Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post: Kiszla thinks that one of Paul Stastny, Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly needs to be trade bait for Bobby Ryan or Rick Nash. The Avalanche need someone to put the puck in the net, and Kiszla thinks Duchene is the center that makes the most sense to be dealt. He’s only 21 and just signed a 2 year, $7 million deal.
Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Brooks says the only 2 options for the Predators and Shea Weber are to give a big front-loaded contract (14 years) or trade him. A 14 year deal worth between $112 million and $119 million, a cap hit between $8-8-5 million. Brooks thinks that any one other than Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan McDonagh, Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi and Chris Kreider should be available to trade for Weber. Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik have no-movement/no-trade clauses and not included.
Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: The Red Wings will be pitching hard for the services of Shane Doan. Some issues regarding the Coyotes and their sale should come to an end today, but they could end up dragging on a bit. A couple days ago Doan said he’d start taking offers from teams starting this week. He doesn’t want to leave the Coyotes, but if there isn’t going to be long-term stability in Phoenix, he may look elsewhere. He could be looking for a deal in the $5 million range and he’ll get interest from the Kings, Penguins, Canadiens, Rangers and Blackhawks.
Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch: Oller thinks that if the Blue Jackets can’t get a deal that “exceedingly benefits the organization,” they should remove the “C” from his jersey and keep him. Nash has been unhappy, but he’s always acted professionally.
Slava Malamud via twitter: There are unconfirmed reports yesterday that CSKA offered 3 years and $30 million to Alexander Semin.