Lightning can’t strike Drouin deal
NHL notebook: Plenty of other players could be on the move by the trade deadline
Nobody has been busier working the phones than Steve Yzerman.
His top priority: To deal disgruntled forward Jonathan Drouin.
The situation took an ugly turn last week when the 20-year-old Drouin decided to pack his bags and leave the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch to head back to the Montreal area to await a trade because when he reported to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s minorleague affiliate he believed a deal was imminent.
Yzerman is finding the market for the young forward is tough. He tried to get a roster player from several of the 15 teams that were interested and when that didn’t work the belief is he’s now trying to get highend prospects in return for Drouin, the club’s top pick in the 2013 draft at No. 3 overall.
There are several teams interested in Drouin — including Anaheim, Nashville, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal to name a few — but none of them want to pay the high price that Yzerman wants so this could drag on a bit longer than everybody expected.
Yzerman has been working the phones but it’s all talk and no action.
AROUND THE BOARDS
The diving Canadian dollar has more than a few teams concerned about their spending habits in the off-season. Though the league has estimated the cap will rise approximately $3 million next season from the $71.4-million mark this year, there’s a strong belief among many GMs that’s not going to happen. That’s because the revenue projections may not get as high as expected because the national TV deal with Rogers is paid out in Canadian money and the dollars brought in by the seven teams north of the border are only worth 70 cents each at the moment. “There are some guys nervous and they should be,” said a league insider Saturday. No kidding. If the cap doesn’t go as high as everybody expects then there’s going to be a shortage of dollars to go into the system on July 1. “The are some teams right up against the cap and this could negatively effect whether they’re going to be able to keep their players and what happens on July 1,” he said ... Since Marc Bergevin gave coach Michel Therrien a vote of confidence until the end of the season and put all the blame on himself last week there’s a strong believe the Habs’ GM will try to make a change. They’re going to be without goaltender Carey Price until mid-February and the word is Bergevin would like badly to get size up front. But teams keep asking for young assets and that won’t happen.
OFF THE GLASS
You have to wonder if it’s about to get ugly in Winnipeg with the clock ticking. The word is winger Andrew Ladd and defenceman Dustin Byfuglien — both UFA’s on July 1 — are more than willing to stay if the Jets overpay. Since that’s not going to work for the organization, the belief is one or both could be sent packing before next month’s NHL trade deadline. There are conflicting thoughts on which one could end up out the door if GM Kevin Cheveldayoff chooses to only send one packing this season, but the belief among league executives is the Jets will keep Byfuglien for the stretch drive and move Ladd. There’s talk that Ladd turned down a six-year deal before camp and since then the discussions have gone pretty much nowhere. As for Byfuglien, he’s one of the NHL’s best players this season ... There is lots of interest in Flames defenceman Kris Russell from teams trying to make the post-season but Calgary GM Brad Treliving has decided to hold off on making a deal. That’s because ideally the Flames would like to keep Russell and are attempting to re-sign him.
RUMOURS DU JOUR
Since dealing centre Ryan Johansen to the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenceman Seth Jones, we’ve been told nobody has worked the phones harder than Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen to try and find help in the middle. Though Johansen hasn’t exactly been a standout since he was dealt to the Predators, everybody knew it was going to be tough to replace his minutes because he’s a top centre. “Finding a No. 1 centre isn’t easy and if you have one you should usually keep him,” said a league executive ... Don’t think for a second this recent surge by the Hurricanes means a lot to captain Eric Staal’s tenure in Raleigh. Though he hasn’t been shopped by GM Ron Francis, there’s interest in Staal from teams looking for a deadline acquisition and nobody would be the least bit surprised if he wasn’t back ... It’s likely not going to happen before the deadline but you have to expect at some point Rangers GM Jeff Gorton will try to bring in another top-six forward. The word is he’s been calling around to see what’s available and Flyers GM Ron Hextall is looking as well ... The league’s executive committee met last week in New York to talk about expansion applications from Las Vegas and Quebec City. They will update the board of governors next week in Nashville during the all-star game but don’t expect a decision yet because the NHL isn’t ready for a vote.
Have a nice Sunday.