The Pittsburgh Penguins are increasing their pursuit of Ryan Kesler, and it looks like they are ready to make an offer.
The proposed deal has Ryan Kesler going to the Penguins in return for Brandon Sutter, two draft picks (a first and a third it looks like) and the Canucks choice of a defenseman between Simon Despres or Brian Dumoulin.
On the heels of the Ryan Miller trade, this would be another huge deal and a big add for the Penguins. Kesler could easily take over that second center spot and be a leader on their special teams units. Trading away one of their young defensemen is a questionable move, especially with Brooks Orpik on an expiring deal, but they seem ready to go for it this year.
This news comes on the heels of a report that the Canucks would do everything in their power to trade Kesler away by the deadline and get a decent return.
Oilers winger Ales Hemsky is ready to be moved by the deadline and has pretty much decided that it’s inevitable.
The price was reportedly just a third-round pick, so I’m sure just about every team is interested in his services. I’m really hoping the Stars are included in this group.
It looks like the Buffalo Sabres are ready to offer Ted Nolan a three-year extension and officially remove the interim tag from his name. He’s done alright with Buffalo since November but doesn’t have much to work with at the moment.
Nolan is in a tough situation over there in Buffalo. They do have a ton of top-round picks in the next couple of drafts, so they should be able to retool relatively quickly. At the moment though, they lack a top-flight player.
Again in Buffalo, Pat LaFontaine has resigned as the president of the team, just three months after he took the job.
Yeah, the Sabres are a disaster
It seems that the Boston Bruins are actively looking for a veteran defenseman to add before the trade deadline. After reportedly looking at Ottawa d-man Chris Phillips, they’re now checking out Flyers defenseman Andrej Meszaros.
Jaromir Jagr scored in Saturday’s 6-1 win over the Islanders, becoming just the seventh player in NHL history to reach 700 goals.
Good for Jagr. It’ll be a sad day when he finally decides to retire.
