9:15 p.m.: Just as soon as the rumors started, they were quashed by other rumors — such is the way of the NHL trade deadlines. According to HockeyBuzz.com, Adam Foote is not interested in leaving Colorado, and will not waive his no trade clause for a swap to the Flyers.
6:10 p.m.: Matt Hunwick may not be done moving around this season. According to SBNation.com, Hunwick — along with fellow defenseman Adam Foote — are prime targets in Colorado.
According to HockeyBuzz.com, very close sources to the situation say that Foote could be headed to the Flyers, but no teams have come out of the woodwork for Hunwick just yet.
3:12 p.m.: If the Stars are going to get that massive package they seek in exchange for Brad Richards, the guy is going to have to return to the ice. But, according to Marc Crawford, that won't happen on Saturday.
1:55 p.m.: Try to wrap your head around this one.
Alexei Kovalev wants to be "that guy" in Pittsburgh. He still thinks he's a top-tier player. The only reason he wasn't a top-tier player in Ottawa is because it was a "bad situation."
"Physically, I'm still strong, and I'm not much slower," he said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I'm still the same player, but maybe because it was a not good situation [in Ottawa] I couldn't show that. I have a chance to show that now."
If you're excellent, does it really matter where you're playing? Aren't the stars supposed to make lesser players around them better?
1:01 p.m.: Not really a trade story here at all, but this Wall Street Journal article about millionaires in the AHL is a good read.
12:35 p.m.: Friday's waiver list has been reported, and Marco Sturm and Nick Boynton are available for the taking.
Anyone interested?
12:33 p.m.: If you're geared up for the deadline, don't miss NESN's special on Monday at 2:30 p.m.
Kathryn Tappen and Barry Pederson will host from the NESN studios, with reports from the team in Ottawa and Mike Milbury in Toronto.
Check out all the details here.
11:30 a.m.: Don't look now, but those lowly Toronto Maple Leafs are inching closer and closer toward a playoff spot, and that Phil Kessel drama from a few weeks ago might as well have happened in the 1970s. Everything is all hunky-dory in Toronto.
So much so that, despite rumors that began spreading during that aforementioned drama, Phil Kessel is not available via trade.
"[General manager Brian] Burke has repeatedly said Kessel has not been shopped and will not be. Kessel is staying," TSN's Darren Dreger reported via Twitter.
Dreger added that the Leafs could be looking to add a defenseman before Monday's trade deadline, and that interest for forward Clarke MacArthur "intensifies" around the league.
Given Burke's penchant for making deals, you can expect him to make at least a few more calls to the league office before Monday. Just don't expect the subject to be Phil Kessel.
