Derek Stepan is 25 years old and already has four 50-point seasons to his name
– Larry Brooks’ piece last week was extremely depressing for the most part, but his suggestion that Minnesota is very interested in trading for Derek Stepan caught my eye. I would be loath to part with the team’s best two-way centerman, but the Wild has a very intriguing collection of young talent. If Matt Dumba (and more) were on the table, that could go a long way towards rebuilding the defense.
– I’m dying to know what the Rangers were offering Tampa Bay in exchange for Jonathan Drouin earlier this season.
– With Drouin’s emergence, the top of the 2013 Draft is starting to look pretty darn good. Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones and Aleksander Barkov are already well on their way to stardom, with fellow top-15 picks Sean Monahan, Rasmus Ristolainen, Bo Horvat and Maxi Domi following close behind.
– Boston is widely considered to be the top contender for Keith Yandle’s services should the pending UFA seek a new home, which makes sense given Yandle grew up in the city. The Bruins are also expected to be at the top of college UFA Jimmy Vesey’s wish list, as he, too, grew up in the area and loved his four years at Harvard. Who knows if either or both will work out, but that could be quite a convenient way to rejuvenate a sputtering franchise.
– The other perceived leading contender for Vesey is the Maple Leafs, since Vesey’s father works as a scout for the club. All of a sudden, Toronto looks poised to leap from the league basement to the top of the pack pretty quickly. With one of Auston Matthews or Patrik Laine set to join existing building blocks James Van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen, Tobias Lindberg, Connor Brown, Morgan Rielly, Nikita Zaitsev and Jake Gardiner, and the possibility of signing Steven Stamkos and maybe even Vesey? That’s an absolute embarrassment of riches. Granted, Toronto will need to move some of those forward pieces for blueline help and settle on a goalie, but the young offensive talent the Leafs are about ready to roll out is mind boggling.
– Even though Elliotte Friedman was just thinking out loud and made it very clear he hasn’t heard anything that even amounts to a rumor, Friedman’s questioning of Vladimir Tarasenko’s future in St. Louis should have 29 other GMs sprinting to their phones. I really can’t imagine why the Blues would even consider the possibility of moving a 24-year-old 40-goal scorer, but if he’s somehow on the block, that would turn into one epic bidding war.
– Have any of you been watching Showtime’s All Access: Quest for the Stanley Cup? Judging by the early ratings, I’m guessing not. I love the attempt at going behind the scenes during the playoff chaos, but I almost think the reality show is tarnished by the actual reality of the games. They’re exciting enough in their own right and I’m not sure how much the show is really adding. The other problem is that a big part of what makes 24/7 Road to the Winter Classic so great is that you see the human side of players off the ice quite a bit. There’s not much time for that during the postseason.
– I think(?) that John Scott was only joking when he suggested that he and Phil Kessel were starting their own All-Snub team to enter into the World Cup of Hockey. That said – it’s a pretty brilliant idea. The tournament is a gimmick anyway with the under-23 Team North America and Team Europe hodgepodge, so why not add another wrinkle? Obviously Scott’s involvement with the All-Star Game drew all kinds of attention despite the NHL’s horror, but the league could gain a lot of favor by embracing its error in judgment and putting Scott and co. front and center once again.
– Speaking of the World Cup – could ESPN’s promos for the event be any worse?
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Question time:
1) If you could have just one of Carl Hagelin or Anton Stralman back, who would you choose?
2) What would you need in return to trade Stepan?
3) What would you be willing to part with in exchange for Tarasenko?
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