The Islanders have placed Anders Lee on long-term injury reserve.
This move means that Lee will miss at least the next 10 games for Islanders.
Arthur Staple suggested that the Lee injury could conceivably move the Islanders to the front of the line of trade deadline buyers. He mentions Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Nick Foligno, Mikael Granlund and Rickard Rakell as possibilities.
Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen declares that his club is looking for a center following Pierre-Lub Dubois forcing his way out of town.
“Now we have to get back into our hunt, finding a centreman either through the draft or through a trade. They aren’t available very often. There could be some available in the free agent market next summer.”
Unrestricted free agent centers potentially available this offseason include Phillip Danault, David Krejci, Paul Stastny, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Eric Staal.
Mikko Koivu retired midseason and Max Domi hasn’t worked out as a center, exasperating Columbus’ need down the middle.
On Hockey Night in Canada’s Saturday Headlines, Elliotte Friedman reports that the sense around the league is that the Buffalo Sabres are wide open for business and will listen to just about anything.
He specifically mentioned Sam Reinhart and Eric Staal as players to watch for on the trade market. As Chris Johnston points out, only Taylor Hall and Jeff Skinner have no-movement clauses, so the Sabres can proceed unimpeded in that regard.
GM Kevyn Adams declared that captain Jack Eichel has not asked for a trade. Regardless, any Eichel trade figures to be an off-season move rather than a trade deadline one.
There has been some talk about Taylor Hall wanting to stay in Buffalo beyond this season. With a cap hit of $8 million and limited production this season, the Sabres might decide his value in-use outweighs his value as a trade chip.
Bob McKenzie reports on NBC that the Boston Bruins are not opposed to negotiating in-season with pending UFA goaltenders Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak with sights on bringing back one or both.
McKenzie notes that the strong play of promising young goaltenders Jeremy Swayman and Daniel Vladar with Providence of the AHL complicates things, as the Bruins might want to keep one spot available for one of the two prospects to claim in the near future.
He further mentions that the Bruins have ample cap flexibility to add help up front, on the blueline, or both.
Dave Pagnotta and Irfaan Gaffar discussed whether the Canucks might find themselves as sellers before the April 12 trade deadline, and if they are, who might find themselves on the block.
Gaffar suggests that Alex Edler might consider waiving his no-trade protection for the right opportunity to chase some playoff success. Edler has been less than willing to waive his no-trade clause in the past.
Besides Edler, the Canucks have Tanner Pearson, Brandon Sutter, Jordie Benn and Travis Hamonic as pending UFAs.
Elliotte Friedman reports that the Canucks and Ducks continue to talk about Jake Virtanen but he’s not sure if the talks are going to go anywhere. He suggests a stumbling point from Anaheim’s perspective is the $3.4 million in salary and bonuses owed to Virtanen in 2021-22.
Virtanen, 24, has only one point in 19 games with the Canucks this season after putting up 36 points in 69 games last season.
On this day in 2008, the Atlanta Thrashers traded Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a 2008 1st round pick.
The Thrashers acquired Marian Hossa from the Ottawa Senators in August of 2005 along with Greg de Vries for Dany Heatley. The trade would be described as a shock to Hossa, who had signed a $18 million / 3-year deal with the Senators earlier that day.
In 2005-06, Hossa would set a new career-high with 92 points. In 2006-07, he would set a new high with 100 points (40 goals, 57 assists) to lead the Thrashers. That spring, Hossa would play in the first, and as it turned out only, playoff series in Atlanta Thrashers history.
Things were moving along swimmingly for the Thrashers and Hossa, but as it tends to do, the business of the sport complicated things. Hossa was entering the final season of the 3-year deal he took with him from Ottawa.
During the 2007-08 season, Thrashers’ general manger Don Waddell offered Hossa a $28 million / 4-year deal, but to no avail. Despite being tied for the lead in the weak Southeast Division on February 15th, there was a growing sense that Hossa would be moved prior to the upcoming trade deadline.
Speculation picked up on February 23, when Waddell announced that no contract extension was coming for Hossa: “We’re going to look at all our options at this point, look at what the market will pay.”
The team that came up in Hossa trade rumors the most consistently was the Montreal Canadiens. Igniting the flames of hysteria, red, white and blue gloves sporting the name Hossa were delivered to the Canadiens. As it turned out the gloves were intended for Marian’s brother Marcel, whose New York Rangers were playing in Montreal. Forwards Mikhail Grabovski, Michael Ryder and Maxim Lapierre were among those rumored to be in a potential swap for Hossa.
The clock would tick down to the final minutes before the trade deadline before it was finally announced that Hossa was traded was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Pascal Dupuis for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a 2008 1st round pick.
Montreal GM Bob Gainey defended his lack of closing on Hossa: “At a point we spoke to Atlanta and they asked for four elements, three who were skating in our game. When you add it up, minus what was leaving, what was staying and in view of our objective to get into the playoffs, we wouldn’t give them what they asked us for. We made them an offer with less elements involved and they made their decision.”
Colby Armstrong would put of 41 goals and 39 assists in 179 games over three seasons with the Thrashers. Erik Christensen would play only 57 games before Atlanta traded him to Anaheim for their 2008 second-round pick Eric O’Dell. Angelo Esposito, the Penguins 20th overall pick in 2007, couldn’t turn a promising junior career into a successful pro career. Esposito had 3 goals and 14 assists in 69 games with Atlanta’s AHL affiliate.
Pascal Dupuis would go on to play in 9 seasons with the Penguins, including winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. He would find his spot on Sidney Crosby’s right wing and play there regularly until his retirement in 2015 due to a medical condition related to blood clots. He would set career-highs with the Penguins in 2011-12 with 25 goals, 34 assists and 59 points.
Marian Hossa would put up 26 points in 20 playoff games, helping propel the young core of the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final. Hossa’s fate in the Finals would grow to become somewhat famous. He and the Penguins would lose to the Detroit Red Wings in the Final in 2008. That summer, he would turn down a 7-year contract worth about $50 million from the Penguins to sign a 1-year deal with the Red Wings. Hossa and the Red Wings would lose in the 2009 Final to the Penguins. Things would finally take a turn for Hossa, who would sign a long-term deal with the Chicago Blackhawks the following summer. The following season, Hossa would play in his third straight Cup Final, this time winning. Hossa and the Blackhawks would win the Cup in 2013 and 2015 as well.
The Montreal Canadiens have fired head coach Claude Julien.
After an 8-2-2 start, the Canadiens have been struggling recently, posting a 1-3-2 record in their last 6 games.
Dominique Ducharme has been an assistant with the Canadiens for the past two seasons after seven seasons as a head coach in the QMJHL and two stints as Canada’s head coach in the U20 World Junior Championships.