- Arthur Staple of Newsday: Islanders GM Garth Snow said he received an email from Nino Niederreiter’s Swiss agent, Andre Rufener and asked for a trade. A source said that Snow has no plans to trade Niederreiter. Rufener declined to comment.
“All conversations with players remain private,” Snow said, “but I will say that Nino has never told me that he’s unhappy.”
Niederreiter has 19 goals and 36 points in the AHL and was named an All-Star.
“He’s playing 20-22 minutes a night, playing in all situations,” Snow said when the Isles camp opened. “It’s more conducive for him to be there at this point in time.”
- Eric Francis via twitter: The Flames are looking for a goalie as they only have Miikka Kiprusoff and Leland Irving under contract. Senators Ben Bishop could be a target. AHL’s Abbotsford Heat Barry Brust and Danny Taylor are playing extremely well and can be signed at any time. It was decided that both Brust and Taylor are better than Henrik Karlsson (traded to Blackhawks on Monday). The Flames didn’t think it would be healthy to have all three in the AHL. The Flames also didn’t mind getting rid of another contract. They currently have 47 players under contract.
- The Fourth Period: The Kings have stepped up their efforts for a left handed defenseman to play with Drew Doughty or Slava Voynov. They had kicked tires on Wade Redden. They are believed to have interest in Maple Leafs Carl Gunnarson and Cody Franson, though he is a right-handed shot. The Maple Leafs may not be interested in trading Gunnarson as they balked at a deal for Jonathan Bernier earlier this month when Burke was the GM. The Devils, Flames, Sabres, Penguins and Coyotes all have defenseman as trade bait.