West Notes: Edler, Fehr, Schmaltz

Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler has been a highly speculated trade candidate in recent weeks.  He’s a pending unrestricted free agent and Vancouver currently is on the outside looking in at a playoff spot so there is certainly a case to be made that they should move him.  However, Edler has a full no-trade clause and has indicated in the past that his preference would be to remain with the team, something he recently reiterated to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre:

I’ve lived here for most of my adult life. I started a family here and the city feels like home. But the organization has been good to me, too. I’ve been treated well and given chances to improve and play a lot.

My best scenario is to get that chance (to win again) here. We have some work to do and there’s a lot of learning and a lot of teaching. But for sure, we have young, talented players who are going to keep developing. It’s no fun to lose like we did last year, but it’s exciting to go through a change like this and be part of it until we get good again.

Edler has 19 points in 30 games with the Canucks this season while playing over 23 minutes a night which would make him an enticing candidate to contenders.  However, there’s no guarantee that Vancouver can convince him to waive his no-trade clause before next month’s trade deadline.

Elsewhere out West:

• Wild center Eric Fehr will miss one-to-two weeks with what head coach Bruce Boudreau is calling a ‘body injury’, notes Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He was injured early on Monday night following a late hit from Montreal’s Kenny Agostino.  Minnesota has been carrying 14 forwards on their roster so it’s unlikely that they’ll call anyone up to replace Fehr, who has 10 points in 41 games so far this season.
• The Coyotes gave some consideration to claiming Blues defensemen Jordan Schmaltz off waivers earlier this week, reports Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He also happens to be Nick Schmaltz’s brother, who Arizona acquired earlier this year.  However, with seven blueliners already on their roster, they decided to pass.  As Schmaltz is now in the minors and on a cheap contract ($700K through next season), he could still be of interest to a team that wants extra injury insurance in the AHL, something that wouldn’t have been an option had a team claimed him off the wire.