Most people expect that former Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla will wind up eventually on right wing alongside Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby with 17-goal man Pascal Dupuis on the left side.
But Crosby took a puck in the face Saturday against the New York Islanders, resulting in a broken jaw and extensive dental work, forcing him out of the lineup indefinitely.
He didn’t need the jaw wired, but is still likely out for a month, which means the beginning of the playoffs.
“Chris Kunitz played with Malkin last year and that’s where he’ll wind up — on left wing,” said an NHL executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
James Neal likes the right side, has no stomach for the left, so moving him to fit in Iginla with Malkin makes little sense.
Crosby, by the way, has taken a puck in the face three times against the Isles in the last year. He needed six stitches to his left nostril in a February game and last March took a puck in the kisser but escaped serious injury.
For now, the Penguins will likely slide third-line centre Brandon Sutter into the middle with Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis, in place of Crosby. Dustin Jeffrey will play with Brenden Morrow and Matt Cooke, in place of Sutter on the third line.
Pittsburgh, by the way, is looking for one more piece: a fourth-line centre whose contract is up July 1.
They could have taken Jeff Halpern on waivers, but he ended up with the Montreal Canadiens. Boyd Gordon of the Phoenix Coyotes would be ideal.
Michal Handzus of the San Jose Sharks is up their alley. He’s a big body, has slow feet, but he’s a veteran. Feisty Scott Nichol of the St. Louis Blues would be ideal, too.
Crosby and Malkin are both left-shooting centres, which means the Penguins favour passes to right-wingers, which is good news for Iginla.
The Boston Bruins’ top two centres, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, are righties, which means they look more to the left side.
Another suitor for the Phoenix Coyotes franchise
Darin Pastor, whose grandfather founded Pepsi-Cola Buffalo and owned the AHL’s Buffalo Bisons, is sniffing around the Phoenix Coyotes. Pastor owns Capstone Affluent Strategies, a wealth management company.
I’ve got news for him. If he buys the Coyotes, it’s going to eat into his wealth.
He says he has a group of investment bankers looking into the purchase. If these bankers do their due diligence, they’ll tell Pastor this purchase doesn’t have a prayer.
As much as the people running the Coyotes hockey club (general manager Don Maloney, head coach Dave Tippett, Shane Doan and the players, ace PR man Rich Nairn) do a bang-up job, there’s a deep, deep money pit in Phoenix.
St. Louis Blues looking to make changes
The St. Louis Blues haven’t been overjoyed with Swedish centre Patrik Berglund or winger David Perron this season, but they might not investigate trading either player until the summer.
They could move Alexander Steen or rookie Jaden Schwartz to centre for Berglund, who’s a restricted free agent July 1.
I thought Berglund might go for Calgary Flames defenceman Jay Bouwmeester, but if the Blues just got Jordan Leopold from the Buffalo Sabres for two draft picks (they plan on seeing how he’ll look with Kevin Shattenkirk, rather than Wade Redden), that likely means they’re out of the Bouwmeester sweepstakes.
If Berglund wasn’t in play, I thought they might be pitching Ty Rattie, who could hook up with old Portland Winterhawks Western Hockey League teammate Sven Baertschi in Calgary. But, again, the Leopold addition means Bouwmeester ($6.67 million for one more year) is going elsewhere.
Wild-card trade possibility for Bouwmeester: the L.A. Kings. They could have cap room if they don’t bring back Dustin Penner. No IF about it, Penner won’t be there next season.
Folks around the Bruins say Boston’s young American Hockey League goalie Niklas Svedberg is untouchable in a trade.
The Swede will be backing up Tuukka Rask next season with current No. 2 Anton Khudobin going to the Kontinental Hockey League. So, any spitball thought of the Edmonton Oilers getting Svedberg in a Ryan Whitney deal is kaput.
You have to presume that the same guys in the Iginla Calgary package that didn’t come to fruition are all still in play.
The list includes defenceman Matt Bartkowski and centre Alexander Khokhlachev, who was Nail Yakupov’s linemate on the Russian world junior team, winger Jordan Caron, who’s a third to fourth-liner, and perhaps Swedish centre Carl Soderberg, who’s second in Elitserien scoring but has never wanted to try the NHL.
The Oilers don’t mind Bartkowski. He played at Ohio State and came to them from Florida, along with Dennis Seidenberg.
Don’t count out a Dustin Penner deal being made
If you’re an NHL contender, you should be on the blower to Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi asking about Penner, even if he has just two goals in 25 games this season.
Penner’s very deep into the coaches’ Chateau Bow Wow in L.A. as the King are playing rookie Tyler Toffoli ahead of the veteran power forward on a lot of nights.
The only time that Penner cranks up his play is the playoffs — he has two Stanley Cup rings. Maybe the Kings should keep him for that very reason, even if they’re fed up with him.
Still, if I’m Boston, I would take a shot at Penner, hoping his playoff magic rubs off.
Toffoli, who’s playing with Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, has talent.
“Just has to get stronger,” said Kings head coach Darryl Sutter, who likes the kid.
Take this to the bank: former Flames defenceman Robyn Regehr, now with the Buffalo Sabres, will be a King at the trade deadline as a third blue-line pairing player.
And …
- It should be interesting to see who gets call for the Chicago Blackhawks in the playoffs. Corey Crawford is the titular No. 1, but Ray Emery was 12-0 until getting the call and losing 2-1 to the Anaheim Ducks Friday on Sheldon Souray’s late blast.
- Former Edmonton Oiler Lubo Visnovsky arrived late to the party in Long Island this season, refusing to report to the New York Islanders after the lockout ended for family reasons. His son reportedly had a hip problem, but Visnovsky got a whack of dough, almost $10 million over two years, to sign again. He’s a good man and a good player, but that’s a healthy wage to pay a guy who turns 37 in August.
- The team that’s in full scramble mode coming to the trade deadline is Carolina. The Hurricanes are dying for a defenceman, so Ryan Whitney has to be in the picture there, too, if the Edmonton Oilers trade him at the deadline.
- Is it just me, or are the Winnipeg Jets also thinking of a getting a team in the Western Hockey League? That’s what the Edmonton Oilers have done, getting the Oil Kings, and what the Calgary Flames have done, getting the Hitmen in their stable. To me, it makes perfect sense for the Jets. They have fans who can’t afford NHL prices and there are those thousands on the waiting list for Jets season ducats. The WHL’s Kootenay Ice are reportedly committed to Cranbrook, B.C., for another year, but they’re the most likely team to relocate.
