Detroit Free Press: Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the Maple Leafs and Red Wings will do “HBO 24/7: Road to the NHL Winter Classic”
Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: The Oilers have the 1st overall pick for the 3rd year in a row, and there is speculation that they may trade it, more from fans and blogs than for anyone within the organization. They would have likely taken a defenseman with the #2 pick, but now at #1 they’ll likely draft Nail Yakupov. Many fans think they should flip 1st rounders with Blue Jackets, Canadiens, Islanders or Maple Leafs and get a roster player like Jake Gardiner or P.K. Subban as well. A deal with the Penguins for Jordan Staal is the recent trade buzz. Staal will be a UFA after next season and likes it in Pittsburgh. They can’t talk about a new deal until after July 1st. The Oilers wouldn’t trade the 1st overall pick for Staal unless they knew he would sign an extension with them, and he may not want to do that when there will be many teams bidding for his services. Staal has never have more than 50 points (behind Crosby and Malkin), but how high is his offensive upside? If the Oilers were to do a 1st for Staal, they would have to get one of the Pens young blueliners as well, Joe Morrow or Simon Despres. There is no way Montreal would do the #3 and Subban for the #1. The Blue Jackets at #2 may not want to draft another Russian. The Islanders want a defenseman at #4. Jake Gardiner is likely untouchable in Toronto.
Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer: Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford has said he’s been given the green light to spend some money on a winger that is capable of playing with Eric Staal, and Zach Parise will be their #1 target. Detroit will be among many teams that will also be trying to sign him as well. If they can’t get Parise, they may wait a year and try to get Jordan Staal hits free agency, or they could try to make a deal with the Penguins beforehand if they decide they can’t re-sign him. There are 3 big names that they could look to trade for: Jarome Iginla, Rick Nash and Patrick Marleau. They may not having an interest in playing in Carolina though, and they wouldn’t be cheap.
Allen Panzeri of the Ottawa Citizen: Senators owner Eugene Melnyk cautions defenseman Erik Karlsson to be “reasonable” with his contract demands. Karlsson could be looking for a deal in the $6.5 to $7.5 million range. Other young top defenseman deals: Viktor Hedman – low $4 million per season, Shea Weber – 1 year deal at $7.5 million, Drew Doughty – 8 years and $56 million, Tyler Myers – 6 years and $33 million. GM Bryan Murray isn’t worried about negotiations.
David Staple of the Edmonton Journal: Should the Oilers trade the 1st overall pick for Jordan Staal? (Poll: 141-No, 80-Yes) Speculation out there is that Staal could become available for the right price. Staple’s:
Staal is a big, strong and fairly aggressive two-way centre, still in his prime, capable of playing the toughest minutes. He won’t come cheap, but he’ll likely be worth the money over the next six or seven years if he can stay healthy.
He is exactly the kind of player the Oilers need at centre, giving the team an excellent one-two punch with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. While the Oilers have been a weak team, the thought of playing with wingers like Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall and Ales Hemsky might be enticing for Staal. He’d certainly have a bigger role here.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Senators GM Bryan Murray said they need to add a defenseman and maybe a top 6 forward to play with Kyle Turris.
“Our goaltending was really solid, we’ve got depth there, no question some decisions have to be made on the blueline. Offensively on the blueline, we’re really good,” said Murray. “We have to find out if one of these (UFAs) we have will come back and be solid or do we have to go get another guy? Up front, we’re always looking for somebody to step in and score goals. That line with (captain Daniel Alfredsson) played with Turris, if we had one more guy that could score consistently or be a 20-to-25 goal scorer would make our team different.”
Erik Karlsson may be looking for a deal in the $6.5-7.5 million per season range.
“I’m not worried about Erik. We’ll get a deal done. It’s not going to be hurried up by any means,” he said. “We’ll talk over the next few weeks, probably to his agent to start. There’s no immediate demand. We’re not playing for awhile.”
Ian Mendes via twitter: Senators GM Bryan Murray said he won’t automatically qualify all of their RFAs. Bruce Garrioch via twitter: Murray also said that he may go shopping on July 1st to speed up the process of getting better.
Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: If the Maple Leafs and Cancuks talk about Roberto Luongo, and the Canucks had to take back a bad contract, they may rather have Matthew Lombardi over Mike Komisarek. Lou Lamoriello told Simmons that Zach Parise isn’t going anywhere, but others think he’ll sign with another team that has a chance at the cup.
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