Thursday Pens Points: Habs Gameday, Kesler Rumors

The trade deadline is just a few days away and the rumor mill is churning. Remember that about 1% of those come to pass and, when in doubt, stick with Bob McKenzie. The only blanks that need to be filled on Ryan Miller, Ryan Callahan and Thomas Vanek are their trade destinations. Other names people are watching are Matt Moulson, Martin St. Louis and, yes, Ryan Kesler.

Mike Colligan wrote this piece yesterday about the Pens needing to go back to the three-center model that worked so well with Crosby/Malkin/Staal. The idea is that Brandon Sutter can't really carry a line with AHL wingers and, in order to upgrade there, Pens could send him and a prospect to Vancouver for Kesler, in essence orchestrating the Staal trade in reverse.

Apparently, at some point earlier in the season Kesler requested a trade from Vancouver. For the Canucks it might be just the start of a total overhaul. Mike Gillis refused to either confirm or deny that a trade request was made.

Martin St. Louis was seemingly unhappy about being left off Canada's Olympic team initially, and made Yzerman aware he'd welcome a trade. He has a full NMC and it seems he only has one team in mind - the New York Rangers, who need to move their captain Ryan Callahan. Get over yourself, Marty.

Quite a few people have - first jokingly, then seriously - suggested that Jagr could be a good pickup for the Pens, RW and all. That doesn't seem to be plausible, because (a) that ship sailed a long time ago and (b) the Devils apparently plan to be buyers at the deadline.

A look at how the injuries to Kris Letang and Paul Martin will impact the Pens at the deadline. After the Pens morning skate today, Letang will address the media for the first time since suffering a stroke in late January.

Buffalo Sabres are 2-0-0 since the Olympic break, proving they can't even tank properly. I was watching "The Vikings" prepping for tonight's season premiere, and it got a little too gory so I switched away for a minute, just on time to witness Matt D'Agostini's OT goal. It took a good 30 seconds before I realized who that was, mostly because I didn't remember seeing those moves here. Oh well.

Lost somewhere amid all the speculation is the fact that the Pens are playing tonight for the first time since the Olympics. The Habs and MT are in town. Carey Price aggravated an existing injury and will miss a few games, which means we'll probably see Peter Budaj in goal. Stay smart, Flower! Here's the game preview from Penguins Sauce.

Picture of the day prize goes to whichever Pens fan in DC area this car belongs to. It's obnoxious but at least it's funny. I need to change mine to something like LSTCPEVR75.