While many teams have hoped Arizona’s asking price regarding center Martin Hanzal would have come down by now, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman told 630 CHED in Edmonton that the price remains the same and that the team is still looking for someone who can play right away as part of the return (transcription via Fan Rag’s Chris Nichols):
“John Chayka has held steadfast that Hanzal is going to have to get them a young player who can play in the NHL right now – preferably a center. So I think teams have balked at that.”
Friedman adds that Los Angeles, St. Louis, and San Jose are among the Western Conference teams that have inquired about Hanzal’s availability.
There are teams also showing an interest in pending UFA blueliner Michael Stone (who ranks 15th in our Midseason UFA Power Rankings), Tampa Bay among them, but like Hanzal, the price is too steep for anyone to meet just yet.
Of course, the salary cap may be playing a role in these two not getting moved yet as both players have sizable cap hits; Hanzal comes in at $3.1MM while Stone is earning $4MM this season and most teams don’t have the ability to absorb those hits in their entirety at the moment.
More from the Pacific:
- Teams have started to call Vancouver to inquire about the availability of pending UFA winger Alex Burrows, reports Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Sun. While Burrows has no-trade protection, it has long been speculated that he would be a candidate to move by the trade deadline if the Canucks fall out of the playoff picture. However, with a cap hit of $4.5MM, it’s likely that any move involving him would occur closer to the deadline to make it easier for the acquiring team to fit him in on their payroll.
- Sharks defenseman Dylan DeMelo underwent surgery to repair a broken right wrist today, the team announced. The injury was originally sustained on Tuesday against the Oilers. He’s expected to miss roughly eight weeks. DeMelo has spent the season primarily as San Jose’s seventh blueliner as he has played in just 14 games this year, recording four points (1-3-4) while averaging 15:04 per night.
- The Kings are at a loss when it comes to trying to figure out what has caused center Anze Kopitar to struggle as much as he has offensively this season, writes Elliott Teaford of the LA Daily News. Kopitar has just 21 points in 37 games this year and has had just three multi-point games. That’s hardly the level of production they were expecting when they handed him an eight year, $80MM extension last January, even if his defensive game is still strong. Head coach Darryl Sutter ruled out the possibility that Kopitar’s wrist/hand issue has crept back up, nor does he believe assuming the captaincy has created any extra pressure on the 29 year old Slovenian.