Vanek To LA Talk Intensifies

Hearing trade talks between the Kings and Islanders have intensified. Also told NYI want to move Vanek by tmrw's roster freeze. Match?
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) February 6, 2014

Furthering @TheFourthPeriod latest on Kings/Isles intensified talks, could be reason we haven't seen Gagner deal close
— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) February 6, 2014

My Take: As of now, Vanek is playing tonight so is he being moved tonight? Not likely. I feel tomorrow will come and go with nothing going on. It really does depend on which team wants to pull the trigger and when. Most general managers would like to wait until after the Olympics because there is that fear of players with big trade potential like Vanek could get injured during the Olympics, which is why the Islanders would like to move Vanek now. The money situation doesn't really matter because they are just above the cap floor anyways. Also read that Grabner is also available and could help the Kings. Stay tuned.

Interest In Vanek & MacDonald Heating Up!

From Bob McKenzie of TSN

The Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins are amongst those teams that would be interested in getting a scoring winger, a rental at the deadline. Pittsburgh has some cap issues, but Vanek's exactly what the doctor's ordered for a lot of contending teams.

My take: I'll look into who's available from the Kings in a bit, but if Pittsburgh really wants to trade again (last time the Isles did, the Pens won the Cup: Hello Bill Geurin) I would hope Simon Despres is in the mix and of course another first rounder. The Isles may want to trade Vanek before Friday so they don't have his contract throughout the duration of the Olympics. More to come.

Also from McKenzie is that there are teams very interested in Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald. I have read on multiple occasions that the St. Louis Blues were interested in A-mac, but at this point, with his very reasonable $500,000+ contract, I don't expect him to be traded until the trade deadline in March.

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Let The Vanek Rumors Begin

Will Tavares be enough to convince Vanek to stay?

From now until Thomas Vanek is either signed or traded, you can expect to see his name in the rumor mill almost everyday. Enjoy!

Scuderi Appears A Non Option For Isles

Hearing if Rob Scuderi doesn't return to #LAKings, #NYIslanders not an option, team happy with defense, has similar players.
— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) June 25, 2013

My Take: I've said this before folks, Brian Strait is their number 4 and he should be. I've seen him play too many times up here in Pennsylvania and many Penguins fans believed he was an NHL defenseman when he was there for the baby Penguins. The talent pool was just too much in Pitt and the Isles made a great move. This is where fans are really gonna have to start trusting Garth Snow some more. Could the Isles use a little more size on defense, agreed. Do they need to do that now, or in July? No. Give Strait a chance over the full season and you'll see why players like Scuderi are not needed on the Island.

Isles Chances At Bernier

Photo courtesy of ilovegoalies.blogspot.com

Islanders fans, including myself have agreed that the goaltending situation is to be the biggest mystery this coming offseason. There's no secret that many Isles fans would love to get their hands on Jonathan Bernier, the Los Angeles Kings backup goaltender who could be a starter for any team in the NHL right now. But the Islanders would are not the only ones that want Bernier. According to Pierre LeBrun, ESPN and TSN analyst had this to say about Bernier's trade status: