West Notes: Reilly, Sharks, Sedins

The Wild have given defenseman Mike Reilly’s agent (Pat Brisson) permission to talk to other teams about a trade, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required).  He notes that this permission may have been granted as much as two months ago although GM Chuck Fletcher declined to comment.  For his part, Reilly confirmed that he has not asked for a deal.

It has been a bit of a rough season for the 24-year-old.  He was shuttled back and forth between the NHL and the AHL in the early going as Minnesota looked to free up a bit of salary cap space.  He has since become waiver-eligible but even then, he has had difficulty cracking the top six on the Wild’s back end and his game last night was his first since January 10th.  With just eight points (all assists) in 32 games this season, Reilly likely wouldn’t yield much of a return but he’s certainly someone who could benefit from a change of scenery.

More from the West:

• While the Sharks have plenty of cap room, don’t expect them to be overly aggressive in terms of pursuing rental players between now and the February 26th trade deadline. GM Doug Wilson told NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika that he has no plans on moving their first-round pick or any key young player for someone that will be able to hit the open market in July.  There’s no doubt that San Jose could benefit from another impact forward or two but it would appear that they may have to set their sights on players with term or to wait until free agency to land one.
• Although there has been plenty of speculation regarding Canucks forwards Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin and their playing future beyond this year, GM Jim Benning confirmed to Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province that the twins will not make a decision until after the season. The sides met on Wednesday and while Benning was hoping for a firm answer, the Sedins weren’t willing to commit just yet.  Kuzma adds that Benning would like to sign both beyond this season but a new deal would certainly have to come cheaper than the $7MM cap hit that both are currently carrying.