NHL Draft Day – Morning Rumor Update
Rangers, Flyers have Nash, Ryan on radars
Phoenix Coyotes may look to move pick in NHL Draft
Staal rejects Penguins’ 10-year offer
Yandle in play
The salary’s not the thing for enlightened GMs
Rangers, Flyers have Nash, Ryan on radars
On the 20-year anniversary of the NHL Draft during which the Rangers and Flyers both made trades with Quebec for Eric Lindros, the 2012 Winter Classic opponents are once again pursuing not only the same big name forward on the market, but the same two wingers in the hours before the first-round is conducted here tonight.
For both the Rangers and Flyers are involved in discussions regarding both Columbus’ Rick Nash and Anaheim’s Bobby Ryan.
The Rangers, who are believed to have quarantined Chris Kreider, Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal and Derek Stepan (in addition to Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi and Henrik Lundqvist) probably don’t have enough young NHL-ready talent available in order to get Ryan, the 25-year-old with three years remaining on his contract at an annual $5.1 million cap charge.
Anaheim is not believed to have interest in Brandon Dubinsky ($4.2M cap hit), who would be one of the pieces going the other way in a hypothetical deal for Nash that won’t occur unless Columbus general manager Scott Howson slashes his asking price for the 28-year-old with six years at $7.8M per season remaining on his contract.
Including Stepan in an offer for Ryan would pique the interest of Anaheim GM Bob Murray, who is seeking a second-line center behind Ryan Getzlaf. But moving Stepan would leave the Rangers with either Dubinsky or Artem Anisimov as the putative second-line pivot on the summer roster.
The Blue Jackets’ price for Nash may not match what the Nordiques were able to receive in exchange for No. 88, who was awarded to the Flyers by arbitrator Larry Bertuzzi for Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, Steve Duchesne, two first-rounders and $15 million — after the Rangers had agreed to part with John Vanbiesbrouck, Alex Kovalev, Tony Amonte, Doug Weight, two first-rounders and $12M — but it’s expensive enough that the Rangers continue to dismiss it out of hand.
The Flyers are pursuing Nash, though Philadelphia is not on No. 61’s list of teams for which he would waive his no-move clause. But then, two decades ago, Lindros had said he would refuse to report to Philadelphia if traded there by the Nordiques, and he relented for reasons never explained and that are covered by a confidentiality clause in a subsequent action against agent Rick Curran.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/big_game_hunting_uZ0GrBW92nvDyTXdFfRpsN#ixzz1yXZ9yhna
Phoenix Coyotes may look to move pick in NHL Draft
Never in Don Maloney’s 20-year career as a front-office type has he waited to be one of the final few to make a first-round selection at the NHL draft, but that’s exactly the spot he’d like the Coyotes to control for seasons to come.
“It’s encouraging,” Maloney said. “That’s where we want to be.”
The Coyotes will select 27th in the first round of the draft, which starts Friday in Pittsburgh. It’s the latest the franchise has picked with their first selection in the opening round, another reminder of the team’s historic trek to the Western Conference finals.
But with such a late pick, the Coyotes don’t feel the need to hold on to it. Maloney is open to trading the pick — either to move up or down.
“I’d be very interested in doing something with that pick to make us better,” he said.
Moving out of the first round seems more of a possibility. Not only would the Coyotes grab an extra pick, but the players they’ve targeted late in the first round could still be available in Round 2.
“We’ve identified four or five players that we’d like that we think will be around when the 27th pick comes that we would be happy to take,” Maloney said. “But like every other area, we’re looking to see what we can do better.”
Wherever their first selection lands, the Coyotes would like to snag a forward. After drafting defensemen with three of their past five first-round picks, improving their offensive depth in the organization has become a priority.
Staal rejects Penguins’ 10-year offer
Penguins center Jordan Staal has rejected a long-term offer to remain with the team and is leaning toward becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer, sources close to the negotiations told the Tribune-Review.
The Penguins’ offer was for 10 years. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Staal, who is entering the final year a four-year contract worth $16 million, has not ruled out remaining with the Penguins but has told team officials he is open to signing with Carolina if a trade can be made.
“My only comments will be that Jordan is not prepared to enter into a contract extension at this time,” said his agent, Paul Krepelka.
Penguins general manager Ray Shero did not return messages seeking comment.
Staal, 23, is set to be married this weekend.
Many of his Penguins teammates are attending the wedding, and Staal is keeping them up to date regarding his situation with the team.
Staal’s older brother, Eric, is the Hurricanes’ top center and captain, and Jordan Staal is intrigued by the idea of playing with his brother in Carolina, where their parents now spend the majority of their time.
Younger brother Jared Staal is a prospect in the Hurricanes’ system.
Yandle in play
Hearing #coyotes have put yandle back In play. He was available for the right price @ the deadline.Deal is close. #sndraft
— Daren Millard (@darenmillard) June 22, 2012
The salary’s not the thing for enlightened GMs
So much of what happens on the NHL trade market is governed by dollars. How much does a player make, how much time is left on his contract, how does his salary fit into a team’s budget?
But with trade speculation heating up in advance of Friday’s NHL entry draft/swap meet, here’s an exercise that some of the league’s deeper thinkers use when evaluating players who they might acquire via trade:
They strip the salary component right out of the equation and evaluate it strictly as a hockey decision.
For example, last summer the Florida Panthers absorbed what was thought to be an untradeable contract – Brian Campbell’s eight-year, $57.143-million (all currency U.S.) deal that came with a $7.14-million salary-cap hit. Campbell had been playing for the Chicago Blackhawks, where he was no better than the No. 3 defenceman. For $7.14-million, he needed to be better than that.
Florida took him on, in no small part because the Panthers’ new general manager, Dale Tallon, signed him to that contract in the first place, and Florida had oodles of salary-cap space to play with.
But the heart of the decision was: What could Campbell contribute to a Panthers team in the midst of a massive rebuild, and the answer was plenty. Campbell played on average 26 minutes 53 seconds a night for Florida. He scored 53 points, tied for second among NHL defencemen. He helped the Panthers end a decade-long playoff drought, and on Wednesday he capped off a successful season by becoming the first defenceman in 58 years to win the Lady Byng Trophy.