- Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News: The Wings are exploring potential trades.
“We’re going to explore,” said Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, who is looking for a goal-scoring winger capable of playing on the top two lines or a top-four righthanded defenseman. “There’s a bunch of names out there.”
Sounding like Ryan Kesler and Jason Spezza are heading to the West. Keith Yandle, Alex Edler and Dustin Byfuglien could be available. GM Ken Holland isn’t ready to part with prospects Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheahan or Tomas Jurco.
GM Holland met with some agents yesterday.
- Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun: Ryan Kesler’s trade list could be a short as the Blackhawks, Ducks and Penguins. Despite attempts to trade up to No. 1, GM Jim Benning said yesterday that they were likely to remain at No. 6.
“We’re talking to teams,” Benning told reporters. “But at the end of the day, we’re going to do what makes sense for us and to try to help Ryan out. If we don’t think we can get a fair deal for him, we’re going to keep him and he’s a Vancouver Canuck. And we’re happy to have him back because he’s such a great player.”
“We’ve had communication with him throughout the process,” Benning said. “We’ve talked to the agent and stuff. That part of it, (Kesler) is a professional and he understands that part of it.
“I can’t predict what other teams are going to do. In talking to him and his agent, we want a fair deal, something that makes sense for us as an organization. We’ll see how that goes. If Ryan comes back and plays for us next year, we’ll be happy with that.”
The Blues and Flyers are also said to be interested in Kesler.
- George Richards: If the Panthers keep the first overall pick, they already know who they will take.
- Rob Tychkowski: Oilers GM Craig TacTavish on his free agent shopping list: “We need one more defenceman, ideally, and possibly a forward or two.”
- Arthur Staple: The Islanders are not looking to move up in the draft – they’ll either keep the pick, move down or trade for a young player.
- Ken Campbell: Told that Dave Bolland was in contact with eight teams yesterday.
