Rumors II: Bernier, Lupul, Timonen and Del Zotto
  • Dhiren Mahiban of Pro Hockey Talk: Jonathan Bernier’s agent, Pat Brisson tells PHT that there is nothing report when in comes to a contract extension for the pending RFA.

    “Nothing is going on with Jon Bernier right now. His contract is up this summer. He has another year left before becoming free agent in the summer of 2016,” said Brisson. “We’re just going to see how things are going to go here in the next little while. Obviously the trade deadline is this weekend.

    “He’s happy . He’s got an opportunity to play the last couple of years. A lot more this year. As far as the future, we are going to talk about it at the right time.”

  • James Mirtle: Maple Leafs Joffrey Lupul confirmed yesterday that he has a limited no-trade clause, but didn’t offer any specifics of it.
  • Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post: Flyers Kimmo Timonen thinks he needs at least three more practices before he’s ready to play.

    “I’ve gotta be ready when I go in there because it’s a tight schedule and tough games,” said Timonen, who has said he would not take a conditioning stint in the minors. “I don’t want to go in there if I feel 95 percent. I need to feel 100 percent. It’s not these next two games.”

    A Saturday return would give him one game before the trade deadline on Monday. Would one game be enough for a contending team to trade for him? Heading into last night’s action, the Flyers were four points out of the last playoff spot. If by Monday it looks like the Flyers could sneak in, would he want to stay?

    “That’s one point,” Timonen said. “We’ll see when we get to that point. Right now my focus is on the next three days and really get in there with the team and go from there.”

  • Bob McKenzie: Flyers Kimmo Timonen’s comeback is going well. He’s getting close to being ready for game action. If everything continues to go well, it’s sounding like he’s open to the idea of being traded to a cup contender, though the Flyers are in a battle to get into the playoffs now.
  • Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Flyers GM Ron Hextall should have signed Michael Del Zotto to an extension before he re-signed Nick Schultz to a two-year, $4.5 million contract. Del Zotto’s youth and speed should have been a priority over the 32-year old Schultz.