As usual, the Hockey Night In Canada Headlines segment last night was one to watch if you’re interested in rumors and speculation going on around the league. With a panel of Nick Kypreos, Chris Johnston and Elliotte Friedman, you knew there was going to be a few interesting nuggets of information.
Johnston relayed an interesting situation surrounding Jonathan Drouin and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The two sides have finished an arbitration over a performance bonus from last season, that Drouin missed by less than a tenth of a point per game. Because of all the work Steve Yzerman did at the trade deadline last season, the Lightning don’t have any carryover from their entry-level bonuses, meaning the settlement (which will pay Drouin 90% of the bonus) will not affect this year’s cap number.
- The panel also discussed Jason Spezza and the idea that his name is starting to surface in trade speculation. Spezza is obviously not as big a part of the Dallas Stars as he once was, taken away from the center ice position and moved down in the lineup. The interesting note that Friedman reported is that Spezza has a full no-movement clause during the season, instead of the 10-team no-trade list that had been previously recorded. That clause and the $7.5MM cap hit for this year and next make a move extremely unlikely even if Dallas wanted to part ways.
- Though the Matt Duchene saga is over, the panel did relay that the Pittsburgh Penguins made a last-ditch effort to acquire the center from the Colorado Avalanche. That would imply that the Penguins are not comfortable with the team they have right now, and few would be surprised by that. Pittsburgh lost again last night and are now 9-7-3 on the year. Though no one is expecting them to miss the playoffs, GM Jim Rutherford is a known horse trader as the deadline approaches, and will likely be involved in another big move this season.