- Bruce Garroich of the Ottawa Sun: Three trades went down last week.
“There has been lots of talking. Maybe this will get some other deals moving because they’ve been pretty tough to make,” said a league executive Friday.
The Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames were in on Ryan Johansen. They may not have been willing to give up what the Blue Jackets wanted. Rumor was they asked for Jonas Brodin from the Wild and Jacob Trouba from the Jets.
Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray has been looking to add a forward. They have defenseman they can offer in return, and several teams have been keeping an eye on them.
Teams have shown interested in Ottawa Senators defenseman Jared Cowen.
There has been no update on contract talks between Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Many are thinking that since he hasn’t signed by now, that he’s not going to, but that doesn’t mean he will be traded. The Lightning need him to make a playoff push. A lot could depend on how the Jonathan Drouin situation plays out.
The Nashville Predators didn’t shop Seth Jones before he was moved, but they did talk to a few teams to see what the interest level was. When Matt Duchene’s name hit the rumor mill earlier this year, it’s believed the Predators talked to the Avs. The Wild may have been another team, but the return is not known.
The Lightning have been shopping Jonathan Drouin since he made the trade request, but Yzerman isn’t going to give him away. The Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins have called the Lightning to see what the asking price is, but they aren’t getting much of a response as the Lightning would prefer to send him to the West. The Anaheim Ducks, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks are all looking for help up front. The asking price for Drouin is thought to be a similar player or a prospect (a top 10 pick or a legit top-six forward or top-four defenseman). The Lightning may have asked the Blues for Robby Fabbri, and the deal might even be bigger than that. Around 15 teams have called the Lightning, with only five or six having a realistic shot.
Sounding like Patrick Marleau isn’t going anywhere. Marleau seems happy now to stay in San Jose.
