from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,

The names haven't changed and the possible destinations remain the same.

Welcome to the countdown to the NHL trade deadline.

"It's the same teams, offering the same players, for the same price," said a league executive Friday with the clock ticking towards March 2 at 3 p.m. EST.

"Everyone is still waiting. That's all that's happening. There will be 20 trades within two days. It'll happen. Right now, teams are just trying to act like they're smarter than everybody else."...

- Carolina GM Ron Francis is expected to be busy. The club has lots of interest in forwards Jiri Tlusty and Jay McClement along with defenceman Andrej Sekera. In fact, Sekera is one of the most sought after on the market with Pittsburgh, Tampa, St. Louis and Vancouver among several teams that have shown interest. Some wonder what the plan is in Raleigh to improve the Hurricanes? "That team could fall to the bottom for a long time," a league executive noted. Carolina has tried to move goalie Cam Ward but nobody wants to take on his $6.3 million cap hit next season. The Canes may be willing to talk about winger Jeff Skinner but want to wait until the off-season.

- The Oilers tried to see if they could sign UFA defenceman Jeff Petry but had no luck so he'll be dealt. The Ducks, Penguins, Habs and Bolts have all shown interest. Petry has been excellent of late but don't expect Edmonton to do much. If they get a forward in the draft then either Taylor Hall or Jordan Eberle could be moved. Until then, it may be status quo.

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