- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times: When the city of Glendale voted 4-3 to approve the arena lease deal 15 months ago, it kept the team from relocating to Seattle. Three sources said that if it wasn’t approved, Ray Bartoszek and Anthony Lanza would have bought the team and moved them to Seattle, possibly the day after they bought them. Five days before Glendale voted, an internal memo from the NHLPA circulated stating the NHL “would immediately pursue one of several backup alternatives which likely would entail a prompt relocation of the franchise. While there are several potential cities … it appears that Seattle is the most likely.”
- Hope Smoke: Dave Nonis: “We’ve had legitimate offers on Phil. I would tell you we’ve had legitimate offers on all of the core guys.” … “It’s easy to move good players out and get nothing for them. There has to be something really serious to dump a high-end player”
- Jeremy Rutherford: Blues GM Armstrong said he’s not seeking out a trade, but that can change with one phone call. Added that a “push” or “help” will come from within the organization.
- Greg Brady: The Red Wings are actively trying to trade Jakub Kindl. There is nothing imminent, but they are shopping him.
- Aaron Portzline: The Blue Jackets could go after a big named top-six winger if they don’t see the end of Nathan Horton’s back issues.
- Chris Nichols of Nichols on Hockey: Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet 960.
“I was talking to another player and the player basically said to me, ‘Have you heard that Nathan Horton will never play again?’
“And I was like, ‘What?’
“So, I kind of looked into it and the word I’m getting is he’s there in Columbus and they met with him yesterday and he’s committed to rehab. They don’t want to have surgery on his back, but he’s committed to going through rehab. But there’s no guarantees here, I think is what we’re kind of learning. That this is potentially a long-term thing. It’s a pretty serious back injury. They’re hoping that working on his core strength will make him better, but there is the potential that this is a much more serious long-term injury than we realize.
“And I can find nobody who is willing to tell me that his career is in jeopardy, but it does sound like this is a pretty significant injury that if they can’t solve this simply through rehab, the surgical options might not be that good. So it sounds like we’re not talking about a short time thing here. We’re talking about something that could be pretty long-term.”
- Jeremy Rutherford: The Blues are a little disappointed in Peter Mueller’s decision to want to return to Europe. GM Armstrong said they wouldn’t have went down this road with him if they didn’t think he was committed . Lou Korac: Armstrong added that if he clears, he’ll talk to him once more to make sure that he wants out of his contract. If he does, they’ll release him and no need for a buyout.
