Blues make splash, acquire Ryan Miller and Steve Ott; Sabres plan to deal Halak, Stewart?

BLUES ACQUIRE RYAN MILLER The trade deadline frenzy is underway. The St. Louis Blues are going for it, acquiring goaltender Ryan Miller and forward Steve Ott from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Jaroslav Halak, Chris Stewart, William Carrier, a first-round pick in 2015 and a third-round draft pick in 2016. It’s a very good deal for both teams. The intrigue is in Buffalo. It’s widely believed that the plan is to now move Chris Stewart and Jaroslav Halak for more future assets. Minnesota is a team to keep an eye on with Halak Speculation has been rampant on Stewart landing with Ottawa or the New York Rangers. TSN’s Bob McKenzie has hinted at a big deal possibly being in

Rumors: Thomas Vanek expected to be traded by the deadline

Thomas Vanek, as expected, will not resign with the New York Islanders prior to the March 5th trade deadline. Arthur Staple of Newsday reports Vanek has turned down a “substantial offer” from the Islanders and the Isles are now likely to move Vanek. The move to acquire Vanek has backfired on GM Garth Snow who took a gamble that the lure of playing with John Tavares would get Vanek to accept a big offer from the Islanders. However, it’s been no secret that Vanek has had his sights set on testing free agency from the get-go with many believing he will be willing to give the Minnesota Wild a hometown discount this summer. The Islanders have fallen 10 points out

Latest Scouting Buzz: Penguins continue to have a heavy presence at Wild games in last two weeks

LATEST PENGUINS SCOUTING BUZZ Consol Energy Center has been a popular scouting place for general managers this week during the Penguins three game homestand that wraps up tonight. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli was in town Wednesday night for Flyers-Penguins and the Bruins are in the market for depth forwards, while Blues GM Doug Armstrong was in Pittsburgh Friday night taking in the Penguins – Panthers game. Meanwhile, Penguins top pro scout Don Waddell is wrapping up a long scouting trip this week that had him seeing a majority of Western Conference teams and the Penguins continue to have a heavy presence at Minnesota Wild games in the past two weeks. Waddell was in Edmonton Thursday night scouting the Oilers –

NHL News & Notes: Jagr reportedly to test FA, Jackman resigns with Blues

Some afternoon NHL tidbits: — Another coveted free agent won’t be hitting the open market. Defenseman Barrett Jackman has resigned with the St. Louis Blues, agreeing to a three year, $9.5 million deal. Jackman was fully expected to attract interest and probably left some money on the table. Jackman was a +20 last season in 81 games played and has played his entire career in St. Louis. — The sense inside the Flyers organization since their second round ouster is that Jaromir Jagr will test free agency, and that appears to be the plan, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. According to Dreger, Jagr also intends to alter his off-season training to get faster and lose some weight. Jagr is coming

NHL Buzz: Blues listening to offers for Boyes and Berglund in wake of blockbuster deal

Executives around the league are buzzing about last night’s shocking trade between the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. In the deal, St. Louis dealt Johnson to the Avs along with forward Jay McClement and a first-round pick for third year forward Chirs Stewart, rookie defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and a second-round pick. The deal was announced at 2:20 a.m. ET. The league though is buzzing more over the fact of the Avalanche being willing to deal Chris Stewart who is viewed around the league as one of the top young power forwards in the game. I spoke with a contact this morning who had previous ties to the Av’s organization, and I was told Av’s management always tried to find

On the Rumor Trail: Sutton highly coveted; Pens not interested in Tkachuk

Around the NHL *Trade talk has died down a bit due to the Olympic trade freeze but talks will pick up later this week as all 30 GM’s will be in Vancouver for the Olympic games. There is some belief that deals will be finalized during the Olympic break and immediately announced on March 1st when the trade freeze ends. ***The Nashville Predators could be among the busiest teams at the Olympics. GM Dave Poile has difficult decisions to make on defenseman Dan Hamhuis and his goaltender situation. Trading goaltenders Dan Ellis or Pekka Rinne is unlikely before the deadline but moving Dan Hamhuis is likely. Poile is expected to discuss extensions with all three players during the break, although

Tuesday’s Ice Report: Latest trade winds

*Word out of Boston is that the Bruins have stepped up their efforts to lock up center Marc Savard but a sticking point in the deal remains the term of a contract. Boston has offered a three year extension while Savard is seeking at least a four year deal and believes he has a lot of hockey left in him. *The Washington Post reports that center Michael Nylander has an offer from a KHL team, believed to be from the KHL’s Dynamo Minsk. Getting rid of Nylanders contract will give the Capitals some much needed cap space moving forward. LA and Chicago are not interested and Nylander will be heading to Russia. *On the waiver wire, the Florida Panthers have

Penguins miss out on blueline target; Boynton signs one year deal with Ducks

Defenseman Nick Boynton has agreed to a one year deal with the Anaheim Ducks. Boynton was among the Penguins top targets once Rob Scuderi departed for LA but according to a source close to Boynton’s camp, the teams interest cooled earlier in the week as the Penguins are pushing forward in an effort to sign veteran defenseman Jay McKee. Pittsburgh has made an offer to McKee’s camp according to sources close to the team and the teams is confident that they will sign him.

Blues could lose Tkachuk for the season

The St. Louis Blues have been struck with injuries all season, and they were dealt another serious blow last night when forward Keith Tkachuk suffered what is believed to be a broken wrist. A Vancouver radio station brokes the news last night and Blues insider Andy Strickland is also confirming that Tkachuk will be lost for the season. Tkachuk is 5th in scoring for the Blues with 39 points. With 11 games remaining, the Blues are four points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.