- Hope Smoke: Darren Dreger on TSN radio: “They’re not done yet. The reality of dealing Clarkson sends a pretty clear message that anything can happen.” “I’m not predicting that Phaneuf gets dealt between now and Monday, but it’s certainly possible.” “If there’s a team that wants to make a hockey deal for Phaneuf, and I think Detroit might circle back.” “I know Detroit is a team that has interest in Phaneuf to put him in the right situation” “2nd pairing guy & some $ comes back so he’s not a $7 million dollar D” “If he’s a $5-5.5 cap hit that’s palatable for Detroit & maybe other teams as well” “If there’s some maneuvering that can take place between now & Monday I think the Leafs are far from done”
- Darren Dreger on TSN radio on the David Clarkson trade: “Talk about getting blindsided and getting upside the head from something completely off the radar.” “Credit to the Blue Jackets & Leafs because this was triple secret. Sounds like CBJ initiated. Not sure about how long ago” “Few days ago they revisited & started taking again. I know on Wed night Nonis called Jarmo & said are we serious about doing this?” “By doing “this” they were actually working on something a bit bigger. I know CBJ wanted a D prospect to be included in the deal” “Agreed to talk again & scheduled another talk for Thurs morning & broke it down to just the 2 components: Clarkson for Horton” “Around 3:30 EST they closed on the deal & then shocked the world by moving a contract that most of us thought was unmoveable“
- Nichols on Hockey: Flames GM Brad Treliving on Sportsnet 960 on if he’s close to a deal.
“Uh, I wouldn’t say I’m close. Things can change. We’re talking. There’s lots of conversations going on. Are we imminent? We hope, we expect and anticipate to get some business done, but again, I don’t know. You need somebody to say yes on the other line too.
“So we’re going to be as aggressive as we can. We’ll see where that gets us.”
Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet 960 on Curtis Glencross.
“So the one thing I also have wondered about Chicago is if they’re trying to get both Vermette and Michalek out of Arizona. There are a couple of teams I think are trying to do that. Michalek’s situation is a little muddy right now because he’s battling a concussion, and I think the Coyotes know their best chance of getting value for him right now is by packaging him with Vermette. I think Chicago is a team that would do that.
“So Glencross might be a bit of a fallback for them right now if they can’t get Vermette done, but I do think they’re very much in the mix. They were definitely interested in him. Among the top bidders last week and I don’t think that’s changed.”
Friedman On the Blues.
“There’s no question – they’re another team, I think, that was interested in doing Michalek and Vermette together. I couldn’t get any confirmation out of Armstrong, but I do believe they’re a group that’s willing to do that.
“They saw Calgary twice this week on back-to-back nights in New York and New Jersey. That’s no coincidence. They’re there for a reason. They are trying to add.