- Steve Zipay: Bet the Coyotes will shop Antoine Vermette before the trade deadline.
- Mike Chambers: Avs coach Patrick Roy on signing a veteran goalie like Martin Brodeur: “Not right now. Is it something that could change? Everything is possible but I’d be very surprised. The injury to Varly is not serious enough for us to panic, and same thing on Reto. Reto is day-to-day. We want to see our young guys. We have to give them a chance.”
- Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area: (mailbag) Antti Niemi could become trade bait at some point this season, but they’d likely want a veteran backup in return. When asked if he ever thought the Sharks had a trade in place for Joe Thornton or Patrick Marleau that they rejected: “They were definitely listening to calls from other teams, but I’m not sure a deal ever materialized where DW had to ask one of them to waive their no-trade clauses.”
- Nichols on Hockey: Darren Dreger on TSN 1200 on the Oilers.
“And MacTavish is looking for a centre via trade. He can’t find one. All the managers know that they’re in dire straits and are trying to pick his pocket. Edmonton has the horses, but they’ve got to find a way to get them to run here.”
Dreger on TSN 1050 on the Oilers.
“But MacTavish hasn’t been able to find any backup there. And it’s a bit of a head-scratcher. You know, to be critical of Craig MacTavish – and other managers can be, because they’ve had to deal with him. They say, ‘Man, does he overvalue his players.’ And that’s a knock on a lot of NHL GMs.
“But if things don’t go well on this homestand, then I think that conjures up all sorts of nasty storylines. I believe in Dallas Eakins. I think he’s a good coach. I think Craig MacTavish can be and is a good general manager, but guess what? The market’s turning. That’s turning into a toxic place, Rexall, towards the home club, so it’ll get worse if things doesn’t turn around.”
- Nichols on Hockey: Elliotte Friedman on 630 CHED on if there is a trade market for Oilers defenseman Jeff Petry.
“Yes there is. There’s no question. But I think the thing that makes it tough now is that he’s an unrestricted free agent in a few months. And that always switches the leverage away from the team that’s trying to trade him.”
“Look – I think we all see where this is going. Edmonton is not going to extend him and he’s not going to want to be extended. I think he’s a useful player. I just think that right now, the leverage has shifted away from the Oilers. Because he’s on a one-year deal, so you can’t technically sign him until after January 1. So even if the Oilers wanted to let somebody talk to him, you’ve got to wait. So I think that even makes it more difficult for them.
- Chris Johnston of Sportsnet: There are a large number of teams scouting Hurricanes defenseman Andrej Sekera, and he’s more likely to moved than Eric Staal.
