Dan Rosen of NHL.com: (mailbag) There can’t really be any John Klingberg trade speculation until the Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman gets healthy. There is concern about his undisclosed injury and if he may end up on the LTIR (was placed on the LTIR yesterday). While his injury status is unknown, he and his $4.15 million cap hit won’t be moved.
The Minnesota Wild still lack a No. 1 center and with all that dead salary cap space they can’t really afford one.
The idea of the Nashville Predators trading goaltender Juuse Saros “is somewhere between ridiculous and ludicrous.” The 28-year-old is at a $5 million cap hit through next season and the Predators don’t need to move salary. The Predators will look to sign him to a contract extension after July 1st. Yes, the Predators have a 21-year-old prospect in Yaroslav Askarov but he’s not even playing in the NHL yet.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: The Toronto Maple Leafs have some cap flexibility with John Klingberg at least in the short-term while they determine his treatment and recovery.
The Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs have a need on the blue line over adding someone like Patrick Kane. The Florida Panthers seems like a good fit but Kane may not get the multi-year deal from the team. The Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings can offer that. Kane may not like the idea of the travel in the West. The Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights could be interested. Does Kane think the New York Islanders are contenders?
If the Columbus Blue Jackets don’t turn this around they could ask some of their veterans if they’d consider playing elsewhere.
One executive said if the Edmonton Oilers would include their first-round pick in a trade, they have to have to put some protection on it at the top of the draft.
The Montreal Canadiens continue to talk contract extension with the goaltender Samuel Montembeault. The Canadiens may not want to wait until the trade deadline.
The Colorado Avalanche are looking for depth scoring.
If the Philadelphia Flyers don’t extend defenseman Sean Walker, he’ll get some trade interest.
Some teams may want to know if the Calgary Flames decide to move any of their pending UFAs, will they be able to have a small window to talk extension?
