- Harvey Fialkov: the Panthers are interested in Phil Kessel, but they aren’t going to give up the young stud the Leafs are after.
- The Fourth Period: The Leafs are expected to trade Daniel Winnik, David Booth and Korbinian Holzer. Also getting interest are Joffrey Lupul, Tyler Bozak, Jake Gardiner, Stephane Robidas and James Reimer. Olli Jokinen isn’t expected to be with the Leafs for long. The Kings, Stars and Ducks have shown interest in Dion Phaneuf. Phil Kessel and Nazem Kadri have also been discussed.
“You never say never, but we’re trying to put together a young group that can grow together and have a chance to win, you have a harder time moving the younger players,” he said. “For us to move Morgan Reilly, right now, unless it was something that made so much sense in terms of rebuilding a team, you just wouldn’t do. I wouldn’t say untouchable, because it’s really anybody, but obviously there are some players that would be very difficult for us to move.”
- Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette: Bob McKenzie is saying that the Canadiens are shopping Lars Eller and Alexei Emelin. Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin keeps things close to his chest, so it’s likely the leak came from outside the organization. There will be pressure for the Canadiens to make a move for an Antoine Vermette, Jordan Eberle or another big name. They could use some scoring, size and toughness. If Sergei Gonchar is out for an extended period of time after the David Clarkson hit, they might have to go looking for a top-four defenseman.
- Nichols on Hockey: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1260 on if Cody Franson being off the trade market, if the price for Jeff Petry increases:
“I don’t know that the price will get driven up. Petry, as near as I can tell, has been – if you were to break down the rental defencemen into categories – he was in that sort of second tier. Teams were more interested in Franson and still in Andrej Sekera and Zbynek Michalek in Arizona. And that those guys were sort of higher in the pecking order than Petry, who has been available for quite some time.
“But each successive guy that goes, yeah, it starts to countdown more toward the point where Petry will be in play. Whether or not it drives the price up, I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s a direct line between the two. But, if all of those other guys do go before the deadline, you never know. If it becomes a bidding situation where more than one team wants him and he’s the only guy left, then yeah, I suppose the price might go up.
“But I think what you can reasonably expect to get is sort of a middle round pick, a third round pick, for Petry.”
