- Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette: A week ago the Canadiens were looking for a power forward, and maybe a physical defenseman. There was no urgency, and if they couldn’t get the right player at the right price, it would be alright. A week later they are wondering if they have enough defenseman and if they need a sniper. Sergei Gonchar is out with possibly a concussion and Alexei Emelin could be out for four to six weeks. Does GM Marc Bergevin look for insurance or does he wait and see what he has in Jarred Tinordi and Greg Pateryn? Finding a forward with term would be ideal. They are one of the lowest scoring teams and their power play has been terrible.
- Eric Engels of Sportsnet: Jordan Eberle, Nail Yakupov, Jeff Petry, Patrick Sharp, Bryan Bickell, Tyler Bozak, Daniel Winnik, Joffrey Lupul and Roman Polak have all been linked to the Canadiens, and they heavily scouted games in Toronto and Chicago. Antoine Vermette, Keith Yandle and Andrej Sekera can also be included. Two notes on GM Marc Bergevin
1. He’s not desperate to mortgage premium futures against short term returns rental players offer.
2. Acquiring players with longer term on their contracts requires dealing off your roster, which Bergevin won’t do unless he gets the upper hand in the deal. Those deals tend to be harder to make at this time of year.
- Allan Muir of Sports Illustrated: The Penguins are reportedly pursuing a defnesman, but they may be better served getting a winger for their top-six. Curtis Glencross could be a good fit.Given the lack of faith Canucks coach Willie Desjardins has in Zack Kassian, you have to wonder why they won’trade him. It’s clear he’s not going to turn into the top-six power forward in Vancouver that they had hoped. Makes sense to trade him while he still has value.
- Craig Custance of ESPN: Pierre LeBrun was the first to report that Blue Jackets Cam Atkinson could be available, and that the Bruins could be interested. The Bruins wouldn’t be alone. The 25-year old is a RFA at the end of the year, and would be one year away from being a UFA. He carries a $1.15 million cap hit.
On putting a protection on draft picks, like the NBA does frequently.
“Nothing would prevent clubs from incorporating whatever conditions they want in trades,” said one NHL source. Said one GM in an e-mail on Thursday: “It all figures into the value for each side — protection has a price.”
- Mike Halford of Pro Hockey Talk: Michal Neuvirth’s agent Patrick Stefan told PHT yesterday that there have been no contract talks with the Sabres.
- Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post: The Capitals will enter the playoffs without a top-line right-winger if GM Brian MacLellan unless trades for one at the deadline. They’ve rotated in a lot of players with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.