Notebook Buzz
Trade freeze ends at 11:59 p.m.
*Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch reports, “Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson and the agent for unrestricted free agent Raffi Torres spoke during the Olympic break and were unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension, the Dispatch has learned. Torres almost certainly will be dealt by Wednesday’s trade deadline.”
League sources tell TIOPS, tha Torres is drawing significant interest from several teams including the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings.
Meanwhile, Reed also reports that “unrestricted free agent defenseman Milan Jurcina is attracting as much interest as Torres.” The Blue Jackets are believed to be seeking a 3rd round pick for Jurcina.
*The Boston Globe reports, “the Bruins have kicked the tires on Teemu Selanne, the 39-year-old Anaheim Ducks right wing.” However, those close to Selanne indicate he’s going nowhere. The Bruins have been highly involved in trade talks with the Nashville Predators for defenseman Dan Hamhuis.
*The Washington Capitals are exploring a few depth deals on defense and at the forward position for the likes of Raffi Torres or Steve Ott but don’t look for the Capitals to make a major move. Capitals owner Ted Leonis wrote on his blog, “I don’t see us doing anything dramatic this week. I want to temper folk’s expectations. We want to improve the team but NOT take risk of trading young assets now for older players with big ongoing contracts that would hinder us from keeping our core together.”
*The Florida Panthers are exploring deals for Dennis Seidenberg, Jordan Leopold and Nathan Horton to a lesser extent but nothing is close on the Tomas Vokoun front. At this point, it appears the Panthers will hold onto him.
*The Los Angeles Kings and Carolina Hurricanes have a deal in place for Ray Whitney but sources indicate that Whitney met with his agent J.P. Barry this weekend and they have a 72 hour window to accept the deal that started on Friday. If Whitney doesn’t approve a trade by Monday, Los Angeles is pulling the offer.
*Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports, “The amount of talk is increasing, but the prices are still high,” a league executive told Garrioch on Saturday.
Garrioch reports, the Ottawa Senators are looking for help on their blue in the wake of Wednesday’s deadline.
Targets have included Aaron Ward, Marek Zidlicky and Pavel Kubina.
