- Andy Strickland via twitter: There is no rush for the Senators to trade goalie Ben Bishop. He’s a valuable asset and they’ll look to maximize any return for him. The Senators may wait for a team that’s desperate for a goalie.
- Stephen Whyno of the Washington Times: Capitals Mathieu Perreault clarified that he didn’t ask for a trade, which was reported by two French reports.
“I didn’t ask for a trade. Obviously I like it here, been around for four years, all my chums are . I don’t wanna go anywhere. All I want is a little bit more ice time and I talked to Adam Oates and George today about it,” Perreault said (listen to full audio here). “All I want is to play. I wanna be here. I don’t wanna go anywhere. If you guys read the article in French it doesn’t say that I asked for a trade. Never.”
“I’m obviously not too happy. No one would be happy to be playing that much minutes,” Perreault said. “The headline says Perreault asks for a trade or something, but I never said I wanted to get traded. All I want is a little more minutes, that’s all.”
- Sean Gordon via twitter: There is a strong case for the Canadiens to trade P.K. Subban if they could get a forward that is capable to scoring 50 goals. Gordon drops Taylor Hall’s name, the quickly adds that it’s not going to happen. Getting another top young defenseman who is already signed to a deal could be an option, players like Tyler Myers or Victor Hedman, but that is unlikely as well. “Bottom line: if the rumours end up being true, it’s because Bergevin was presented with a deal so good he couldn’t refuse.”
- Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk on at what point does he think he’ll will have solidified himself as a No. 1 NHL goalie:
“Maybe when I’m 39 or 40 and I’m about to hang them up. I’m sure there’ll probably be some trade rumours and questions about the games I’ve played,” he said with a laugh.“Everybody likes things to talk about and I’m sure it’ll be that way for years to come. It’s certainly frustrating at times, but I’ve always said I’m confident I can do this job. I feel like my teammates feel the same way and so does the organization.”
If Tambellini has pulled Dubnyk aside to tell him that the Roberto Luongo rumors are false.
“No, he hasn’t,” Dubnyk said with a broad grin. “That’s OK. It’s not my spot to worry about.”
There are rumors that the Canucks are looking for a center. Oilers Sam Gagner’s dad works for the Canucks. A “connect-the-dots-moment”
“Me? Jeez, I hadn’t heard that,” said Gagner, who set up Nail Yakupov’s first NHL goal on Tuesday.
“Last year, I went through the trade talk and that was tougher. It was the first time I’d been through it,” he said. “Now? I know what I have to focus on. That’s playing my game, helping the Oilers win. We’ve got a good group and it’s exciting to be part of this.”
“I think my dad wants me to stay away from him,” said Gagner.