Last night, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Rasmus Ristolainen were both absent from their teams due to illness. I hope they feel well. But we are on the clock to the trade deadline on March 8, and that's the sort of thing that fuels speculation.

Insider Trading: Oilers’ priority is Top 6 forward - Video - TSN
TSN’s Hockey Insiders discuss how Edmonton is keeping all trade options open ahead of March 8, the Lightning’s blueline search, why the Canucks are in no rush on extension talks with Elias Lindholm, reverse hits to be discussed at next month’s GM meetings and roster announcements coming for the Four Nations tournament.
TSN

Insider Trading is all Oilers this week. Jordan Eberle's name came up. Vladimir Tarasenko is also being discussed as he's changed agents again and seems to be looking to waive his no-trade for the right deal.

How about some funny Arizona news?

State Senate bill would ban Satan on Arizona’s public property. Run, Sparky, Run!
Opinion: Sen. Jake Hoffman wants to ban display of “memorials, statues, altars or displays, or any other method of representing or honoring Satan.”
The Arizona Republic, The Arizona Republic

Long story short, some dude, an Arizona State graduate even, doesn't know how the US constitution works and wanted some church votes so he banned Satan. The opinion piece is a timely reminder that the average Arizonan might always play right wing, but they don't actually all fall for this stuff.

In other news the New Jersey Devils are upset as they thought they had an exemption from playing in the college arena.

The NBA had their trade deadline, the Raptors traded some dinosaurs for some new dinosaurs.

And I have not had time to listen, but this is a take on the big streaming merger in the US where these guys are inventing Sportsnet + like it's new:

Will the New All-in-One Sports App Finally Kill Cable?
Matt and John Ourand discuss the new sports streaming platform deal, what it will mean for the future of cable, its drawbacks, and more!
The RingerMatthew Belloni

If there's blackouts, the answer is no, no it won't.

Sergachev to miss ‘significant time’ after surgery for fractured tibia, fibula | NHL.com
Lightning defenseman stretchered off ice during loss to Rangers
NHL logoNHLdotcom

Interesting article about how skate sharpening might aid in safety:

‘We’re skating around the ice with razor blades on our feet’: Hockey safety continues taking next step in evolution
A skate cut to the neck of former NHL’er Adam Johnson last October and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli suffering a cut to his left leg last weekend are fostering safety changes in Windsor.
Windsor

The shopping lists in case you want to make imaginary trades:

Calgary Flames’ Noah Hanifin is new No. 1 on Daily Faceoff’s Trade Targets board
The Flames already moved the premier rental center. They also now have the market cornered on defense.
Daily FaceoffFrank Seravalli
Calgary Flames highlight top tier of TSN’s Trade Bait board | TSN
The Calgary Flames’ relay race to the NHL trade deadline continues unabated as our Trade Bait list expands to a Top 40.
TSNSteve Dryden, TSN Hockey Contributor

Gosh it must be fun to be a Flames fan! All these exciting tear down trades. And then they get to be bad!!! Fun! Okay, to be fair, it was fun. But only the one time, please.

Happy Friday, everyone. See you tomorrow for the ... wait... it's the Sens again?

From The Branches