Insider Trading

Darren Dreger, Pierre LeBrun and Bob McKenzie were on TSN's Insider Trading on Tuesday evening.

McKenzie: "Of all those teams that would aggressively like to force Kevin Cheveldayoff's hand to trade Evander Kane before the deadline, I would suggest that the Buffalo Sabres would be the most aggressive in terms of their stance. They've got a lot of pieces they can play with here. They've got multiple first round picks. Their own, of course, which isn't going anywhere, but they've got the New York Islanders' and the St. Louis Blues'. They've got lots of prospects in the minors. Joel Armia, a scoring winger from Finland who plays in Rochester, comes immediately to mind. They've got something for now in terms of expiring contracts, in terms of Drew Stafford and Chris Stewart, who are unrestricted free agents at the end of the year. And it is not out of the question that if those two teams are talking about Evander Kane, that maybe big defenseman Tyler Myers gets his name worked into the equation. There has been interest from Winnipeg and Buffalo in doing a Myers deal previous to this and it would interesting to see - it would change the dynamic and make it a lot more complicated, but that's something within the realm of possibility."

Dreger: Playoff pressure intensifies things for Kevin Cheveldayoff in terms of the Evander Kane trade. More suitors in the off-season, but he needs help now because the Jets are not a lock to make the post-season.

LeBrun: "It's because of that perceived pressure on Kevin Cheveldayoff that there are other teams that it's affecting their thinking on how they proceed on Evander Kane. Vancouver Canucks. I mean, Evander Kane is a Vancouver native. The Canucks covet this player. But in a perfect world, they'd rather go after him in the off-season because they're going for the playoffs. They don't want to give up a roster player as part of a package for Evander Kane. But they know if they wait, maybe the ship goes by on Evander Kane and they miss out on their chance. That's the debate right now with the Vancouver Canucks. 'Do we have to act before March 2?' "

Dreger, on if Jaromir Jagr can still help a contender: "He can and he wants to. He wants to help an Eastern Conference contender. He has stopped short of asking Lou Lamoriello for a trade because he, like everyone else, very respectful of Lou Lamoriello. Lou Lamoriello believes that the Devils are still in the post-season fight. So Jagr does not want to bail. But they intend on revisiting the situation, probably a week down the road, to see where the Devils are at that point."

LeBrun: "Cam Atkinson, not quite the same resume as Jaromir Jagr, but a guy with an expiring contract. Now he's an RFA, not UFA, so Columbus doesn't have to move him, but the Boston Bruins are among the team who have phoned Columbus on him. So Atkinson on that radar of names that the Bruins are trying to add a winger. We know they love Chris Stewart of the Sabres. Loved him all year, nothing has happened yet. They love Mike Santorelli, as Dregs reported last week, but Atkinson another name to throw in there."

McKenzie: Gary Bettman kicks off Las Vegas ticket drive. 

LeBrun, on the fact that we're still waiting on the Ottawa Senators and Marc Methot to get a deal done: "Yeah, although the clock is ticking because of the March 2 trade deadline. On Thursday, Senators' management is supposed to meet with Mike Liut, the agent for Marc Methot, again. And at this point, there should be a concrete idea on both sides on what they're willing to do on an extension. I think we know at this point if Bryan Murray of the Senators doesn't like what he hears, we know he will trade this player before March 2."

Source: TSN/ Notes, Transcript: Nichols on Hockey

Related: McKenzie: "Sabres have considerable interest in Evander Kane"