Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Some Kesler, Spezza And Thornton Talk

06/06/2014 at 6:06pm EDT

from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

The latest scuttlebutt on who's going where and why as another big season of free agency approaches:

Kesler-Spezza-Thornton Update
It has the potential to be quite the offseason when it comes to high-profile centers changing teams.

We always say top centers don’t grow on trees and are hard to come by, well, there are at least two on the market in Ryan Kesler and Jason Spezza and it remains to be seen how it plays out on the Joe Thornton front.

First, in Vancouver, where the Canucks went fairly down the road in trade talks involving Kesler before the March 5 trade deadline, in particular with the Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins, before deciding the offers weren’t good enough and pulling him back.

The question is, what’s the deal with him now given the new management in place in Vancouver?

Sources said new Canucks GM Jim Benning has already taken calls from teams on Kesler, if for no other reason than they’re wondering if he’s still available or not....

Spezza, with a year left on his deal, indicated to Senators management that he would welcome a change if a deal that makes sense comes Ottawa’s way. I suspect talks will heat up on that front closer to the draft later this month.

And, in San Jose, the Sharks have indicated they are entering a rebuilding mode. What does that mean for Joe Thornton, who signed a three-year extension earlier this season? Does he want to be around for a rebuild? Either way, Thornton holds all the cards with a no-movement clause. Same goes for Patrick Marleau, for that matter.

more on Kesler and other topic too...

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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