- Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News: Sabres Nikita Zadorov is on a short leash and has been scratched several times.
“It’s an in-house matter, he’s going through his growing pains but I’m confident will have it figured out,” said captain Brian Gionta.
Have to wonder if GM Tim Murray would consider moving him – he wasn’t the one that drafted him. Murray is interested in Avs Ryan O’Reilly, whether it be before the deadline or in the offseason. Would the Avs be interested in Mikhail Grigorenko (Patrick Roy coached him in junior) and Zadorov? Michal Neuvirth has played well of late and they might be able to get something for him.
- Aaron Portzline: There is no pending trade involving Blue Jackets defenseman James Wisniewski according to GM Jarmo Kekalainen.
- Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch: As the trade deadline approaches, the Blue Jackets have pending RFAs in Matt Calvert, Cam Atkinson and Cody Goloubef and pending UFAs in Mark Letestu, Curtis McElhinney, Jack Skille and Jordan Leopold. Leopold will certainly be moved. Skille is almost certain to be traded. Letestu’s agent hasn’t heard from the Blue Jackets (at last check). If they do talk and the dollar doesn’t work, they need to move him. The same can be said for McElhinney.
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: The Jets will be buyers. They are looking for a forward or two and have depth on the blueline and draft picks to trade. There has also been talk that Alexander Burmistrov is being dangled as trade bait. On the Jets radar are Daniel Winnik, Sean Bergenheim, and possibly Antoine Vermette if the price comes down.Finances: Salary cap is not an issue as they have $7.4 million in space. They are a budget and not a cap team.
- Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: The Bruins need help on the blueline, but it may not happen to the offseason. Talk around the league is that the Devils could be looking for a new GM in the offseaosn.
- Hope Smoke: According to @Leafer1984, Darren Dreger said on the radio this morning that the Maple Leafs would be interested in trading Daniel Winnik to the Jets for Alexander Burmistrov.
- Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun: Daniel Winnik, Tyler Bozak, Roman Polak and possibly Jonathan Bernier could be traded by the Maple Leafs by next Monday’s deadline. The Leafs have three games before the deadline, and if they win all three, it might speed up their renovation process, possibly trading Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel.