On Ryan Johansen, Eric Staal and Steven Stamkos …
- Daniel Goffenberg of Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman was on 630 CHED yesterday on Bob Stauffer’s “Oilers Now” show, and were talking rumors. Ryan Johansen is one player that could be moved this season. Friedman on Johansen …
“I wouldn’t be surprised if a team like Nashville or a team like St. Louis is sitting there and saying, ‘If they’re going to trade him, we gotta make sure we’re ready to have something to offer.’ I’m sure Vancouver would like to get in on that. He’s from there. I don’t know if they have what they need, but Nashville sure would if they wanted to do that.”
Friedman adds that the Blue Jackets may be hesitant to move Johansen.
“I look at this and say, boy, if you’re making that trade, you’re making that trade with the understanding that you’re trading the best player and you’re going to be made to look bad potentially.”
Friedman on Eric Staal.
“I don’t think they’ve gone to Eric Staal yet and said ‘Where are you willing to go?’ And because he has a no movement clause, and the other thing about Eric Staal is, he still carries a cap number of $8.25-million and he’s getting paid I think $9.25-million, so those are not easy numbers to handle this early in the season.
“I think at the end of the day he’s going to get traded. That’s my prediction … and I think that’s the best thing for Eric Staal, is to get traded and maybe give himself a bit of a boost. Nick Kypreos would love to see Montreal get in on that, I could see Nashville getting in on that. I think there will be interest, but I just don’t think it’s ready to happen yet.”
Friedman on Steven Stamkos.
“I gotta think at some point Steve Yzerman’s got to sit down with him or the agents and say, ‘Are you staying or no? And if the answer is no can you give us a list?’
“I just think also you reach a point where it suddenly becomes too much. I really don’t think that this has been a huge distraction for them, but I could see where it gets there. They’re coming into Toronto next week, and I can see where it gets there.
“This one thing that kind of makes me a little nervous about all this for Tampa and that is that Tyler Johnson keeps getting hurt. He didn’t practice today, it was a maintenance day, The Triplets played together last night as they beat Ottawa, I wonder if Tampa looks at this and says, ‘This guy can’t stay healthy, he’s a smaller guy are we going to have a problem here?’
“But I do think at some point you just have to go and say, ‘Guys, what are we doing here?’
On Anze Kopitar …
- David Pagnotta: With the holiday roster freeze coming up, Dec. 19th to 27th, the Kings ‘soft’ goal is to sign Anze Kopitar to a contract extension by the end of next week.
On Steven Stamkos …
- Hope Smoke: Bob McKenzie on TSN radio: “if you had to guess right now, he’s going to free agency. Still a lot of time to go”
On Cam Talbot …
- Andrew Gross: Cam Talbot was told by the Rangers during his exit meetings last year that they would do “everything” they could to hold on to him, but then “five or six” teams showed interest in him.
On Nikita Nikitin …
- The Fourth Period: Darren Dreger recently said on TSN’s Insider Trading that the Oilers have received some interest in defenseman Nikita Nikitin.
“Part of the reason for bringing him back up isn’t just related to his play on ice, it’s that there is interest from NHL teams,” Dreger said.
The Oilers might be willing to retain some of his salary.