On the Blues and Flames ….
- Mark Spector of Sportsnet: Teams are calling the Blues and Flames as both teams have top four densemen that they could be willing to trade.The Blues are missing three of their top nine forwards (Jaden Schwartz, Paul Stastny and Patrik Berglund). Colton Parayko and Joel Edmundson have shown they are NHL ready, and Petteri Lindbohm is ready as well according to scouts. Kevin Shattenkirk is ready to return to the lineup.
“Everyone is looking for defencemen,” one scout said this past week. “There simply aren’t enough NHL defenceman to service 30 teams. Especially Top six.” An exercise his team did in the offseason was to count the number of legit No. 1 defencemen in the game today. “We came up with 11.”
The Flames are looking for scoring as well. If the Blues and Flames are willing to part with a quality defenseman, you can expect there to be a lot of interest, led by the Blue Jackets.
The Blues may be willing to move pending UFA Carl Gunnarsson, and that could bring back a Cam Atkinson-type player. If they Blues want a top-six forward, they may dangle Kevin Shattenkirk, who has a year left on his contract.
Pending Flames UFA Kris Russell would get them a second line player. The Blackhawks might be looking at the Flames. Can bet the Blackhawks are looking to move Bryan Bickell, who has been available since the offseason.
On the Ducks …
- Helene Elliott: The Ducks are 1-5-1 and have only scored six goals. It’s not all Bruce Boudreau’s fault. Passion and locker-room leadership appear to be missing. It is easier to fire a coach than to get rid of the players. Some have no-trade clause and big contracts.
- Eric Stephens: Ducks GM Bob Murray flew in to watch the Ducks game last night.
On the Blue Jackets …
- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: (mailbag) Reader asking if John Tortorella and Brandon Dubinsky can work together or if Dubinsky could get traded? Portzline thinks they can work together, but will likely be ‘spats.’ Dubinsky said: “I’ll probably be benched at some point.”
- The Blue Jackets first choice would have been to make a trade, but it’s nearly impossible to at this point in the season. They did “discuss” a deal with a New Jeresy. They will see how they play under Tortorella for now.
On Mike Keenan …
- Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Mike Keenan could be Russia’s coach at the World Cup next year.