In today’s rumor rundown, Elliotte Friedman takes a second look at the Flames goaltending situation and mentions names Calgary might be interested in while the Montreal Canadiens are looking to move a defenseman. The Pittsburgh Penguins are rumored to be making some interesting names available in the hopes of making more trades and the video that’s been haunting the Ottawa Senators just doesn’t seem to want to die.
Friedman’s Potential Flames Goaltending Options
Not long ago, we brought up the fact that the Calgary Flames might be looking for external help in net and that Kent Wilson of The Athletic suggested a few names. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman got in on the action this week and commented on the situation in Calgary.
Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings, December 20, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
When it comes to Sergei Bobrovsky, Friedman didn’t believe he would want to go to the Flames. In Cory Schneider’s case, there is a risk in grabbing a $6 million goaltender who might not turn his game around. He thinks Jimmy Howard would be the best option for the Flames but is potentially going to be re-signed with the Detroit Red Wings. Friedman thinks the Boston Bruins might let Jaroslav Halak loose, but not until Tuukka Rask shows he’s over his struggles and Charlie Lindgren out of Montreal might be available since Carey Price is the starter regardless of how he plays.
The other two names Friedman suggested people look at are Ryan Miller and Craig Anderson.
Related: NHL Rumors: Nylander, Duchene, Gardiner, More
Canadiens to Move a Defenseman
The Montreal Canadiens have eight defensmen and Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman suggest during the Saturday Headlines Segment, the Canadiens could be looking to move one. He wrote, “Earlier this year, Marc Bergevin tried to make a move when he had forwards coming back. He didn’t. They couldn’t.” Friedman added that now that Shea Weber is close to returning the team has a logjam on the blue line and will likely try to clear up that jam.
(Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports)
Montreal currently has eight blueliners on the roster in Jeff Petry, Jordie Benn, David Schlemko, Noah Juulsen, Xavier Ouellet, Victor Mete, Mike Reilly and Karl Alzner.
More Movement From the Penguins Coming?
Chris Johnston of Sportsnet wrote the Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t likely to stop at their recent addition of winger Tanner Pearson because the team is still struggling and GM Jim Rutherford remaining keen to deal.
Penguins right wing Phil Kessel (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
Johnston noted Daniel Sprong’s name is still out there and that we can add defenseman Olli Maatta’s and forward Phil Kessel to that list as well. Johnston writes, “There have even been some renewed whispers about Phil Kessel’s availability — although the Penguins need more scoring behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, not less, and Kessel has an eye-popping 115 points to show for his last 100 games.”
If things get bad enough in Pittsburgh, there’s no telling who might be potentially available in trade and there are certainly some teams that would love to get their hands on a player like Kessel who is a proven scorer.
Related: NHL Rumors: Flames, Maple Leafs, Kings, More
A 2nd Video Clip?
As per an article on TheScore, the Uber driver who captured and posted footage of Ottawa Senators players criticizing assistant coach Martin Raymond claims he had a second video from that ride which will never be seen publicly because he deleted it. The driver, James Sparklin said a member of the Senators organization told him to get rid of the footage. Sparklin described the second video showed he had a conversation about the number of players entering his van which was against policy.
A spokesperson for the team denied that Sparklin apologized to the club, saying, “Based on our review, we have no reason to believe that any such conversation took place.”
