for a second pair Dman to play with Alexei Emelin when he returns. The Red Wings are looking for some experience over Alexey Marchenko. Ducks Sami Vatanen will be out at least another month. The Lightning are without Radko Gudas and Matt Carle. The Rangers are looking for a partner for Dan Boyle.
