Insider Trading: The latest trade talk two months out from deadline

I think we all assumed that the Oilers D-corps that started the season would not be the same as the one that started the playoffs in Edmonton, and yet they've played very well, Pierre, but is that assessment still accurate?

LeBrun: Well, no. I think there will be an upgrade. And in fact, I would say a lot of people assumed that the Oilers would struggle this year, James, let's just add to the assuming here - and that hasn't happened either. The Oilers are eighth in the league in goals against and very good defensively. The new faces have fit in and, yet, there's a recognition within the Oilers' front office that they've been relatively healthy on the back end, and maybe they don't have enough depth in case injuries start to pile up in the second half. So, they had their pro scouting meetings this week and they came out of it very much so with the idea of casting a wide net in their search of the D-market. GM Stan Bowman has started to make calls across the league. It's very preliminary, but they do want to upgrade.

Now, what does that upgrade look like? Let's talk about assuming again - most people assume there'd be a right-hand shot. It'd be a shut-down type of penalty killer. That may still be true. I mean, David Savard of the Montreal Canadiens is an example of a name that would be on the Oilers' shopping list. However, the Oilers feel that they've shown so much flexibility in their D-pairings in-game - the way (special advisor) Paul Coffey switches things around, Brett Kulak [has] played both sides. They're comfortable, perhaps, also instead trading for a left-handed puck-mover. So, they're going in this trade season with an open mind, a long list and we'll see how the market plays out for them as they try to upgrade and add a piece before March 7th.

Well, it's mid-season in the NHL, but it's into that part of the season in Insider Trading where it's almost all trade talk from you guys. Boston has lost five in a row. There's been some ugly scenes there, Dregs. Could they make a significant move sooner rather than later?

Dreger: Yeah. I mean. Don Sweeney, who currently is the general manager of the Boston Bruins, is certainly open for business. And, all teams around the National Hockey League are either in their pro scouting meetings now, or the pro scouting meetings are happening right around the corner. So of course, we can look at the roster of the Boston Bruins and we can see the holes up front and the areas of need from a Boston perspective. So, their plan is to map out a strategy which would take them up to March 7th, unless a deal that makes sense to Boston comes around in the very near future. Now, they've got some free-agent players and pieces that definitely could and likely will be in play. Look at (forward) Trent Frederic, who's a pending unrestricted free agent, and look at (forward) Justin Brazeau, who's had a wonderful year for the Boston Bruins. Again, contractually, he needs some attention. So big decisions ahead both on and off the ice in Boston.

Boston's fall and the rise of a bunch of other teams has made it kind of a wild-card mess, which will make things really interesting for a bunch of teams around trade deadline as far as buyers or sellers - and Montreal has put themselves in that position. Does their ascension as of late, Pierre, affect the Jake Evans contract negotiations or what they might do with him?

LeBrun: I don't know that Habs (executives) Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are going to get too carried away with their ascension in the sense that, you know, the long term I think still trumps the short term, except for one thing. I mean, the Habs have already let (forward) Jake Evans know that they would like to sign him, that they would like to keep him around past this year. But what that looks like and if that can be accomplished, absolutely remains to be seen. Jake Evans is 28. He's having a career year. He's also shooting (28.6 per cent), which is way above his career average of (10.2 per cent). So, there's all kinds of factors to look at. But if Jake Evans wants to hit the home run, as maybe he should because he's 28, this might be his one shot at it with July 1st. That home-run deal does not happen much at all. He knows that. So, he either finds a way to make something work for the Habs and they'd be happy to sign him. Or, he does go to market. And if they can't sign him, listen - regardless of where they are in the standings, he only makes $1.7 million. There are teams looking for cheap centres. He's having a great year, I can tell you, the New Jersey Devils have already kicked the tires on Jake Evans with Montreal just to see what was happening. So, keep an eye - that's a file that could go either way right to the end of March.

Dregs, I'm just back from Ottawa where we watched Canada lose in the quarter-finals. In the wake of this, is Hockey Canada considering any significant changes to the way it does things?

Dreger: Well, in short, yes. I mean, they're going through their full review process right now. I mean, look, there are people around the country who want to burn the Hockey Canada flag. Well, that's an exaggeration. So, maybe there will be changes. I know there are changes being considered within hockey operations. The idea of hiring a full-time general manager will be considered. Will this general manager oversee the World Junior program only? Will he be involved in other aspects of Hockey Canada? What about the notion of full-time coach? Again, an experienced person with some ideas, creativity who could also bolster what you have under the leadership of Scott Salmond and hockey operations. But again, I think you need to take stock despite the disappointment of back-to-back losses [for] Team Canada at the World Juniors. Look at the success under the umbrella here. You've got the men's and women's both ranked No. 1 by the IIHF. Success at the under-18, success at the under-17 and the para world champion. So, a lot of winning happening with the badge of Hockey Canada.