The Ottawa Senators are expected to continue contract talks with defenseman Chris Phillips on Friday, according to TSN's Darren Dreger, who said the Boston Bruins are believed to be among the teams interested in trading for Phillips if the Senators decide to move him instead.

Phillips is in the final season of a three-year, $9.25 million contract.

Trade talk surrounding the Buffalo Sabres usually centers around goaltender Ryan Miller as well as captain Steve Ott.

Another player likely to attract attention is defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, who confirmed to the Buffalo News on Friday that the Sabres recently asked him for his list of eight teams where he wouldn't accept a trade.

"They obviously want to be prepared come trade deadline," Ehrhoff told the newspaper. "We’ll see where it will take us."

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller said Thursday he believes he's likely to be dealt before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 5.

Miller has been the subject of trade rumors since prior to the season because he can become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

If Miller is not traded, he could re-sign with Buffalo; however, if he goes elsewhere the Sabres would get nothing in return.

VANCOUVER -- Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler was back on the ice and in the spotlight Thursday, but the hand he injured during the 2014 Sochi Olympics was far from the biggest story.

Kesler, who didn't play in the Canucks' 1-0 win against the St. Louis Blues the night before, spent most of his lengthy post-practice media scrum denying reports he had asked for a trade out of Vancouver.

"Completely false," Kesler said. "I'm happy. I love my teammates. I love the city. My son was born here, my kids grew up here."

Reports surfaced Wednesday night that Kesler had asked for a trade at the start of the season, and speculation has surrounded the Canucks for weeks that Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin are the team's only untouchable players.

"It's coming from our seven-game losing streak, and when you have reports that everybody not named Sedin is on the trading block, I think it stems from that," said Kesler, who has a no-trade clause on a contract with a $5 million annual salary-cap charge through end of the 2015-16 season.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis told reporters Wednesday he has had discussions with general manager Steve Yzerman regarding his future with the team.

St. Louis did not elaborate, but according to a report by Newsday's Arthur Staple, three NHL sources confirmed St. Louis requested a trade last month.

BUFFALO -- The Buffalo Sabres are open for business as the NHL Trade Deadline approaches, but general manager Tim Murray said Tuesday there's not a lot of activity yet.

"Very quiet. Quieter than I guess maybe was expecting," Murray said before the start of the Sabres' game against the Carolina Hurricanes at First Niagara Center. "I thought that when everybody was back from [the] Sochi [Olympics] that there'd be a lot of calls, but I guess some guys got back yesterday and maybe they're still jetlagged. We've got a couple playing tonight so I'll give it a couple more days I guess."

The trade deadline is 3 p.m. ET on March 5. The Sabres, last in the overall NHL standings, have nine players in the final year of their contracts who can be unrestricted free agents this summer. Of those nine, goalie Ryan Miller and captain Steve Ott figure to draw the most attention from contending teams.

The Edmonton Oilers will look to add draft picks and open roster space for younger players at the NHL Trade Deadline, general manager Craig MacTavish said Tuesday.

"It's not rocket science where we are right now and what our strategy is going to be moving forward," MacTavish told the media at Rexall Place. "We've got a number of guys that are UFAs that are veteran players that are going to elicit attention around the League from teams that are preparing for a playoff run that will be in all of those conversations. It's been pretty quiet through the Olympic break, but I think that starting today it will start to heat up on a day-to-day basis."

The Oilers have several pending unrestricted free agents and veterans they may be looking to move at the deadline, including right wing Ales Hemsky and defenseman Nick Schultz. Edmonton will have a high pick in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft but has traded away its second- and third-round picks. MacTavish said he would like to make sure his team will have selections in those rounds.

BROSSARD, Quebec -- Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov was welcomed back from the 2014 Sochi Olympics on Tuesday by the local media with questions surrounding his contract status with the team and the March 5 trade deadline.

TSN 690 radio host Tony Marinaro reported Monday that Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin had offered the 35-year-old defenseman, who can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, a one-year contract worth "just over $6 million." Marinaro also reported that Markov and his new agent, Sergei Berezin, countered with a three-year contract proposal, but that Bergevin indicated he wants to go one year at a time with Markov.

When asked to confirm if the Canadiens had made him an offer, Markov appeared taken aback.

CALGARY -- Calgary Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke might take his biggest bargaining chip off the table.

Burke, doubling as general manager of the Flames, told Sportsnet 960 The Fan on Tuesday that the club has offered pending unrestricted free agent forward Mike Cammalleri a new contract in advance of the NHL Trade Deadline.

"We've offered him an extension," Burke told the radio station. "We have not gotten a deal done. We will continue to talk and a trade is a possibility, no question about that, but re-signing him is a possibility too. I would not predict how that will come out. We'll see.

"We have not set a drop-dead date. We have not set that date. We have had discussions with Mike and with his agent, both in person. The last meeting I had was with Mike and his agent. Mike has been great for us. He's been a disciple of what we're trying to do. He's been good with the young kids. He's worked his tail off."