Penguins/NHL
Kaberle on the radar of Rangers, Wild, Capitals
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke will begin the process of listening to offers for defenseman Tomas Kaberle and once again Kaberle will be highly coveted. Whether he gets traded though remains to be seen due to his NTC.
Among the early suitors, Kaberle is at the top of the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals wishlist. Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has also been coveting Kaberle since the 2009 NHL entry draft but Kaberle nixed a potential deal to Minnesota last summer and will likely do the same again this winter.
Burke is looking to sell high on Kaberle who has 35 points in 40 games this season. The asking price begins at a first round pick.
Kaberle has one year remaining on his contract at $4.25 million.
Bruins targeting top-6 winger
Heading into the new year, the Boston Bruins will be one of the more active teams as the trade deadline approaches.
The Bruins are expected to check in on Ilya Kovalchuk but the word around league circles is that the Bruins top two targets are Hurricanes winger Ray Whitney and St. Louis Blue forward Keith Tkachuk.
The Bruins nearly pulled off a deal for Tkachuk last season in the remaining hours before the trade expired.
Schneider on waivers
Defenseman Mathieu Schneider was put on waivers on Tuesday morning and if no NHL club claims him by Wednesday morning, he will be assigned to the Canucks’ minor league club Manitoba Moose, according to the Vancouver Province.
The Canucks tried actively to trade the 40 year old defenseman but found no takers. The Rangers were among a few teams to kick the tires on Schneider in recent weeks. Schneider signed a one-year deal worth $1.55 million in August.
LA & Minnesota potential landing spots for Fedotenko
Pittsburgh began the process of shopping winger Ruslan Fedotenko around the league before the Christmas trade freeze and two teams interested in making a play for Fedotenko is the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild.
Both teams made multi-year offers to Fedotenko this past summer.
Names have been discussed with the Kings but not to this point with the Minnesota Wild.
The Kings are looking for some help on their wings and a league executive told me Fedotenko fits the bill of the kind of playoff experience player they are seeking.
The Kings want to move underachieving winger Alexander Frolov but a Fedotenko for Frolov swap has not been discussed.
Pittsburgh is seeking a mid round draft choice and prospect in return for Fedotenko.
