Amongst this morning's trade scuttlebutt from the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch:

Toronto GM Dave Nonis quietly has been working the phones. Didn’t get the sense from anybody that the Leafs are on the verge of making a deal. The Leafs may have been trying to gauge interest in winger Joffrey Lupul before he was hurt last week and was sent back to Toronto for further evaluation. He has a $5.25 million cap hit through 2017-18 and can’t be moved until he proves he’s able to stay healthy.

Buffalo GM Tim Murray has been busy trying to see if anybody will take winger Chris Stewart off his hands sometime soon. These have been going on for months, but Murray is demanding a good return and won’t make the move until he gets it. The Penguins aren’t in the mix anymore, but the Flames, Bruins and Senators have spoken with Murray.

A league executive on trade talks: “Wait a few weeks until teams start falling out of the playoff race, then trades will happen. Until then, it could be quiet.”

After all the rave reviews about Washington hosting the Winter Classic Wednesday, there is talk the next stop could be Winnipeg next season. A visit by Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks might be a nice fit as an opponent.

Garrioch continues, discussing Sergei Bobrovsky's fate, the Oilers' possible machinations and whether the World Juniors could have an effect on the Eichel-vs-McDavid derby (the answer should be "no, short tournament")...And what is it for Chicago, first to four?