On the Edmonton Oilers …
David Staples: Doubtful that the Oilers would be able to move Benoit Pouliot because of his age, production and that he was two year left on his deal at $4 million.
On the Boston Bruins …
Joe Haggerty of CSNNE: (mailbag) If the Bruins go in a long tailspin in the next couple of months, Claude Julien could pay the price. Not that everything is his fault as their roster does have some dead weight on it. He may not be the right fit for a team that is moving to more offense, speed and skill.
The Bruins could turn to Zane McIntyre if Anton Khudobin continues to falter.
On most likely to be traded because to the expansion draft …
Lyle Richardson on Bleacher Report: Looking at players that are most likely to be traded before the expansion draft in June.
Francois Beauchemin – The Avs would likely rather protect a young defenseman than Beauchemin. He has a no-movement clause so they would have to protect him unless he agrees to waive it. The 36-year old Beachemin has a year left at a $4.5 million cap hit.
Scott Hartnell – Hartnell agreed to waive his no-movement clause earlier this offseason for a select group of teams. With the Blue Jackets play so far this season, they may wait until after the season to revisit a potential trade.
Jonas Brodin – The 23-year old carries a $4.16 million cap hit through 2020-21. The Wild could decide to protect four defensemen and four forwards. Mikko Koivu, Zach Parise and Jason Pominville have no-movement clauses, so they could lose one of Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter or Mikael Granlund. Ryan Suter has a no-movement clause, Matt Dumba will likely be protected, which leaves Brodin, Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella.
Ryan Ellis – If they protect three defenseman, would come down to Ellis and Mattias Ekholm. Ekholm has a friendly $3.75 million cap hit through 2021-22. Ellis has a $2.5 million cap hit through 2018-19. They could go with four defensemen, but they would lose the flexibility for their forward group.
Valtteri Filppula – He carries a no-movement clause. He may not want to waive if for an expansion team, but maybe for a trade to a team of his choice. The Lightning are deep up front and may not want to expose someone like Jonathan Drouin. Ryan Callahan, also with a no-movement clause, could be a trade candidate as well. Filppula has a $5 million cap hit through 2017-18 as opposed to Callahan’s $5.8 million through 2019-20.
Jimmy Howard – Howard has a $5.29 million cap hit through 2018-19. He’s played well this season and the Wings might be able to get something back for him.
Cam Fowler – They could protect four defensemen, but they could lose one of Rickard Rakell or Jakob Silfverberg. They have Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen on long-term deals and Kevin Bieksa has a no-movement clause. Bieksa could be asked to waive it. The Ducks could move Fowler for a draft exempt young forward.
Marc-Andre Fleury – Fleury has a no-movement clause, and the Penguins would want to protect Matt Murray. The Pens could ask Fleury to waive it and accept a trade to a team of his choice. If they don’t ask him before the trade deadline, they could do so after the season.
