On the Montreal Canadiens, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights …
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Canadiens are off to a 1-6-1 start, and the heat is on GM Marc Bergevin. Coach Claude Julien is on a five-year deal and won’t be fired. Owner Geoff Molson won’t fire Bergevin. Teams are calling the Canadiens, with several interested in Alex Galchenyuk. The Canadiens have about $9 million in salary cap space. Would they consider trading Max Pacioretty who has two years left at $4.5 million per?
Teams will be lined up at the trade deadline if the NY Islanders put John Tavares on the trade market before February 26th.
NY Rangers coach Alain Vigneault could be on the hot seat.
There had been some talk that the Detroit Red Wings could trade either Gustav Nyquist or Darren Helm, but they moved Riley Sheahan to fit in Andreas Athanasiou‘s new contract. Nyquist makes $4.75 million through 2018-19, with Helm making $3.85 million through 2020-21. The Anaheim Ducks may have been interested in Sheahan before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Vegas Golden Knights are still carrying ten defensemen on their 23 man roster and are looking to move one or two of them. They may be okay with moving Jason Garrison, Jon Merrill, and Brad Hunt.
On the Montreal Canadiens …
Emily Sadler of Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on ‘Headlines’ on the Canadiens.
“No question, the vultures are circling right now,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said during Saturday’s Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. “It’s the biggest story in the league and probably for no good reasons. I think the sense you get just from looking around is the Canadiens are determined not to make any panic moves.”
“As you know at this point in time, GMs they throw anvils at you instead of lifelines, however they are determined not to do anything that they deem a panic move,” Friedman said.
