The 2014 NHL Entry Draft is tonight in Philadelphia.
No one seems to be taking much notice.
A down year, some feel, in the prospective draft pool and the always hot trade market have the eyeballs and twitter accounts pointed squarely at the rumor mill as things heat up.
What will Jim Nill do? The indications early are…maybe not that much just yet.
Stars GM Jim Nill on trade chatter; “There’s lots of talk going on, but I can’t say there is a lot going on. But there is a lot talk.”
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) June 27, 2014
What rumors are the Dallas Stars involved in? We turn to the most reliable source for such things in Mike Heika, who answered this question in a DMN chat yesterday…
>> Amongst available defenseman via trade or free agency who does Nill target?
by Mikey Lu 2:23 PM yesterday
>> From what I am hearing, none. We’ll see, he could be sandbagging.
None. That kind of sums things up for the Stars right now, who are quiet- who have been quiet for multiple administrations now. There were no rumblings about the Kari Lehtonen trade. Or the Goligoski deal. There was about 38 seconds of warning on the Seguin/Eriksson deal last summer. If they’re up to something they keep it quiet.
The only real chatter has been about Jason Spezza, and that mostly comes from the always running mouth of Bruce Garrioch.
Lots of talk here the Dallas Stars have kicked tires on C Jason Spezza. They have been mentioned before. #Sens
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) June 26, 2014
Would the Stars do that, though? Does he fit their speed game? Does it make sense to part with a number of assets just to get a year from a guy like that, when he’ll likely want an extension longer than Dallas can stomach?
Anaheim and St. Louis are believed to be talking Spezza as well. Invariably, it seems, the West always gets richer.
There are other centers out there, but the Stars aren’t being linked to any of them…
Trade senses are on high alert. Starting to sound like Kesler deal is inching closer. Still working on destination, but next 24hrs, perhaps.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 26, 2014
Kesler could move. Or not. Wouldn’t he benefit from Desjardins taking over there? Anaheim is one team you hear people talking about, but it could be a lot of guff. Chicago as well.
Here’s the latest…
ANA and VAN working hard at Kesler deal…trying to get it done
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 27, 2014
Because Anaheim really needs to get that much better. Good grief… Update on this- Dreger says it’s pretty much a done deal. Yikes.
Joe Thornton rumors persist, but he may not want to go anywhere, and he’s in complete control. The Ottawa Sun says SJ “may” try to engage teams and then let Thornton decide between them.
How about Patrick Sharp? There are some rumors trying to gain momentum out there about him. Kypreos doesn’t seem impressed…
“@ChrisKuc: Source says #Blackhawks are listening to offers for winger Patrick Sharp.” giggle
— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) June 27, 2014
Then there’s the tale of Evander Kane, who, in a fit of spectacular idiocy, decided to favorite a tweet about him being traded to the Flyers. As Puck Daddy points out, this could be a new fad in trade-requesting methodology. He’s since “unfavorited” it.
Some are saying that it’s actually pretty quiet out there…
Sabres GM Tim Murray is shocked at how little talk there has been among GMs in the past few hours…same message as Senators GM Bryan Murray
— Ken Warren (@Citizenkwarren) June 27, 2014
And then there are stories that perhaps it’s because trades have been agreed to already, and will be announced this evening…
Dreger “in fact, I’ve heard stories that trades that have basically been agreed to & will be signed off at the draft floor”
— Hope_Smoke (@Hope_Smoke) June 27, 2014
The rumors about defensemen are practically non-existent. There’s a little chatter about Tyler Myers, and I like this context the best because it makes me insane…
Wonder if Detroit’s interest in Myers is because they are fearful of Niskanen bidding going too high.
— Joe Yerdon (@JoeYerdonPHT) June 27, 2014
A bidding war. For Matt Niskanen. This is the way of the NHL now. Defensemen are just pure gold. Any of them.
Here’s another who may get dealt- Jason Garrison from Vancouver.
Hearing TB and MTL as potential landing spots for Garrison. TB was interested in Garrison when he was UFA and chose VAN.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 27, 2014
Meanwhile there’s some drama surrounding the Florida Panthers and their first overall pick. Dave Tallon told media he’s had an offer for it that goes “above and beyond”, but he’s not sure what to do. Most think they’ll keep the pick.
Here we go…Tallon & his staff sleeping on it but a deal could be done tomorrow. Exciting times for hockey fans! http://t.co/0AwlwEjKJQ
— Travis MacKay (@NSHockeyInsider) June 27, 2014
The fun will be revealed tonight, and hopefully some that no one sees coming.
If you think, like I do, that there won’t be much happening for the Stars tonight outside of a nondescript mid-first-rounder that needs a few more years in juniors, you could always spend time laughing at the Leafs…
Leafs aren’t in on Spezza because Sens won’t deal him there. Kesler won’t waive for Toronto. Nonis has to consider other options.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) June 27, 2014
No one wants to send players there. No one wants to volunteer to go there. Funny stuff.