On the Pittsburgh Penguins …
Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: A teams source has said that the Penguins are not actively shopping defenseman Kris Letang despite reports from Canada.
Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Mulitple sources have said that the Penguins are not believed to shopping Letang.
Some injuries may have cooled GM Jim Rutherford’s trade plans for now.
Rutherford will continue to talk to teams about different things to make the Penguins better.
“You have to see what’s available,” he said. “You can always upgrade every position if something comes along. You just have to listen and see what names are out there. But if we could get more balance in scoring on the forward lines, that’s going to help.
“Getting Schultz and Letang back so we get the puck to the forwards better and get that transition game going, that’s going to help us. We’ll get these guys back and see what comes along.”
Chris Nichols of Fan Rag Sports: Darren Dreger was on TSN 1050 talking about the Kris Letang trade speculation. With four years left at $7.25 million per season and his injury history, Letang is a big trade risk for some. He has a no-movement clause and a limited no-trade clause.
“To my understanding as of yesterday, his camp had not been asked to submit a list. So this could be more of us in the media speculating.
“But if you’re Jim Rutherford and the Pittsburgh Penguins – we know he has a history of making pretty bold moves – I think you have to consider just about anything that’s going to build a better team in your quest to win three in a row.
“So I’m not dismissing it.”
Elliotte Friedman was on Sportsnet 960 and was also talking about Kris Letang. Friedman thinks two teams that might be interested in Letang if he’s made available are the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings.
“So I think it’s complex, although there might be a team that just jumps in. The two teams that really jump into my head are Montreal because they need defense. Although if they were to do that, barring what went back, they have $37 million tied up in their top four D and Price, and it’s interesting to see if you can do that.
“The other team I wonder about, but again – and I think Montreal actually has a deal that could make sense there. They’re looking for forwards, Pittsburgh, and I think Montreal – especially if Pacioretty is part of that deal – I think there’s a deal to be made there.
“The other team I kind of wonder about is Detroit, and I mention them because I think Detroit is a team that any time a top D becomes available, Detroit is looking at it. I just don’t know if it’s as easy to see a trade made there as there is with say Montreal.”
