Pacific Notes: Canucks, Ducks, Coyotes

Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning found out talk isn’t so cheap after all. The NHL fined Benning $50,000 for his comments regarding Steven Stamkos and P.K. Subban reports Navin Vaswani. According to the report, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that Benning violated By-Law 15 for speaking about his interest in other teams’ players. Sports Illustrated’s Allan Muir writes that while the comments may seem harmless, it’s the willingness to express signing desires for “public consumption” that landed Benning a fine.

Other Pacific Division Notes:

• The Ducks have indeed been talking with the Red Wings about Cam Fowler writes Mike Halford. The news was also reported by The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The Ducks would be a perfect trade partner for the Red Wings as they recently re-signed Sami Vatanen and could move Fowler’s reasonable contract that has a $4MM cap hit. After the Wings balked at the apparent price for Kevin Shattenkirk, which included Dylan Larkin. Fowler has also been linked with Buffalo.
• Sarah McLellan writes that new Coyotes general manager John Chayka says that the Pavel Datsyuk contract poses no issues for the organization. Chayka indicates that he wouldn’t have made the move had it hindered the ’Yotes financially. But because Datysuk retired from the NHL, there is no payment attached to the contract. Instead, the Coyotes absorb the $7.5MM cap hit. McLellan also writes that the possibility of gaining a defenseman of Jakob Chychrun’s caliber was too good to pass up. As a result, they agreed to take on the contract. McLellan also spoke to Chayka about acquiring defenseman Anthony DeAngelo from Tampa Bay, an Arizona target for quite some time.