In today’s rumor rundown, there is an update on the interest surrounding Blues’ forward Brayden Schenn, the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers will be two teams to watch and things are still a bit sticky in Columbus when it comes to Sergei Bobrovsky.
Boston Bruins Pursuing Brayden Schenn
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes that the Bruins are potentially interested in Brayden Schenn out of St. Louis. He says, “Former Flyer Brayden Schenn is drawing interest around the league… the St. Louis Blues are in full listening mode.”
Because of how the season has gone for the Blues, general manager Doug Armstrong has not labeled many of his players as untouchables, with the exception of the kids who are just joining the team and growing into strong young players. As for veterans and core guys? The phone lines are open.
One thing LeBrun notes is that it’s not imperative the Blues make a move before the trade deadline as they are already out of the running. But, a team like Boston is keeping an eye on Schenn because they can use him for their playoff push.
Related: Rick Nash Officially Retires From NHL
Canadiens Ready to Make Trades
Darren Dreger was on TSN 690 says the Montreal Canadiens are open for business but added that there are players they won’t be trading. They will keep their young core and he explained, “Status quo isn’t a bad thing as long as you maintain the development attitude of the Montreal Canadiens, but don’t confuse that with a lack of interest in getting better.”
Dreger said the message in Montreal is, ‘if there’s a player that is maybe going to inject a little bit more offence, let’s listen and probably pull the trigger if it makes sense.’ The key is making sure it’s not a deal that costs the franchise long term or young roster players or prospects.
Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Simmonds, Matthews, More
Watch Out for the Flyers
Bob McKenzie of TSN notes that new general manager Chuck Fletcher could look to turn his returns from selling assets at the trade deadline into long-term additions for the Philadelphia Flyers. McKenzie said, “The Philadelphia Flyers will be a team to keep an eye on between now and the trade deadline.” He added:
“New general manager Chuck Fletcher has a lengthy – and I mean lengthy – list of things he wants to do. He needs to find himself a goaltender who can buy some time for Carter Hart to develop. He needs to get himself a top-four defenceman to help mentor his young defence. And he also needs to get himself either a top-two or top-three line cente to try and take some of the load off the existing forwards. Those are not easy things to do.
To tackle these to-do items, McKenzie suggests the Flyers will more than likely move Wayne Simmonds and he’s also planning on using draft picks and prospects and younger players to try and go out and achieve those things (the goalie, the defenceman and the centre).”
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Touchy, But Resolved For Now in Bobrovsky Camp
The Columbus Blue Jackets held a meeting with Sergei Bobrovsky and the entire team on Friday morning. Apparently, the ‘suspension’ was regarding an outburst after the loss to Tampa. While John Tortorella was touchy with media when asked, Bobrovksy said when asked about playing the rest of the season with the Blue Jackets, “I am here and I will play here. I will do my best as I have done for this team, for this organization, for these fans, for this city. I’ve been working hard and will continue to do that.”
While the team, the player and the management are suggesting everyone has put this behind them, it’s hard to imagine that this blowup doesn’t play some role in Bobrvosky’s decision when it comes to whether or not he stays or goes next season. Many believe it should have no bearing on his July 1st options, and that may be true, but whether or not he considers one of those options to be Columbus will be interesting to watch.
Listen to the Latest Version of our Podcast
On the sixth episode of the Hockey Writers Podcast, we our gave their thoughts on the season that was in 2018 and what to expect out of the new year in 2019, including what might happen with a player like Bobrovsky.