I asked HendricksHockey’s Hockey Insider for some rumors back last week. He gave me a blog 2 days ago, but it sat in my inbox because of a work deadline.

Lo and behold…his Phaneuf call came true. Calgary was desperate to move him.

So here it is…

Hey all, Hockey Insider here from HendricksHockey.com; Big thanks to Hockey Independant for the invite to write a piece for all you hockey nuts! Now for the rumors and speculation;

-Ray Whitney is on the trade block and im 90% sure he will be dealt this season. If the Kings cannot land Kovalchuk i feel very confident Whitney will land in L.A. this season. There are up to 4 teams not including the Kings that have interest.

-Dion Phanuef has been rumored to possibly be on his way out of Calgary, a unamed G.M. has also came out and said the Flames are “desperate to move him” but my sources feel Phanuef will stay put unless a deal blows them out of the water.

-Sheldon Souray is not a lock to be moved this season; Yes, the Oilers are exploring all options so it looks as though it is more likely he gets dealt, but the problem is the $5.5 million dollar contract that goes along with him. That being said, Im told the Bruins have and quote “been in the most consistent contact with the Oilers regarding him” so if he is moved the Bruins look to be the frontrunners at this time.

-It looks like Kovalchuk will not reamin a Thrasher, the Kings are the frontrunners, but they are up to 5 more teams that are “serious” about squiring the Russian sniper.

-Halak is not being shopped and will not be moved at this time, it is possible that closer to the trade deadline he gets moved but my sources say “not at this time”(I think he will not get moved period). Not to mention he has better stats than Price this season…

-There have been rumors that the Canucks have been scouting David Backes; This is for sure…the Blues do not plan to trade Backes and wont. My sources feel Paul Kariya and Jay McClement are two players the Canucks may be looking at.

-The Wild are trying to find Petr Sykora a new home, but there are no takers at this time.

-Dont be surprised if Peter Mueller is dealt by the deadline. No question that many teams will be interested.

Feel free to visit HendricksHockey.com and follow me on twitter; NHLSourcesSay