Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun:

• A few GMs may be wondering if their jobs are safe.
  

  “I would think there’s a few guys around the league who are wondering,” said a league executive. “Teams often copy each other and firing the GM could become vogue if an owner believes it can turn the team around.”

  Capitals GM George McPhee and Sabres Darcy Regier could be on the hotseat after their teams slow start.

• The league won’t announce anything regarding re-alignment until a deal has been agreed upon with the players.
  

  “We will probably brief the board when we and (the union) have agreement on what we intend to propose for approval,” said deputy commissioner Bill Daly in an e-mail. “Hopefully, we have reached a decision by the end of the month.”

• Many believe the Canucks won’t move Roberto Luongo or Cory Schneider during this season.

• Two Ducks scouts showed up to watch a Senators-Sabres game this week fueling speculation. The Senators haven’t had any talks with the Ducks regarding Corey Perry. The Ducks will try to re-sign him, but if they can’t, Sens GM Bryan Murray needs to know what it would take to get him. They were the front-runner to land Rick Nash before he was dealt to the Rangers. They do have the prospects to land Perry.
  

  “The Ducks are just trying to identify what everybody has,” said a league executive. “They are going to try to sign him.”

• The Flames are willing to move Jay Bouwmeester, but would anyone want to take on his $6.8 million salary next year?

• The Penguins have the money and would like to add a scoring winger at the trade deadline.

• Capitals GM George McPhee is frantically trying to add some immediate help and they might be willing to trade 2012 first round pick, Filip Forsberg and 2010 top pick Evgeny Kuznetsov. McPhee found out he wouldn’t get much return for Roman Hamrlik.

• The Maple Leafs, Sharks, Penguins, Bruins, Senators and several other teams have shown interest in Ryan O’Reilly. The asking price is a top prospect and a draft pick.

Top 5 Trade Targets:

• 1. Corey Perry, RW, Anaheim: The Ducks are rolling along quite nicely and he is a unrestricted free agent. Teams are going to call, but if the Ducks continue at their current pace, it’s going to take a huge deal to get him.

  2. Jarome Iginla, RW, Calgary: The Flames have to sit down with Iginla and decide what direction they want to take. If he’s going to sign an extension, they should get it done at a reasonable price and move on. Many believe Iginla should accept a trade and allow the Flames to rebuild.

  3. Daniel Alfredsson, RW, Ottawa: This will be interesting to watch. If the Senators fall out of the race, does GM Bryan Murray give the 40-year-old the option to try to go win the Stanley Cup? The Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins are both going to be looking for a scoring winger.

  4. Stephen Weiss, C, Florida: His name has come up lately because of his status as a UFA. If the Panthers don’t get back into the playoff race, Weiss is going to be targeted by teams looking for a rental. The two sides have a lot of work to get done to make a deal

  5. Mark Streit, D, N.Y. Islanders: Teams are going to be looking for a puck-moving defenceman and a lot of teams like Streit. He had success in Montreal, he has been a winner in the past and he understands playing with pressure. Look for a lot of teams to try to get Streit.

• Pierre LeBrun via twitter: “Matt Cooke no longer considered a repeat offender for purposes of calculating forfeited salary resulting from suspensions CBA rule is that repeat offender status is reset if there’s no suspension in 18 months. Cooke was last suspended in March 2011. Obviously that doesn’t mean B. Shanahan wouldn’t consider Cooke’s past if something were to happen again.