Insider Trading

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

LeBrun, on how it looks like Florida is going to trade Sean Bergenheim: "Yeah, I would say that sooner rather than later, even by Monday, it wouldn't surprise me if he is dealt. We know he has asked for a trade, and Dale Tallon is working hard to move the pending UFA winger. Some Canadian teams have shown interest, including the Winnipeg Jets, who we know are looking to acquire a couple of forwards. Vancouver. Montreal to some degree. The problem for the Canucks is the believed asking price for all of these teams is a third round pick, which the Canucks don't own for this year's draft. We'll see if he goes for a third. If he does, it could be north of the border."

Dreger: "And the Winnipeg Jets have some assets they're willing to part with. You're looking at the depth the Jets have on defence, so perhaps include that in some deal with Florida or the Toronto Maple Leafs on Daniel Winnik. But here's an interesting name from the Winnipeg Jets' past that might become present and that's Alex Burmistrov, who has played the last couple of years in the KHL. He is a restricted free agent and the Winnipeg Jets are now willing to throw him into any trade negotiation as part of the deal. Some believe that he's ready to come back into the National Hockey League. Some are wondering if in fact that's true, so there's a bit of a gamble. But Burmistrov definitely in play."

McKenzie, on the latest involving the three most coveted defencemen in the league: "Andrej Sekera of the Hurricanes is the rental defenceman most in demand right now. Things are really heating up on him, to the point where he could be the next defenceman dealt. When you start talking about teams that are interested in Sekera, you've got the L.A. Kings, New York Rangers, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins, amongst others. But he's not the only defenceman that's available at this time.

"We talked about Sekera. Jeff Petry from the Edmonton Oilers. Interesting development on Petry. In the last 48-72 hours the Oilers reached out and at least opened the door a crack that maybe if they want to talk about a contract extension. Everybody still believes that Petry is likely to go to free agency, and therefore will be traded by the deadline. He's also got a rib injury that he's dealing with. Not expected to be too bad, but probably out for the next three or four days.

"Zbynek Michalek has been out of action for the past week. He's believed to have a concussion. But the good news is that he's expected to be symptom-free now and probably close to returning to the lineup as early as next week. Still lots of action on those three guys."

Dreger, on the pressure on the Boston Bruins: "Cam Neely spoke out, talking publicly about his level of disappointment in the Boston Globe earlier this week. A tough Alberta swing for the Boston Bruins and there's reason to believe that the jobs of Peter Chiarelli, the general manager, and the head coach Claude Julien, most definitely in jeopardy if the Bruins do not make the playoffs. And they're hanging by a thread. What we know is both those guys are highly-respected. They would not be on the unemployment line for long if this were to happen in the off-season. In the meantime, Chiarelli is doing everything he can to make trades."

LeBrun, on Ryan O'Reilly: "I could tell you one team that would love to get their hands on him, and that's the Buffalo Sabres. They won't be alone. There's going to be a long list of teams if and when the Avalanche really put this guy in play. Now with the Avs falling out of the playoff race, one would think that would probably wait until the summer. But we know one thing about Tim Murray in Buffalo. He showed it in the Evander Kane deal. He's not scared to go after something and make a gigantic deal. And I'm told that other first round pick, the low pick, he's willing to throw that in in a package for Ryan O'Reilly if the time comes in the off-season."

McKenzie, on the latest on Sam Bennett: Cleared for contact. Expect Flames to send him back to the OHL, but it's not final yet.

Source: TSN/ Notes, Transcript: Nichols on Hockey

Nichols on Hockey

Nichols on Hockey

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Nichols on Hockey

Nichols on Hockey