- Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: (from last week) Hurricanes GM Ron Francis has said they are in no mood to trade Eric Staal, but some still feel the Maple Leafs will make a big push for him. One pro scout said they could trade Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner.
Clock is ticking for Martin Brodeur.
Early bets are that the Hurricanes buy out Alex Semin’s contract after this season, paying out $14 million over six-years, with him then heading back to Russia.
The Sabres sent Sam Reinhart back to the WHL as they didn’t want him around the losing atmosphere in Buffalo. The Sabres might be envision Reinhart on the wing with Connor McDavid at center. Zemgus Girgensons could be their No. 2 behind McDavid.
- Nichols on Hockey: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1260 on the Stars.
“I’m sure they’re looking at their options. But I also think they’re trying to solve it internally. They’ve got a lot of young defensemen that they believe in, but young defensemen have a big learning curve and so I think Jim Nill, if he can improve his hockey team and get a defenseman, there’s no question in my mind that he’ll do that.
“But you’ve also got to look at budget and a number of other things. And you want to challenge the people you’ve got in your organization to try to solve this problem from within.”
Nichols on Hockey: Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet 960 on Cody
Franson.“It’s an interesting situation. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent. I don’t think he’s going to stay in Toronto by choice. I think it’s a matter of time before he – Like, I’ve talked about Jeff Petry in Edmonton gets dealt – But boy, like back-to-back nights this weekend Rhett, where as you said, he made terrible decisions with a lead late in the game. He’s got to get smarter than that, because I just think it affects the way that other teams perceive him.”
On the Canadiens putting Rene Bourque on waivers.
“Well, they tried to move him last year and there were no takers because he has another year on his contract at about $3.3 million dollars.
“What I think is going on here Ryan is that Marc Bergevin, I think, wants Sekac and Bournival to play and Michel Therrien wasn’t using them. And I’d heard last week that don’t be surprised if Bergevin moves somebody to force Therrien’s hand. Now, I didn’t think it would be waivers, but I do think that’s what’s going on here. That he’s saying, ‘Okay, I’m taking Bourque out of the way so that there’s no choice but to play Sekac.’ And I think that’s exactly what we’re seeing here.”