Dreger on Eric Staal discussions, Pens' trade thoughts

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Darren Dreger was on NHL Live on the NHL Network Wednesday evening. 

On Eric Staal trade talk:

"All of this down time, if you will, from a win-loss perspective, has generated some speculation. And this is a story that goes back to last year. Maybe before the general manager change where Ron Francis comes in and Jim Rutherford goes out. 

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"The Toronto Maple Leafs inquired, again, based on speculation, as to whether or not Eric Staal would be available during the summer. And there was some dialog back and forth. Clearly Dave Nonis identifying they'd be willing to pay a price to acquire Eric Staal. I mean, who wouldn't want a big center who's won a Stanley Cup championship in the lineup. But at that point, there wasn't a lot of interest in that negotiation. 

"This is a story that has just somewhat resurfaced. But it's littered with 'ifs' and the top of the list is if Eric Staal wants to leave. If he doesn't want to leave, then there's not going to be a deal in-season. And I don't think there will be a deal in-season. Perhaps in the off-season at best."

On Daniel Alfredsson:

"He's still trying to get healthy." Hasn't shut down skating entirely, but just can't get over that final hump to return to practice ice. Will probably make his decision by early November at the latest. 

On Pittsburgh Penguins looking for a top-six forward, despite being a team that has scored goals in bunches early on:

"Yeah, there's absolute truth to it but there's no sense of urgency for the reason that you just articulated. Look, E.J. will tell you too, when you scour around the National Hockey League that we do, everybody is looking for a top-pairing defenseman and everyone is looking for a top-six forward. 

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"But as far as Pittsburgh is concerned, yeah, they're looking for a winger. They're looking for someone who might be able to complement Evgeni Malkin. So that's just adding depth to what is already a strong organization. But there's no sense of urgency, as I said a second ago. They're simply in the market. This might take until February and obviously, when you're a cap team like the Pittsburgh Penguins, there's some cap sensitivity that goes along with this as well. So I would say it's a quiet search by Jim Rutherford."

Source: NHL Network/ Notes, Transcript: Nichols on Hockey