from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,
Parting ways with 37-year-old defenceman Dan Boyle and buying out winger Martin Havlat was expected in San Jose, but the earth-shaking stuff will come if they trade Joe Thornton or Patrick Marleau. Both turn 35 before next season and both have no-trade clauses in their three-year deals (Thornton at a $6.75-million salary-cap hit; Marleau at $6.66 million) that start in 2014-15, but as with most no-trade/no-move deals, there’s wiggle room.
So who would be the easier player to trade?
“I’d say Marleau. He’s got more speed, more flexibility to his game. He can play wing or centre. I think he’s played more wing the last few years, but he could go back to centre,” said an NHL coach. “That said, Joe’s a No. 1 centre and teams are all looking for that.”
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also from Matheson,
- Maybe the St. Louis Blues should zero in on Vancouver Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa, even if he turns 33 this summer. He’d be a great No. 3 defender. Centre Patrik Berglund is certainly in play around the league, if not for a blue-liner, then for Ottawa Senators’ Jason Spezza.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane at a very reasonable $6.3-million salary-cap hit for another season, but you know they’ll be up in the $8.5-million range in new deals. If so, throw in Patrick Sharp ($5.9 million), Corey Crawford ($6M), Brent Seabrook ($5.8M), Duncan Keith ($5.5M) and Marian Hossa ($5.3M) and that’s $45.5 million for seven players out of a 23-man roster. Sounds like the Blackhawks will be dumping players again as they did after their 2010 Stanley Cup win.
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