Trade Watch

At the risk of turning any and every post this summer into a Jason Spezza trade watch, there are a handful of updates relevant to the situation this morning.

First, TSN's Darren Dreger provided the full no-trade list that Jason Spezza apparently provided the team some time back. This is an extension of the teams reported on yesterday.

So, there you have it. Jason Spezza doesn't want to play in Canada, basically, and four U.S. markets that have trouble consistently putting a winning product on the ice. I bet if you had to throw darts at this list blindly, you could've nailed six or seven of these teams without having any inside information.

As to where Jason Spezza thinks he is going? Andy Strickland had that:

Now, Jason Spezza could simply be paying attention to what a lot of the national media guys are writing about the situation. But, since the beginning of these trade stories, it's always felt like Anaheim and St. Louis were going to be the biggest bidders. The Anaheim-Ottawa connection has made the most sense, but there's a general feeling that the Ducks may have a separate interest in Ryan Kesler. St. Louis, however, has seemingly made Jason Spezza their priority. Pinning these two teams against one another is going to be huge for Bryan Murray, if he wants to get anything close to the rumored package of a pick/prospect/player he's long asked for.

And lastly, Brad Treliving -- new General Manager of the Calgary Flames -- shot down Bruce Garrioch's report that the Flames had made an offer for Jason Spezza last week. His response is actually kind of amusing (via Calgary Sun):

“It’s categorically false,… said the Calgary Flames new GM, making his first public response to a report out of Ottawa saying the Flames offered up Jiri Hudler, Mikael Backlund, “possibly… Dennis Wideman and a second- or third-round draft pick.

“I haven’t made any such offers. That’s 100% fantasy island. I saw it early Sunday online and had to read it a couple times and had to remind myself ‘oh ya I’m the Flames GM. Interesting.’ …

Treliving isn’t overly bothered by the rumour, as he knows in today’s world he’ll be subject to endless speculation as an NHL GM, especially in Canada.

He doesn’t deny having conversations with Senators GM Bryan Murray about myriad topics.

So, it's not entirely clear if Bruce Garrioch just basically made this up, or if Treliving is playing his cards close here. After all, he did say that he had discussions with Bryan Murray -- perhaps very recently. It could've been about Spezza, it could've been about someone else.

Back with more tomorrow..

Thanks for reading!