The Ottawa Senators are nipping at the Montreal Canadiens‘ heels in the standings and team owner Eugene Melnyk wants to ensure his team gets into the playoffs for the second time in four years.
That’s why Melnyk has given Sens general manager Pierre Dorion “the green light” to make a move that will help secure a post-season berth, according to Sens beat reporter Bruce Garrioch.
Dorion mentioned that he plans on being patient because prices are high. The Senators seem happy with their blue line, so Dorion mentioned if the team does make a move it will be at forward. The Sens are dealing with injury woes up front (Bobby Ryan, Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman and Tommy Wingels are among the wounded) so it’s an area of concern.
Much of the trade talk around the Senators has revolved around the future of Curtis Lazar, who Dorion mentioned has garnered interest from around the league.
“A lot of my counterparts are easy to deal with. Some have been harder,” Dorion said. “Some try to fleece you and some don’t want to offer much and Curtis is a good NHL player and will be a good NHL player so we have to be careful if we ever go in that direction. Our first choice with Curtis is to keep him with this team, all the work we’ve done to develop him, and to be part of hopefully a playoff team and hopefully more in the upcoming years.”
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Bruins could be looking to make a big splash
Ever since Don Sweeney took over as Bruins GM he hasn’t shied away from bold moves, whether it’s to his roster or behind the bench. The Bruins have battled back into the playoff race and Sweeney could have his eye on a few of the biggest names believed to be available.
Bruins beat reporter Joe Haggerty listed, Gabriel Landeskog, Kevin Shattenkirk, Patrik Berglund and even Jordan Eberle among the Bruins’ potential trade targets.
Coyotes haven’t received any blockbuster offers
Unless their asking prices are unreasonable, Arizona should be a big-time seller ahead of the deadline. Coyotes GM John Chayka has already pulled the trigger on a deal by sending Michael Stone to the Flames and he’s not finished – even though he says the current salary cap system makes it difficult to pull off a blockbuster move.
“I’ve had some discussions on bigger type of deals, but again, I think for our purposes–our team moving forward–we’re not looking to fundamentally change the course that we’re going on here,” Chyka told Arizona Sports 98.7, per Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports.
“We’ve got a lot of good young players, so it’s going to take a little time and patience, but we’re not looking to move players around just to move players around. I think our coaching staff has done a great job so far bringing along these young players slowly at the right pace, putting them in positions to have success…I think the results are showing themselves and we just have to keep along that path, as opposed to looking to do something too drastic.”
Martin Hanzal, Radim Vrbata and Shane Doan are among the possible rentals players the Coyotes could move. Anthony Duclair is also rumoured to be a target.
Iginla, Avs being heavily scouted
The press box at Colorado Avalanche games is going to be busy leading up to the trade deadline — there were 24 scouts representing 17 NHL franchises at last week’s Avs-Sabres game. The NHL’s basement dwellers could be one of the busier teams as they look to sell off assets and prepare for next season and beyond. One of the players expected to be moved is Jarome Iginla, who isn’t surprised at the attention the team is getting.
“I know there are a lot of rumors about the Avalanche and players and things, so I guess it kind of makes sense,” Iginla told the Denver Post.
Iginla has been linked to the Kings and Oilers as potential landing spots and is on record saying he’d like to compete in the playoffs this year. After all, it could be his last chance to take a run at a Stanley Cup.
“We’ll see how the last third of the season goes and see where I’m at and how I’m feeling,” Iginla said referring to his playing future. “Honestly, I really don’t know. I don’t know if it will be this year or one more year, I have no idea.”