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Despite Scratches, Leafs Trade not "imminent," Sabres, Ward, Hemsky

January 17, 2012, 12:26 PM ET [553 Comments]
Eklund
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Word is spreading that Kadri and Schenn are healthy scratches tonight...From what I can tell so far Kadri is a definite scratch and Schenn is a game time decision...(a source confirmed the defense has not been announced yet for tonight)

There has been a ton of speculation over the last two days that Toronto was up to something big and that something could be happening in the very near future. This speculation was fueled by Toronto sending down Gardiner and then bringing him back up.

I have been told nothing is imminent by a source very close to the situation.

I caution everyone to be very careful not to jump to conclusions and to realize how history tells us whenever this many people know about something this far out someone involved wants us to know about it. There is little doubt the Leafs are talking about making a big trade in the near future, but I also don't doubt there is a degree of gamesmanship happening here. Perhaps the Leafs wanting to put the pressure on Columbus or Anaheim.....


I will continue to update throughout the afternoon.

On Buffalo...

According to a few sources the Sabres are considering a "game changing" trade as well as a possible management re-structuring. One source said, "if what happens is what I am hearing could happen it would be the biggest news to date in the Pegula era."

Cam Ward?


I am definitely not hearing Cam Ward is being shopped by the Hurricanes, but I will say his name has come up a few times in the last week or so...which is more than I have ever heard his name mentioned. I have heard Ward connected to Columbus, Phoenix, and Toronto. I always believed Cam to be untouchable, but recently a few folks have told me he is not "completely untouchable" based on what they have heard.

Hemsky deal close


This isnt the first time this year I have heard and subsequently reported sources saying a Hemsky deal could be close, but once again Ales's name is coming up in many of my conversations. Have heard Detroit, Buffalo, Columbus, NJ, and the NYI.

Many of you have asked in the past, "How can you report a deal is close and then it doesn't happen and you then post the same deal is close later?".

It's a totally fair question, with a completely simple answer. I apologize to those of you who are Hockeybuzz vets and know this answer already, but many of you are new to this site each year...so here is the answer: What I do here, and what makes this site different from others, is I report what I hear ALL the time. I consider my job as a mirror to the rumor mill for you. I don't consider my job as a censor of rumors...where I report only the rumors I think are logical and make sense given my knowledge of a situation...I sometimes offer an opinion, but I don't allow an opinion to stop me from reporting on a deal (see Halak yesterday).

The choices I make on what to report on have more to do with how much I trust a source. My opinion, like any pundit out there, is limited by my specific knowledge of a situation. I always bring up the time I self-censored and didn't report Garth Snow would be the next GM of the Isles. I should have trusted my source, but I couldn't imagine the backup goalie becoming the GM.

The lesson to be learned is ANYTHING is possible and logic can fail you unless you know every single aspect of a situation.. We pundits don't know every single factor. No matter how much connected to an organization we feel we are...there are always factors behind closed doors in the owner's meetings, etc..
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