The interest in Pacioretty last week
– Apparently according to DLC.com, teams interested in Pacioretty and who called when the trade rumor circulating made him available were the Detroit Red Wings, the New York Islanders, the Anaheim Ducks and the Calgary Flames. Now that Pacioretty is hot, expect trade rumors concerning him will cool down. Also mentioned were the names of Nathan Beaulieu et Dustin Tokarski from the callers. Bergevin is expected to stand still for now based on the Habs recent success.
New York Islanders desperate for a goalie
According to Allan Muir from Sports Illustraded, the Islanders will need to solve their goaltending issues this season if they still want to access the one of the last two spots in the playoffs. The season is still young and Garth Snow needs to address his goaltending issues sooner rather than later. Muir states that Anton Khudobin in Carolina may be a viable option for Snow. Khudobin could bring an interesting return and will not cost too much. Jonas Hiller is also mentionned but the Ducks will be looking for a high return and Snow obviously doesn’t have the horses to let go for Hiller. Getting Ryan Miller would be too expensive for the Islanders and Miller would have to agree to the trade since he has a No-Trade-Clause in his current contract. With the recent signing of Henrik Lundqvist, the signing of Ryan Miller wherever that might be, next summer might not draw exactly what Lundqvist received from the Blue Shirts. Muir states that Miller is older by a couple of years and an annual salary in the 4-5 millin range is expected from his agent.
Peter Laviolette available
According to Chris Peters of CBS Sports, the Islanders may be looking at Peter Laviolette to replace Jack Capuano as head coach. Many fans on Long Island are claiming Capuano’s head after a disastrous season thus far. The Islanders are 8-16-5 and last in the Metropolitan Division. Laviolette one of the best coach in the NHL started his head coaching career with the Isles twelve years ago and went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes. He is recognized to be one of the best coach who’s is not coaching currently. With some teams currently on the bubble Laviolette could be tempted to be more selective. The Carolina Hurricanes being one of them.
