Buffalo Sabres forward Eric Staal has indicated he's open to being traded to a contender, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading."

The Edmonton Oilers are one club possibly interested in adding the veteran, LeBrun adds.

"I'm told that he (Staal) would be open to a deal to a contender. He has a partial no-trade, 10 teams on it, but for the right team he would certainly go," LeBrun said.

"Keep an eye on Edmonton," he continued. "The Oilers would have to be dollar in, dollar out - they're right at the cap, they're in LTIR, but they are looking to upgrade their third line, and I'm told that Eric Staal is a name that has been mentioned internally by the Oilers brass."

The Sabres dealt Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Staal prior to this season. The pending unrestricted free agent carries a cap hit of $3.25 million.

Since arriving in Buffalo, Staal has recorded three goals and five assists over 23 games. The 36-year-old center strung together some productive seasons with the Wild in recent years, scoring 42 goals during the 2017-18 campaign, and finishing with 47 points over 66 games in 2019-20.

Buffalo is last in the league with a 6-14-3 record.

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Nashville Predators captain Roman Josi is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the team announced Tuesday.

It's unclear when the injury occurred as the defenseman finished Sunday's game against the Dallas Stars and also scored the winner in the shootout.

Josi has amassed two goals and 14 assists in 25 games so far this season. The 30-year-old took home the Norris Trophy last season after accumulating 65 points in 69 games.

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Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo will not be in the lineup against the Minnesota Wild on Monday night, the team announced.

Stone appeared to suffer a minor injury late in the second period of Saturday's contest and missed the remainder of the game. Head coach Pete DeBoer said postgame that Stone was held out as a precaution and his concern was minimal, according to Las Vegas Review Journal's David Schoen.

In the same game, Pietrangelo appeared to get hurt after blocking a shot off his wrist.

Stone was named the NHL's first star of the week earlier Monday after recording 10 points in his past four games. Pietrangelo has also been red-hot of late, racking up one goal and five assists in his last seven games while averaging 24:57 of ice time.

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St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko will make his season debut Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings, head coach Craig Berube announced.

In a corresponding move earlier Saturday, the Blues placed defenseman Colton Parayko on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

Tarasenko has been recovering from the third shoulder surgery of his career in late August.

"It was a long period without playing hockey, but most important, we needed to get it fixed and get it done and get it healthy again," Tarasenko said.

He added, "The three surgeries is in the past, there is some speculation still, but it was a different injury, not the same injury three times. Now it's healthy, I feel strong and ready to come back and can't wait until I step on the ice."

The sniper hurt his shoulder in October 2019, which resulted in his second surgery. After spending the majority of the 2019-20 regular season recovering, he returned for the playoffs. Tarasenko only appeared in four contests before undergoing the third procedure.

The 29-year-old led the Blues in goals for five straight seasons prior to the 2019-20 campaign. Since 2013, he ranks 13th in the NHL with 214 tallies.

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The Buffalo Sabres are in the midst of yet another disappointing season, and general manager Kevyn Adams expressed his frustration with the team's lack of progress.

"I'm angry. I would hope all of you are," Adams said, according to Buffalo News Sport's Mike Harrington. "I would hope all our fans are because that means you care. ... I've been empowered by Terry and Kim Pegula to fix this and that's what I'm going to do."

The Sabres made a number of big moves during the offseason, including the additions of top free agent Taylor Hall and depth piece Eric Staal. Many expected those acquisitions to finally push Buffalo to contender status, but the team once again finds itself near the bottom of the standings.

With a 6-12-3 record, the Sabres rank third-last in the league in points percentage and goals per game (2.19). Head coach Ralph Krueger is in his second year at the helm, and Adams didn't dismiss the notion that his job may be in jeopardy.

"Everything is being evaluated. (Krueger) understands the situation we're in is unacceptable," Adams said when asked why a coaching change hasn't been made yet, according to Harrington. "The players do. Everybody does. It's just flat-out not good enough."

