NHL Rumblings: Capitals a fit for Souray?

Edmonton Olilers defenseman Sheldon Souray will be sidelined for uo to 6 weeks with a broken wrist but is still a candidate to be moved at the trade deadline.

According to TSN.ca, Souray gave Oilers management a list of 6 teams he will accept a trade too —Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers.

While it is difficult to trade an injured player, the Washington Capitals are in position to take that risk.

Of the 6 teams on Souray’s list, Washington cn wait for Souray to get back into the lineup by late March and be ready for a playoff run.

That is not a legitimate option with the other five suitors.

Washington will be active in looking to upgrade their blueline.

Souray has two years left on his contract with a cap hit of $5.4 million. The Capitals have the cap space to add Souray but the two years left on his current deal could be a deal breaker.

A reported deal on Wednesday to the San Jose Sharks was a bit premature but the Sharks remain the front runner to land Hurricanes defenseman Niclas Wallin. However, two other teams are in on Wallin, including an unknown Eastern Conference Team.

Pittsburgh has talked to Carolina about defenseman Andrew Alberts and Aaron Ward to a much lesser extent, but there has yet to be given any indications that Pittsburgh is the unknown team.

Wallin is talking to the Sharks about an extension, which is why Pittsburgh is not believed to be in the mix.

St. Louis Blues President John Davidson acknowledged Thursday night that the Blues had “legitimate interest” in trading for Ilya Kovalchuk before the star forward was dealt to New Jersey earlier in the day.”We had been working at it for the better part of the week,” Davidson told the St. Louis Dispatch. “We had great conversations with Atlanta. We talked to them about various thoughts and ideas and put (a trade proposal) together. It never came to fruition.”

The Devils acquired Kovalchuk from Atlanta in exchange for defenseman Johnny Oduya, rookie forward Niclas Bergfors, junior prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round draft pick this year.

Atlanta Thrashers forward Colby Armstrong will be the next asset to be moved by the Thrashers. Armstrong has drawn significant interest from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens.

Pittsburgh has yet to be actively involved in talks regarding the former Penguin but a team source told me this morning not to rule him out as some in the organization see him as a better fit than some of the Penguins other targets like a Raffi Torres for example.