We’ll start out West this time and if anyone thinks that the Vancouver Canucks have their goaltending situation figured out, forget it.  Roberto Luongo just threw a major wrench into GM, Mike Gillis‘ plans of moving Luongo and using Corey Schneider as their number one.  Or did he?

It was Luongo who made 24 saves for the shutout as the Canucks blanked the lifeless Colorado Avalanche 3-0.  Luongo’s trade value has just gone up so maybe Gillis is laughing inside.

The other side of this coin has the Avs suddenly struggling with a depleted offensive lineup.  After captain Gabriel Landeskog went down with injury, the need to sign Ryan O’Reilly just became much more pressing.  Yesterday we took an in-depth look at the contract situation.

In the desert, the Edmonton Oilers may have found their number one goalie, or maybe it’s a case of Devan Dubnyk making a believer out of everyone outside the Oilers organization.  Dubnyk was 19 seconds away from his first shutout of the season before Nick Johnson tied the game for the Coyotes, sending the game to overtime.

It was there that the Oilers capitalized on the powerplay after a suspect call that allowed Nail Yakupov to pot his team leading fourth goal of the season.  And no he didn’t do some big fancy celebration.  Maybe he was listening to Don Cherry last weekend? The Oilers improve to 4-2.

The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens squared off in Canada’s capital and it was the hosts blowing out their french visitors 5-1.  This was a game of two streaking teams and the Habs looked like a minor league club last night.  The loss halts their modest four game winning streak while the Sens improve to 5-1-1.

And finally, the Chicago Blackhawks tasted defeat for the first time this season, albeit in a shootout form as they lost 3-2 to the Minnesota Wild.

Minnesota’s starter Josh Harding was pulled after allowing 2 goals on just 4 shots, giving way to Niklas Backstrom.  The two had been sharing the starts so far this season and it appears that Harding blinked first and may allow Backstrom more playing time.

For the Hawks, they remain in first place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of the unbeaten San Jose Sharks, who will entertain the Oilers tonight.

In total there are nine games on tap tonight including the Boston Bruins hosting the Buffalo Sabres.  It’s the first meeting between the two clubs since Milan Lucic ran over Ryan Miller last season.  Hmmm, fisticuffs perhaps?  I think so.

Thanks for reading.

Which is why the trade rumors have picked up on Bishop.  The Senators future is with Lehner, a 21-year old who has appeared in 13 games over two seasons since getting drafted in the second round by the Sens in 2009.

Bishop, 26, has yet to break through as a number one netminder, seeing limited action during his three years as a pro by playing in 23 games.  He went 7-8 with a 2.67 GAA.

We know there are teams in the hunt for a goalie upgrade and Bishop would provide just that.  The Toronto Maple Leafs could be the front runner in the Roberto Luongo sweepstakes and the pressure could be mounting after Thursday’s embarrassing 7-4 loss to the New York Islanders where Ben Scrivens was pulled.

Bishop could be a fit in Toronto, although they seem to have their sights set on Luongo first.

The Edmonton Oilers are also a team that have many wondering about their goaltending situation.  Devan Dubnyk has been declared the number one guy and had a terrific game Thursday against the LA Kings.  Two nights earlier he was lit up for six goals in the first period against the Sharks, leading to discussion on whether or not he’s the long-term answer.  Enter Bishop?

Their Alberta rivals, the Calgary Flames could also be a potential trade partner for the Senators and Bishop after they traded backup Henrik Karlsson to the Chicago Blackhawks last week and don’t have much depth in the minors between the pipes.

Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun believes that the Flames could be in the market for a netminder and wonders if Bishop could be a fit.

This morning we learnt that the Senators are in no rush to move Bishop and prefer to wait until teams are in a more desparate state, according to Andy Strickland via Twitter.  That only makes sense with the Luongo buzz taking much of the attention.  After the Canucks finally move Luongo, more time will have passed and potentially additional teams could suddenly need the services of Bishop.  Then the Senators will likely get the asking price that is said to be quite steep.

So while teams continue to watch their 48-game schedule slowly deteriorate, the Senators appear to be in the driver’s seat with Ben Bishop and the teams that would like to trade for him.

The Oilers were tied to Luongo last summer and at a certain time during the lockout a rumor from Edmonton radio personnel, Bob Stauffer that the  Oilers were set to make a “huge” splash once the work stoppage was over.  Luongo’s name was the center of the rumor but it fizzled faster than a fart in the wind.

Now, according to Josh Rimer and Bill Waters, hosts at XM Satellite Radio, they have said that Edmonton is in fact the mystery team in the Luongo sweepstakes and that Sam Gagner is the player that will be heading to Vancouver.

Gillis told the Vancouver Sun yesterday that the deal was on hold because of the other club needing to move a player prior to pulling the trigger on this one.  Looking at the Oilers roster and team salary, that player would have to be either Devan Dubnyk or veteran Nikolai Khabibulin who combined account for $7.25MM this season.  Throw in Luongo’s bloated salary and there is no way the Oilers can have three goalies making over $12MM.  That and it doesn’t make sense to have three goalies on the roster.

Which of the two current netminders Edmonton is trying or would have to move is uncertain, if in fact Rimer and Waters are accurate.  Dubnyk makes the most sense given his appeal to Vancouver strictly on his age.  Khabibulin would be a tough sell based on his age of 39 to any club and throw in that he’s currently recovering from injury and suddenly the marketplace just got much smaller.

In Gagner, the Canucks would be getting a temporary second line center that they need while both David Booth and Ryan Kesler recover from injury.  The Oilers would certainly have to throw in a prospect or a high draft pick to complete this deal as Gagner for Luongo straight up would make everyone in the hockey world question Gillis and his ability as GM.

When circulating the web looking for additional news on this rumor, I wound up on myNHLtraderumors.com where they did a compilation of tweets from hockey experts on the Luongo situation.

Bob McKenzie doesn’t feel a deal involving Luongo is closer today than yesterday and he fails to mention Edmonton at all, rather focusing on Philadelphia and Florida.

Jason Gregor says Bobby Lou to Edmonton makes little sense given how tight the Oilers would be to the salary cap next season.  With pressing needs on the blue line after last night’s 6-3 drubbing to San Jose, the defense was exposed and is in need of repair.

While Pierre LeBrun of ESPN says that Toronto is still the most logical choice as a trade partner for Gillis and the Canucks.

But keep in mind, that all three of those teams (Philly, Florida and Toronto) have all been tied to Luongo and would hardly be considered a mystery team.  Or as Gillis put it, a team that no one expects.  Could that be the Oilers?  Steve Tambellini would have to get magical with his roster next season, but it would send a huge message that he believes his club is closer to winning than most people are willing to give them credit for.

For more news and analysis on the Edmonton Oilers, check out Oil on Whyte.

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