- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Rangers GM Glen Sather said he ‘shook hands’ on a deal with Lightning co-owner Len Barrie last year, that would have sent Steven Stamkos to the Rangers for 2 or 3 of Michael Del Zotto, Evgeny Grachev, Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky and Dan Girardi. When Barrie took the proposed deal to GM Brian Lawton, Lawton shot it down. Barrie, still wanting to make the deal only needed approval from the other co-owner, Oren Koules. Koules shot it down as well.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Heika thinks that several Dallas Stars could be moved this off-season. Possible candidates are Mike Ribeiro, Brad Richards, Matt Niskanen, Fabian Brunnstrom, and James Neal. Neal could be moved if they got a huge return. Ribeiro and Richards are tied together, in that if they can`t get Richards to sign an extension (contract expires after next season), they could move him. If they get Richards on an extension, Ribeiro could be expendable.
- Columbus Post-Dispatch: Alex Ovechkin has some advice for Nikita Filatov:
Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, left, thinks that Blue Jackets prospect Nikita Filatov, a fellow Russian, must come back to the NHL from the Continental Hockey League. “If he wants to play in the NHL, he has to see how different players step up and play,” Ovechkin said.
- Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: A reader writes in and asks Molinari if the Penguins can/will re-sign Matt Cooke. If Cooke will re-sign for around the same $1.2 million cap hit, they’ll definitely consider it. If not, they have Dustin Jeffrey that might be ready to step in for that role.
- John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Tomas Vanek (lower body) and Tim Connolly (foot) are still not close to returning to practice. The Sabres must be praying that they’ll be ready for the playoffs.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The 37-year-old Daniel Alfredsson will play his 1,000th game on Thursday. Alfie is still scoring at a point-a-game pace, and GM Bryan Murray figures he still has another 3 good years left.
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: Chris Mason steady play this season may earn him a contract extension with the Blues, and bide some time while they decide on who will be their goalie of the future. In their organization they have, Ben Bishop, Joe Fallon, and Jake Allen, but anyone of them may not be the answer they are looking for. Trading for Cory Schneider continues to be an option, but the Canucks may still want David Backes, which won’t happen. Price or Halak is another trade option, but they’d be in competition with several other teams.
- Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star: Preliminary talks between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jonas Gustavsson have begun, but Gustavsson isn`t paying attention to the financial side until after the season.
