- Kevin Allen of the USA Today: Looking at 10 players who could be traded this offseason.Phil Kessel – has a limited no-trade clause and an $8 million cap hit, which will exclude some teams unless the Leafs retain some salary. There will be multiple teams interested.
Dion Phaneuf – some contenders will be interested as when he’s at his best, he’s a complete package defenseman. At a $7 million cap hit, the Leafs might have to retain to some salary to get a better return.
Ryan O’Reilly – may be the summer he’s traded. The Avalanche need a proven defenseman.
Rick Nash – because of their salary cap situation, the Rangers have to at least think about trading him. They need to re-sign Derek Stepan, Carl Hagelin and others.
Patrick Sharp – they may not want to move him, but they need to clear cap space for the raises for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
Eric Staal – he’s talking contract extension with the Hurricanes, but if talks don’t go well, they have to considering trading him. He may have to give a hometown discount to remain in Carolina.
Bryan Bickel – he carries a $4 million cap hit and didn’t develop into the scorer they had hoped.
Cam Talbot – In 57 NHL games he has a 2.00 GAA and .931 save percentage.
Robin Lehner – he’s still viewed to have potential and will likely be dealt by the Senators. The Sabres, Oilers, Sharks, Stars and Flames are believed to be looking for a goaltender.
Kari Lehtonen – not known if there is a market for Lehtonen. The Stars have to consider a different goalie for next season.
- Chris Nichols on Today’s Slap Shot: Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet 960 on the Flames, Milan Lucic, David Backes and Phil Kessel.
“Yeah, you know – I think he’s a guy like that.
“I’m going to throw another name at you and I know this is going to start a lot of stuff. I’m going to say I don’t think necessarily he’s the guy, but I’m saying he’s the type of guy. Depending on what St. Louis decides to do with David Backes, I could see that being the type of player that Calgary might have some interest in. I’m not saying that they’re going to go out and get David Backes, but he’s the type of player they’re looking at.”
On the Blues.
“One of those St. Louis veterans at least is going to be going. It’s just a matter of who, where and what the offer is.”
On Kessel.
“I heard yesterday that Calgary will not be doing a Kessel deal. It would be a big surprise if they did it.”
