Sabres have some defensemen to move
Michael Augello: Elliotte Friedman on1270 The Fan said the Buffalo Sabres have defensemen Marco Scandella (LHD), Colin Miller (RHD) and Zach Bogosian (RHD) potentially available. All three have fairly big salary cap hits. Miller has two years left on his deal at $3.875 million.
Friedman says they are likely looking for some help up front.
Coyotes looking for a defenseman
Craig Morgan of The Athletic: A couple of sources have said that the Arizona Coyotes are looking at adding a No. five to seven defenseman that has a bit of grit and skill.
Niklas Hjalmarsson is still weeks away from returning. Jordan Oesterle has battled some injuries and hasn’t played like he did last season. Ilya Lyubushkin, Kyle Capobianco and Aaron Ness have been rotating in.
Untouchables to trade candidates for the Jets
Murat Ates of The Athletic: Don’t expect the Winnipeg Jets to go big game hunting, especially with the Dustin Byfuglien suspension/grievance situation ongoing.
Any moves may be more about salary cap space for now and into the future. There is the Nikolaj Ehlers for a defenseman trade speculation. The Jets only have five draft picks this year, and their prospect depth isn’t what it once was.
Untouchables – Mark Sccheifele, Josh Morrissey, Blake Wheeler (NMC), and Bryan Little (NMC).
Almost untouchable – Connor Hellebuyck, Kyle Connor, Nik Ehlers, Patrik Laine, Neal Pionk, and Adam Lowry.
It isn’t unlikely – Laurent Brossoit, Andrew Copp, Tucker Poolman, Mason Appleton, David Gustafsson, Mark Letestu, and Kristian Vesalainen.
Conceivable – Dustin Byfuglien, Jack Roslovic, Gabriel Bourque, Nathan Beaulieu, and Luca Sbisa.
Hard to imagine as trade centrepieces – Anthony Bitetto, Carl Dahlstrom, Logan Shaw, Joona Luoto, and Andrei Chibisov.
Candidates – Mathieu Perreault (M-NTC) – Could eventually be moved to free up cap space. Has one year left on his deal.
Dmitry Kulikov (M-NTC) – The pending UFA has a six-team no-trade list and a $4.33 million cap hit.
Sami Niku – Producing in the AHL and Beaulieu injury may give him an NHL opportunity.