NHL Draft Day – Early Afternoon Update
NHL draft: Luongo trade chatter heats up as Canucks insist they’ll wait for the right deal
Tampa Open to trading their first round pick
Brophy on NHL: Luongo likely for Leafs
Strategy Room: Trade talk taking over
Nash deal unlikely, should Sharks turn to JVR?
Could the Bruins trade Thomas?
Could Yakupov fall to 3rd?
NHL draft: Luongo trade chatter heats up as Canucks insist they’ll wait for the right deal
The good news for Vancouver is that general managers continue to call about its goalies. Even better news: not all the calls have been about the availability of Cory Schneider.
The Canucks contend they have time to be patient in searching out a Roberto Luongo trade.
So, they won’t be calling Luongo to get his stamp of approval if the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to offer something just south of nothing for the 33-year-old throughout the NHL Draft weekend.
Lots of time, the Canucks say, to get the right Luongo deal done. It doesn’t have to happen this weekend. But it sure would help. That may be why the Luongo talk started heating up late Thursday.
“The draft may be the most opportune time to make trades because you have 30 teams, 30 general managers and all their personnel in such close proximity,” said Canucks assistant general manager Laurence Gilman.
“It also happens on the eve of free agency, on July 1. So, the situation lends itself to talking trades.”
That GM Mike Gillis has been listening to offers from “numerous” GMs and making progress this week without a working wish list from Luongo can be interpreted as a strong sign Luongo is open to a lot more destinations than just five.
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Tampa Open to trading their first round pick
Tampa Bay Lightning open to dangle a first round pick for immediate help. Columbus and Carolina say hi.
— Marc Antoine Godin (@MAGodin) June 21, 2012
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Brophy on NHL: Luongo likely for Leafs
There were a lot of big names being thrown around in trade rumours here Thursday night, but the biggest name associated with the Toronto Maple Leafs continues to be goaltender Roberto Luongo.
In fact, many feel it is only a matter of time before the Vancouver Canucks ship the 34-year-old stopper with the lifetime contract east to Toronto.
“The Leafs want him and Canucks want to move him; you do the math,” said one NHL general manager.
The Canucks are wisely keeping all options open and assistant GM Laurence Gilman even suggested the organization might retain Luongo and have him split time in the crease with Cory Schneider next season. He said the team could even trade Schneider who took over as the team’s No. 1 goalie in the playoffs this past season.
“(GM) Mike Gillis has entertained calls on both our goaltenders,” Gilman said. “It falls into the category of problems you don’t mind having in the sense it’s better to have too many than not enough. At this point we’re not doing anything fast.”
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/free_agency/2012/06/22/roberto_luongo_toronto_maple_leafs_nhl_trade/
Strategy Room: Trade talk taking over
What was supposed to be the culmination of a long and winding road for every NHL front office has turned into chaos on the NHL trade rumour mill.
Will all the trade rumours around the league continue? My guess is yes but not to the crescendo levels we were tracking on Thursday!
The focus shifted dramatically from talk of prospects such as Nail Yakupov, Ryan Murray and Filip Forsberg to NHL stars such as Jordan Staal, Keith Yandle, Carey Price, Roberto Luongo, Cory Schneider and Rick Nash.
That is why it is so critical for teams to arrive this week with their “list” of who they want to draft this weekend. The side bar of rumours regarding existing stars steamrolled the scene here in a scorching-hot Pittsburgh.
While top draft prospects like Morgan Rielly, Matthew Dumba, Alex Galchenyuk and Jacob Trouba were enjoying a leisurely boat tour around Pittsburgh, GMs were huddled up in their suites trying to figure out how they were going to hit a home run — not only with the draft but with a trade or two that could vault their club into the playoffs or into a Stanley Cup contender.
Nash deal unlikely, should Sharks turn to JVR?
As the chances become slimmer and slimmer that the Sharks will make a major deal for Columbus’ Rick Nash, the club may have to consider two other options to improve its scoring depth on the wings.
Columbus continues to insist that Logan Couture be the centerpiece of a deal for its captain, and Couture is, rightfully, a non-starter with Sharks general manager Doug Wilson.
One intriguing name that may make sense for San Jose is current Philadelphia Flyers winger James van Riemsdyk, whom the Sharks reportedly targeted back at the trade deadline, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.
It’s been an uneven career for the former second overall pick of 2007, who, when he was drafted by Philly, was immediately compared to Nash for his size and scoring touch. He’s shown flashes of brilliance, but van Riemsdyk hasn’t been able to sustain a consistent level of production in his first three seasons as a pro.
In fact, it’s been rumored that van Riemsdyk would be part of a deal for Nash should the Flyers make an offer to the Blue Jackets. Should Nash end up elsewhere, though, van Riemsdyk could be available for the right offer. And if that’s the case, it’s worth it for the Sharks to investigate.
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Could the Bruins trade Thomas?
Peter Chiarelli said Tim Thomas waived his no-trade clause allowing the Bruins to deal him prior to July 1. Sounds like he’d be ok w/trade
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) June 22, 2012
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Could Yakupov fall to 3rd?
Blue Jackets beat guy @aportzline has Columbus passing on Yakupov at No. 2. So if Edmonton goes with Murray, Yakupov could fall to three.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) June 22, 2012
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