- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Penguins GM Jim Rutherford doesn’t think goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will be going anywhere.
“As long as I’m GM here, he’s my goalie,” Rutherford told ESPN.com. “My plan is to re-sign him when the time is right. When that is, I don’t know, if it’s during the year or after the year, but I do want to re-sign him. I believe in him.”
You can bet the Islanders will try hard to re-sign newly acquired Johnny Boychuk. Talks haven’t started yet, but once Boychuk gets settled, the Islanders could present him with a significant offer.
The two second draft picks the Bruins received from the Boychuk trade could be used by the trade deadline. The Bruins will look at add a top-six winger, and are thought to have interest in Sabres Chris Stewart.
Toronto will be the sole host of the World Cup of Hockey. The Canadiens were trying to a co-host of the event.
Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has a long-term deal and is thought to have the full backing of ownership.
- TSNs Insider Trading: Darren Dreger: The Red Wings could have a four-year contract offer at just under $3 million a year on the table for Mike Babcock. Babcock could be looking for a five-year deal at over $3 million.Darren Dreger: The asking price for Tyler Myers still includes Dylan Larkin. The Red Wings are waiting for the price to come down.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: (mailbag) When asked about the Stars adding a defenseman like Tyler Myers, Jeff Petry, Brian Campbell, etc., Heika notes that GM Jim Nill likes his young defensemen and wants to see what they can do. They are also tight against the salary cap. Next offseason they’ll have over $18 million in space and will have a better idea in what their young defensemen can do. They could be open to bringing in a Dman or two, but it would have to be the right defenseman and one that would be around long-term. Heika keeps mentioning patience when it comes to the Stars blueline.
- Nichols on Hockey: Darren Dreger on TSN 1040 Radio:
“I know that the Dallas Stars were one of the teams that were interested in Johnny Boychuk and were having some level of negotiation with the Boston Bruins over Boychuk. And perhaps one of their other less expensive defensemen before ultimately the Islanders closed the deal with the Bruins.
“So again, Jim Nill is keenly aware of what his deficiencies might be defensively and he’s always hungry to improve. But you can say the same thing about Jim Benning and the Vancouver Canucks and every team who has some level of weakness – and they all do.
On Leafs GM Dave Nonis scouting the Canucks-Oilers game last week and if they would be interested in Jeff Petry.
“Yeah, I think the Leafs are interested in just about anything. And obviously the way the Edmonton Oilers have started their season, MacTavish has to be considering just about anything as well.
“There was some suggestion maybe Edmonton was desperate for not just a No. 2 or 3 centre, but a centre period to provide a little bit more NHL experience than what they have in Draisaitl and some of the others. Edmonton is obviously thin up middle of the ice and Peter Holland’s name surfaced as a potential trade target, but I don’t think there’s anything to that.”
- Matt Kalman: Due to the Bruins salary cap situation, the Bruins need to trade for a rental player unless they want to break up their core, which is someone that won’t happen.
