- Hope Smoke: Bob McKenzie said that many scouts believed that Alex Galchenyuk may have been drafted ahead of Nail Yakupov had it not been for his knee injury. McKenzie added that you always take a big center over a winger. Yakupov did put up some impressive numbers without his center (Galchenyuk).
- Hope Smoke: Bob McKenzie: “In some ways the isn’t risky at all because when it comes to the regular season MAF is as good as it gets” … “$5.75 for a #1 goalie in the NHL is a bargain” … “Obviously with MAF & Pitt you can’t just isolate the regular season & Fleury has been wanting in the post season lately” … “Let’s say Fleury has a good playoffs this year then he commands much more than $5.75 from the Pens that have a lot of $ committed” … “or he crashes & burns in the playoffs & you cut ties with MAF. Then you come back next season looking for a #1 goalie.” … “Boils down to if MAF and the Pens have success & win a Cup then you hit a home run with this deal” … “Goaltenders don’t fall out of trees. Some orgs are paying goalies $7 mill & not making the playoffs” … “It’s not just Fleury that needs to be better in the playoffs for Pitt.” … “It’s not just on Fleury, it’s on the whole team together. They know that. I think that’s what Rutherford is saying here.”
- Nichols on Hockey: Darren Dreger on TSN 1290 on the trade market. Start to see buyers-sellers around the 20-game mark. On the Flyers.
“Philadelphia for me fits into that category. There’s been so much trade speculation talk of Brayden Schenn being available. Not sure I buy into it entirely. But the Philadelphia Flyers have some needs defensively. They know that they’ve got to be better and that’s an area they feel they’re going to have to improve on.
On the Rangers.
“The New York Rangers are getting healthier. I don’t think that they’re going to do a ton. We know Tomas Kaberle is going in, probably will skate with the Rangers as early as Friday. But no guarantee that they’re going to offer or sign him to a contract. Klein skated today, as we know. John Moore will come off his suspension next week. Sounds like Dan Boyle, guys, could be good to go as early as late next week. So the Rangers are a team that’s probably just going to ride it out.”
On the Stars.
“I reached out to Nill earlier today to find out if he was kicking tires on some of the unrestricted free agent goalies that are still hovering out there, and he said no, he wasn’t. Not to say that’s not an area of concern for the Dallas Stars.”
On the Ducks.
“You look at Anaheim in the Western Conference with the injury problems they now have with John Gibson on the shelf for several weeks. They talked about six. It could be longer than that. Are they in the market for something?
“So again, as you creep closer to that 20-game mark, you know – these are the opportunities that veteran goalies like Martin Brodeur were hoping for. I don’t think his phone is ringing yet, but that was the prediction. That you get into late October, early November, and perhaps an opportunity would arise.”
On the Penguins.
“Keep in mind, that as good as this Penguins team is right now, Jim Rutherford wants to improve. He’s still looking for a top-six forward. He’s going to be patient. He may until the March 2 trade deadline or perhaps there’s not a deal that makes sense at all, but he’s still hunting and this city is still hungry for another championship.”
- Dreger on TSN 1050 radio on the Maple Leafs.
“They are, but I wouldn’t say aggressively. I think that most teams are in the same grouping. Dave Nonis is one who is always listening. He’s always throwing the line out there. ‘What are you looking for? Anyone on my roster or my organization that might be of help to you?’
“Nothing legitimate. Not even small level stuff. That really shouldn’t be surprising until you get to around that 20-game mark because at that point then the teams are really struggling, have a pretty good sense as to why they’re struggling and what they need to improve on and they also get a bit more flexible in what they’re willing to give up to make a deal.”