Morning Rumors: Oilers, Flyers, Maple Leafs, Panthers, Rangers, Sabres and Devils
  • Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: LeBrun thinks the two best options for the Oilers in net are Jonas Hiller and Michal Neuvirth.
  • Mark Spector of Sportsnet: Both the Flyers and Oilers may be looking for a change. The Oilers have the scoring wingers in Ales Hemsky and Nail Yakupov that the Flyers could use. The Flyers have the size and grit of Wayne Simmonds, a defenseman in Braydon Coburn and a young center with size, Sean Couturier. Thomas Vanek could be a short-term fix in Philadelphia.
  • David Staples of the Edmonton Jouranl: What Darren Dreger said to Dave Naylor on TSN 1050.

    Dreger: “Now you look at the need that the Edmonton Oilers have and there’s obvious interest in Jonas Hiller in Anaheim and there’s some speculation around (goalie Michael) Neuvirth of the Washington Capitals, but both those general managers have to be sitting here going, ‘Really? You know, I know I have an asset here.’ And Toronto is the same. I’m sure there would be interest in James Reimer if (Leafs GM) Dave Nonis were willing to consider it, but it is way, way, way too early in the season to do that, and you might get to the point, which is the trade deadline, where you also say, ‘Well, which one do I trade? Both of these guys have been very solid and I’d like to have both of these guys if I have a chance of contending for the Stanely Cup,’ or you’re certainly in the playoff mix. So when you’ve got a quality goaltender, you hold on tight. We have two of them. You’re very careful before you move one.”

    Naylor: “Dregs, if things got really desperate in Edmonton and we know the expectations are there, ‘Hey, we’re not the young Oilers. This is not development, this is not moral victories and we want to win,’ and they’re off to a rough start. They play tonight in Long Island. If things got really desperate there, and they said, ‘We got to do something. This goaltending thing is just a disaster. We’re willing to peel off a Nail Yakupov for a Reimer,’ would the Leafs do that?”

    Dreger: “I don’t think so.”

    Naylor: “Wow.”

    Dreger: “I don’t think so because I don’t know that Toronto or any team in the National Hockey League, including Edmonton, is sold on Nail Yakupov. And that sounds like a pretty stinging indictment of this young man, first overall in 2012, but he just hasn’t developed to a point yet where you’re going to spend an asset that you can trust to take a shot on this guy. And automatically you’d be wondering, ‘Why is Edmonton picking Nail Yakupov among all of their young stars, or potential young stars, and all of the assets that the Oilers have worked hard at over the years of accruing, why is Nail Yakupov the first guy that is thrown at us?’ There’d be some skepticism.”

  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Sources saying the Panthers are willing to move any of their veterans: Tomas Fleischmann, Kris Versteeg, Scottie Upshall, Shawn Matthias, Brad Boyes, Marcel Goc, Tom Gilbert and Dmitry Kulikov. Their top young prospects won’t be going anywhere.

    Oilers GM Craig MacTavish didn’t have any luck finding a goalie. Two league executives said their options are Michal Neuvirth, James Reimer and Brian Elliott. They may have looked at Craig Anderson and Cam Ward, but the sense is that neither Anderson or Ward are going anywhere. They won’t sign Ilya Bryzgalov.

    The Rangers are looking for a top-six forward and are dangling Chris Kreider.

    The Rangers may take a run at Thomas Vanek (if he goes to free agency) if they decide to buyout Brad Richards during the next buyout period after the season.

    Ryan Miller is expected to head towards the West Coast if he hits free agency.

    Devils coach Peter DeBoar could be on the hot seat if they continue to slide.

    The Rangers may have offered Henrik Lundqvist a long-term deal at $6 million per season. He’ll likely end up with an eight-year deal in the $7.5-$8 million range.

    The Flyers have tried since the summer to trade Andrej Mezsaros and his $5.5 million salary, $4 million cap hit. The Flyers would also like to move Nicklas Grossman.