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With less than a week until the NHL Trade Deadline, check out the latest trade-related reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Isaac Brizuela . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. Is that Your Final Answer? The Pittsburgh Penguins are reportedly ponying up in their efforts to lure Ryan Kesler out of Vancouver. Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported a proposed deal between the Pens and Canucks that he credited to multiple sources. “A proposed deal would send Kesler to the Penguins in exchange for Brandon Sutter, two 2014 draft picks — likely a first- and third-round — and the Canucks choice of defensemen Simon Despres or Brian Dumoulin,” Rossi wrote on Saturday. Rossi continued to say that it is possible the deal could involve another player going in either direction, but that Penguins GM Ray Shero was only looking to acquire Kesler. Goalies Gone Wild The Minnesota Wild are apparently very much in the market for an upgrade between the pipes. According to Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is after a netminder and was even in on discussions for former Buffalo keeper Ryan Miller before getting priced out. So, who fits the bill for Minnys playoff push? Russo drops a lengthy list that spans from new Sabres acquisition Jarsolav Halak to established number ones like Martin Brodeur and Cam Ward to enigmatic Oilers netminder Ilya Bryzgalov. Snowfall Warning? Could this be Paul Stastnys last week as a member of the Colorado Avalanche? The Denver Posts Adrian Dater writes that if the Avs are unable to get the 28-year-old re-upped before the deadline, they could deal him rather than risk losing him for nothing over the summer as an unrestricted free agent. "You want to keep winning and dont want to break that chemistry, but at the same time if something happens, it happens. Its just part of the business. Some things I cant control and I just worry about what I can control — and thats playing hockey," Stastny told the Post. Dater believes the Avs could probably expect a young defenseman in return and one that might still have time left on an existing deal or, if not, a pending restricted free agent. Call Me, Maybe? Jaromir Jagr is an intriguing name to watch prior to Wednesday. The 42-year-old just became the NHLs seventh 700-goal scorer and – as a pending unrestricted free agent – could be an attractive veteran addition for many teams as they push towards the post-season. But the iconic Czech winger cautions that any team looking for his services should probably run it by him first. “The situation with me is I think if any team would try to trade for me they would probably ask me first if I wanted to go there,” Jagr told the Star-Ledger after the New Jersey Devils Saturday win over the New York Islanders. “I dont have a contract (for next season) and Im 42 years old. What if I decided to go home? Nobody is going to give any draft picks or players for me if they dont know. “Same thing happened when I went to Boston (from Dallas last season). They called before. So Im probably going to know whats going on before.” Isaac Brizuela Mexico Jersey . "The opportunities are going to come," he said Monday on a conference call from Slovenia, where the team was preparing for a friendly. "If we werent creating chances then it would be a different conversation. Jared Borgetti Jersey . - The Colorado Rapids say theyve received a first-round 2015 MLS SuperDraft pick, allocation money and a contract buyout from FC Dallas as compensation for coach Oscar Parejas leaving to take the same job with his former club. PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Rory McIlroy is 18 holes away from his first PGA Tour victory in 18 months, a chance to show the world he is back on his game. Thats not the way McIlroy views the final round at the Honda Classic. McIlroy started strong, avoided a big number with a brilliant bogey in the middle and took on the wind and water on the 16th hole for one final birdie Saturday that gave him a 1-under 69 in the toughest conditions and a two-shot lead over Russell Henley at PGA National. The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland has come to expect this kind of performance. He finished one shot behind in Abu Dhabi. He played in the final group in Dubai, where nothing went well in the final round. And here is again, making key shots and big putt to keep his nose in front in the Honda Classic. "Ive been building and building toward getting my game to a level where I feel it should be," he said. "And Im pretty much at that point now." Saturday wasnt easy. McIlroy might have saved his day with a bogey on the par-3 seventh. He took a penalty drop from under a palmetto bush, and faced a shot off the pine straw across 20 yards of rough to an elevated green with the pin toward the back right. The shot came off perfectly, and he holed the 8-foot putt for bogey. "It was one of the best up-and-downs Ive ever had, I guess," McIlroy said. "And it was almost like a momentum builder. I just bogeyed the last, but walking off that seventh green with a bogey almost felt like I had saved par or I had almost gained a shot on the field. It kept any momentum that I had going to the next few holes." He closed out his round with a 5-iron into the wind to 10 feet of the flag on the 16th for a birdie, and then narrowly missed two birdie chances on the closing holes. McIlroy was at 12-under 198. Asked about the importance of winning on a major tour for the first time since the World Tour Championship in Dubai at the end of 2012, and the first time since the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in 2012 on the PGA Tour, Boy Wonder grappled for the right answer. "It would be nice. It would be my seventh PGA Tour win," he said. "Thats what it is. No bigger, no smaller. And Ill go home and have a nice night and get up the next morning and go play the Seminole Pro-Member. So its all good." He also knows its not over. Henley wasnt doing anything special until he holed out from 150 yards for eagle on No. 14, and then rammed in a 50-foot birdie putt from just off the green at the 17th for birdie that gave him a 68 and put him in the last grroup for the first time since he won the Sony Open last year. Miguel Layun Mexico Jersey. Thats the only time Henley has won -- in his debut as a PGA Tour member -- and he hasnt been in this situation since then. Henley has only two top 10s since that win down from Waikiki Beach at the start of 2012. Now he has to chase one of golfs biggest stars, on a course where only one players -- Ernie Els in 2008 -- has come from behind on the final day to win. "Im trying not to pay attention to what Rory is doing," Henley said. "Obviously, hes playing great and hes been in this situation a little bit more than me. But I still have a lot of confidence and Im just going to try to play my game and not worry about what hes doing too much." Russell Knox of Scotland had a 68 and was three shots behind, while Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela had a 66 and was another shot back. David Hearn (70) of Brantford, Ont., was tied for 35th at 3 under. Tiger Woods is still in the game, but just barely. Woods matched the low round of the day. He was among five players who shot 65, all before the leaders teed off and the wind kicked into gear, but it was enough to move the No. 1 player 49 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for 17th. Even so, he was seven shots behind. Woods has never won a PGA Tour event when trailing by more than five shots entering the last round. "Today was a positive day," Woods said after his lowest score in 10 rounds this year. "Hit the ball well and made some putts and got myself back in the hunt." It doesnt figure to be easy for Woods or anyone to track down McIlroy, who has converted the 54-hole lead in his last four PGA Tour wins dating to the 2011 Masters, where he blew a four-shot lead. That streak includes the Honda Classic two years, which he won to rise to No. 1 in the world for the first time. "Definitely not a coincidence," McIlroy said. "I learned a lot that day. I learned not to protect a 54-hole lead. I should have just stuck to the game plan, stuck to my process, not look at the leaderboard, not look at what other people are doing. ... And thats the reason that every 54-hole lead that Ive had since, Ive been able to close the deal. Hopefully, I can keep that run going tomorrow." It would be a remarkable turnaround for McIlroy, who a year ago was so frustrated with his game and high expectations that he walked off the course after 26 holes, a mistake he vowed to never repeat. "Theres still 18 holes to go," he said. "But Im feeling comfortable with where I am." ' ' ' |
