- Cathal Kelly of the Globe and Mail: Maple Leafs management and the MLSE board have been having informal meetings about the team throughout the year, with one happening about two weeks ago.
New Leafs president Brendan Shanahan was hired with a mandate to remake the team. From very early on, he’d realized that if the club aspired to be a Stanley Cup contender, it required a major overhaul.
But he needed the evidence of the season to persuade his employers fully. After the Leafs’ recent slide out of contention, the club’s given him that.
Then he needed the board to endorse his vision of a barren short term in the interests of a competitive future. In that meeting, he got that as well.
According to two sources, management now has the “broad mandate from ownership to scorch as much earth as they see fit in order to return the Leafs to contention.” They will focus on the draft, one of the reasons they brought in Mark Hunter. The Leafs currently have a 7.5% chance of landing the first overall slot in the June draft. Daniel Winnik and Mike Santorelli will likely be traded. They could trade Dion Phaneuf tomorrow, but there is the risk of getting someone back who would help them this season. Phaneuf and Phil Kessel are not in their long-term plan, and will likely be gone in the offseason. The goal will be to acquire as many young prospects and draft picks they can for Phaneuf and Kessel.
- Mike Halford of Pro Hockey Talk: The Ducks are looking to add another defenseman.
“ has been pretty adamant about trying to add another d-man,” Fowler told the L.a. Times this week. “We feel comfortable with the group we have, but if there’s somebody who can be brought in to help us, that’s always good too.”
They could be looking at Marc Methot, Cody Franson and Mike Green.
- Nichols on Hockey: Bob McKenzie on NBCSN. The Sabres wanted Dylan Larkin from the Wings for Tyler Myers. The Wings weren’t going to give up Anthony Mantha either. The Wings will look at Zbynek Michalek and Cody Franson. They don’t want to give up a first or second round pick.Some think the Penguins primary need is to add some depth up front. They’ve looked at Daniel Winnik. With Christian Ehrhoff’s concussion, they may have to go out and acquire a defenseman for their second pairing.
The Blue Jackets are open for business, and Cam Atkinson’s name is starting to come up. He’s an RFA at the end of the season. They are exploring all options.
Bob McKenzie on TSN 1050 on the impact of Tyler Myers being off the market impacts a Cody Franson trade.
“Not really, because that was a hockey trade. Tyler Myers was going to be a hockey trade because of the years left on his deal. Cody Franson is a rental. Same as Andrej Sekera. Right now Ronnie Francis and Dave Nonis are trying their best to extort as much as they can out of somebody for Cody Franson or Andrej Sekera to get a first round pick and a prospect, or what will probably end up being a second round pick and a prospect. That’s the nature of the rental market.
“Quite frankly – today was a blockbuster by any standard – but I would suspect the vast majority, better than 90 percent, the rest of the way here we’re going to see is primarily rentals.”
