The Arnott saga has ping ponged back and forth over the past six weeks when the club initially looked at signing the 18-year NHL veteran.  Key injuries have plagued the Blues, namely to Alex Steen, Vladimir Tarasenko and Andy McDonald, forcing the club to consider signing Arnott who played in St. Louis last season.

Originally Arnott failed the team physical when his knee was considered not to be up to healthy standards for the daily grind life as an NHLer can have on a body.

Three weeks later the Blues and Arnott were said to be interested in exploring a deal when the injury bug again crept up on the team.  Arnott had been rehabbing the knee and all systems were a go that included the veteran skating with the club last week to prove he’s able to still compete at the game’s highest level. It was believed the team would sign him over the weekend when the Blues played three games in four nights, the perfect time to relieve some of the regulars with the burden of logging additional ice-time.

Sunday morning Rutherford tweeted the news that the club would not be signing Arnott, finally ending the drama that has gone on since early February.

The #stlblues have decided not to sign free agent Jason Arnott.

— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) March 10, 2013

Arnott still believes he can play in the NHL and will be looking for a home before the trade deadline comes and goes.

Arnott is skating with the Blues today according to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Twitter.  Andy Strickland from TrueHockey.com reported yesterday that Arnott is set to sign with the Blues later this week that will help shore up a depleted forward squad for the Blues.

Currently the Blues are without forwards Vladimir Tarasenko, Andy McDonald and Alex Steen who are all out for an extended period of time.  Losers of four of their last six contests, the Blues are in need of some veteran presence up the middle and Arnott will fill that void.

When the Blues were first interested in Arnott last month, it was the knee of the 18-year veteran that would not allow him to pass his physical, making the Blues leery of a deal at that time.  It was the same knee that forced the Blues to shut Arnott down during the playoffs last season.

Since then, Arnott has been strengthening the knee and has reportedly improved the strength to the point that it will pass the physical and allow him to sign with the Blues.

Before a deal is agreed upon the Blues want to watch Arnott practice and as Strickland reports, Blues GM, Doug Armstrong will simply wait and see and take it as it comes.  Armstrong also points out that the veteran is skating with the club but under a “no strings attached” mentality as Strickland reports.

The Blues have a busy week playing four games in six nights including back-to-back nights on Saturday and Sunday.  Arnott will have to prove himself early if he hopes to hook on with the Blues given they wont’ have a lot of practice time this week.

Starting in Buffalo, Elliotte Friedman of CBC’s Hockey Night is hearing that the Sabres are getting serious about moving a defenseman.  With multiple clubs in need of help on the blue line the Sabres are one of only a few teams that have a stockpile of back end players.  Two names that will surely garner the most attention are veterans Jordan Leopold and Robyn Regehr, both of whom are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer.  Wisely Buffalo will try and receive something for them rather than losing them for nothing.

The Edmonton Oilers are without their top two centerman in Eric Belanger and most recently Shawn Horcoff who is said to be out a month with a broken knuckle.  Given the Oilers struggles to score even strength goals, the club is said to be looking to add some help up the middle.

They could look to the free-agent market where Jason Arnott has been cleared to play after having a scope on his injured knee according to Mark Spector via Twitter.  Daymond Langkow, Brendan Morrison, Dominic Moore and Blair Betts are a few other names mentioned by the Edmonton Journal as possible fits for the Oilers.

Bob Stauffer via Twitter mentions David Steckel as a potential target for the Oilers given he is inconsistently in the Maple Leafs lineup and could come relatively cheap.

Ryan O’Reilly who is the middle of a nasty contract dispute would be a perfect fit for the Oilers but given his ransom demand of $5 million per season and the fact the Colorado Avalanche are a division opponent, it’s unlikely they’d let him go to Edmonton.

Despite Florida Panthers GM, Dale Tallon calling any trade rumors involving Stephen Weiss “ridiculous” the skilled center’s name continues to surface as available.  Weiss is set to become a free agent this summer and there are reports that the Panthers won’t have the cash to re-sign him, forcing the club to trade him and get something in return.

Jimmy Murphy of ESPNBoston.com says he continues to hear that Weiss is available despite what Tallon is saying via Twitter.

Finally, in Pittsburgh the Penguins are said to be seeking a skilled winger to play alongside Evgeni Malkin reports TheFourthPeriod.com. One name that has come up is Nikolai Kulemin of the Maple Leafs who was of interest to the Penguins last season before Brian Burke reportedly turned down a first-round pick according to TheFourthPeriod.com.

Malkin and Kulemin played together in the KHL during the lockout and were said to have some chemistry together.

Stay tuned, the trade rumors are only heating up and as the season progresses, the chatter will intensify.