On the Nashville Predators …
- Adam Vingan of The Tennessean: Predators GM David Poile on the trade market.
“(It’s) the closeness of dollars, meaning the necessity of moving equal dollars to make trades,” Predators general manager David Poile said Tuesday, explaining the lack of moves league-wide. “And (with) the parity that we have in the league, everybody still has a chance. I think it’s going to be reflected at the trading deadline (Feb. 29) this year. If the races stay this close, you might see the fewest amount of trades ever at the trading deadline.
“It’s not from lack of effort, I can tell you that. It’s not from general managers not talking to each other. It’s not from desire. … If I could make a trade now to maybe change our team a little bit, I would be open to that. But you need to have a partner and you need to have this match in so many ways. It’s just not like it used to be that you could just make a trade for the sake of doing something because things have to match up. Dollars have to match up, years and contracts have to match up. Maybe even your age has to match up, maybe even position. It’s really a different thing.”
Rumors that come up that involve the Predators, usually have them trading from their blueline depth to get some help upfront.
“It’s part of the business,” Poile said, addressing those rumors. “I’m happy with our defense, happy with our goaltending and I would like a little bit more consistency with our forwards. Naturally, that’s what I would be looking for if there was going to be a change here.”
“I have no interest in touching my defense, but if there was going to a trade here — I’m just being very bottom-line with you — whenever I talk to a team and I’m asking about forwards, they’re asking about one of our defensemen. You can fill in the blanks. I think we’ve got all good defensemen, so people aren’t shy about asking.”
On the Columbus Blue Jackets …
- Hope Smoke: Darren Dreger on TSN radio: “I believe 100% Jarmo Kekainnen would want to trade Ryan Johansen. No doubt about it”
On the Toronto Maple Leafs …
- Mark Spector: Think that coach Mike Babcock is done with Jonathan Bernier and doubt that he’ll get another start anytime soon. If Garret Sparks can hold on till James Reimer is healthy, wouldn’t be a surprise if Bernier has already started his last game in a Maple Leafs jersey.