On the San Jose Sharks …
- Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News: Patrick Marleau has one more year left on his contract and he’s not thinking about shutting it down after that.
“I definitely want to play beyond next season,” said Marleau, 36. “I don’t really put any limits on it. So as long as I’m capable and still have that passion for the game, I want to keep playing.”
On the Anaheim Ducks …
- Chris Nichols: Darren Dreger on Bruce Boudreau if things don’t turn around for the Ducks: “The feeling that I’m getting from Anaheim is that the breaking point is near”
On the New Jersey Devils …
- Dan Rosen of NHL.com: (mailbag) On the potential trade return for Lee Stempniak. Can’t image the Devils getting more than a draft pick or prospect for him. If the Devils are out of the playoff race and don’t plan on re-signing him, they could look at trading him at the deadline.
On the Minnesota Wild …
- Michael Russo of the Star Tribune: Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin and Marco Scandella will take up about $21 million on cap space next season, and they still need to re-sign pending restricted free agent Matt Dumba. The Wild also have Gustav Olofsson and Mike Reilly coming along. GM Chuck Fletcher said that their depth on the blueline could “absolutely” be used in future trades. Fletcher notes their lack up depth at center.
“Our defense is the strength of our team, it gives us depth and may give us the opportunity to look at different options down the road,” Fletcher said.
Fletcher said there was no rush to re-sign Dumba and Jason Zucker. Goalie Darcy Kuemper is also a pending RFA, but he could be traded as Devan Dubnyk is in the first year of a six year contract.