The general manager is reportedly aggressively trying to make a trade to improve his club. Franchise center Jack Eichel has expressed his displeasure with the club's performance in the past, but Adams said he hasn't requested a trade, according to Harrington.

The team's top players have struggled to produce so far in 2021. Eichel and Hall have just two goals apiece, and Jeff Skinner has collected just one assist while also being a healthy scratch for several games.

Buffalo hasn't reached the postseason since 2011.

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Walter Gretzky died Thursday at the age of 82 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease and other health issues, his son Wayne announced.

"For me, he was the reason I fell in love with the game of hockey. He inspired me to be the best I could be not just in the game of hockey, but in life," Gretzky tweeted. "We will miss him so much, but know that he's back with our Mom and that brings me and my family peace."

Walter was born in 1938 in Canning, Ontario. He showed a keen interest in hockey from a young age, but his smaller size never allowed him to progress beyond the junior level. He eventually became an installer and repairman for Bell Canada for 34 years.

Wayne consistently credited Walter's coaching and support in the early years of his life as the foundation that enabled him to become the game's greatest player of all time. Walter was often referred to as Canada's hockey dad.

"He taught me the basics of life as far as schooling, as far as how I treated people," Wayne said in a 1996 interview with CBC-TV. "I don't think there's any question in my mind I wouldn't be playing professional hockey if it wasn't for him."

Walter was a major contributor to minor hockey in Canada and multiple charities throughout his life and was named to the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest honors, in 2007 for his work and dedication.

Walter's wife of 45 years, Phyllis, died in 2005 after a battle with lung cancer. He is survived by his children Wayne, Kim, Keith, Glen, and Brent, his grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

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Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson will miss Thursday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to The Athletic's Rick Dhaliwal.

The 22-year-old didn't finish Thursday's morning skate, according to TSN's Farhan Lalji. The star pivot is battling an unknown ailment, though it isn't believed to be serious, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

In a corresponding move pre-game, the Canucks activated forward Marc Michaelis, who's expected to make his NHL debut in Pettersson's place, Dhaliwal added.

Pettersson has 10 goals and 11 assists in 26 games this season.

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Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving is looking to add a right-shooting right-winger to his team, TSN's Frank Seravalli reported on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading."

The Flames have often deployed Elias Lindholm as their top right-winger, but he's frequently played as a center this season, and the team prefers to have him centering its second line, Seravalli added.

Josh Leivo, Brett Ritchie, Buddy Robinson, Glenn Gawdin, Derek Ryan, and Lindholm are the only right-shooting forwards to appear on Calgary's active roster this season.

Flames head coach Geoff Ward has been shuffling his lines throughout the season as the team struggles to find consistency. This is how the lineup looked Thursday morning ahead of Calgary's game against the Ottawa Senators:

The Flames sit fifth in the North Division with a 10-11-2 record. Calgary also ranks 22nd in the league with 59 goals scored.

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Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was activated from the COVID-19 list and is in the lineup against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, the team announced.

Crosby was placed in the protocol Tuesday and subsequently missed that night's 5-2 victory over the Flyers.

The 33-year-old is tied for the team lead in goals (seven), assists (11), and points (18) through 20 games.

Assistant coach Todd Reirden, who was placed in the protocol Tuesday as well, is also cleared to return Thursday.

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San Jose Sharks forward Joachim Blichfeld was assessed a match penalty and ejected from Thursday's game after delivering a hit to the head of Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon in the third period.

MacKinnon, 25, stayed down on the ice momentarily before team medical staff escorted him to the dressing room. He didn't return for the remaining 12 minutes of the game.

Colorado head coach Jared Bednar provided a partial update on MacKinnon postgame.

"He seems to be doing good. I think that we got lucky on it," Bednar said. "Hopefully he's feeling good and everything tomorrow, but as of right now he seems to be fine."

Colorado led 2-0 at the time of the hit and scored a goal on the ensuing five-minute power play, and went on to win 4-0. MacKinnon had one assist in 18:05 of ice time before exiting.

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