Live from Pittsburgh…

Now that the news is out with Jordan Staal uninterested in re-signing with Pittsburgh, how will this affect things moving forward?

Anyway you look at it, it can’t be good for GM Ray Shero and the Penguins. Who’s going to be interested in trading a quality player for Staal knowing he just turned down a ten year contract? This certainly has to kill any leverage the Penguins had in a potential trade. At the very least it puts the Penguins in a tough spot. You’re not going to get much now and his trade value is only going to get lower as he inches closer to unrestricted free agency.

That’s unless he’s moved to a team you know he’ll sign a long-term contract with like a Carolina or New York. Pittsburgh’s only hope might be that unrestricted free agency gets pushed back in the next CBA. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Yandle in Play?

The short answer is yes. Sources say Phoenix GM Don Maloney isn’t actively shopping the All-Star D-man but he is taking calls. In other words for the right player he would pull the trigger on a trade. I’m told Phoenix is eyeing a number one center with term on his contract. You’re not going to trade Yandle, who has four years remaining on his deal, for a player with only a year or so left before they can jump ship.

I’ve always been a fan of Yandle’s game. His offensive production dropped a little this season but he’s a point per game playoff player and could make a lot of NHL teams instantly better. His 59 points in 2010-2011 earned him a fourth place finish in the Norris voting. With the emergence of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and players like David Rundblad and Brandon Gormley on the way it looks like Yandle could be expendable. Yandle has four years left on a contract averaging $5.25 million per year. Teams like Detroit, Boston, and Tampa bay have always liked Yandle’s game.

Bouwmeester’s Phone is Silent…

As of Thursday night sources close to Calgary D-man Jay Bouwmeester tell me the team has not approached him regarding a potential trade. He has two years remaining on a deal paying him $6.6 million per. Bouwmeester would probably waive his no-trade for the right situation. He’d look good playing beside Alex Pietrangelo but his salary may be a little steep.

Nichol Close?
Word is Scott Nichol is close to re-signing a one year contract to remain in St. Louis.
Carolina Eyeing Parise?

Don’t be shocked to learn Carolina joins Minnesota in taking a serious run at Zach Parise. I’m told Detroit is more likely to put all their eggs in the Ryan Suter basket and unlikely to pay Parise the Ilya Kovalchuk, Brad Richards deal he’ll likely covet.

Tokarski in Tampa bay’s Plans?

All goaltender Dustin Tokarski does is win yet it looks like he may need to find an NHL home elsewhere. Tokarski allowed only six goals in the final two rounds en route to capturing an AHL title with Norfolk. He also has WHL, Memorial Cup, and World Junior Championships on his resume. The Lightning recently signed former first rounder Riku Helenius to a two-year contract which turns into a one-way NHL deal in the second year. This is on top of trading for Anders Lindback not to mention Mathieu Garon is also on the roster. Tokarski would certainly be an attractive option for a club looking towards the future at the goaltending position.

Luongo Talk heating up…

There’s lots of Roberto Luongo talk heating up here on a rainy day in Pittsburgh. We all know he wants out of Vancouver but one would think the Canucks would want to iron things out with Cory Schneider before they officially boot Luongo out the door. If Semyon Varlamov is worth $8.5 in Colorado what is Schneider worth in Vancouver? Certainly more than that when you consider he’s forcing the team to trade Roberto Luongo.

More to come,
Andy Strickland
Strickland.andy@gmail.com