BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation featuring Erik Gudbranson (OTT), Darcy Kuemper (ARI), Ryan Getzlaf (ANA), Mikael Granlund (NSH), and more!
Is Leon Draisaitl’s excellent two-way presence just a mirage? One Edmonton pundit says they may very well be, BLH says not so fast. Read about it here.
A new name in the rumor mill for Oilers fans! Check out who it is here.
Could Tyson Barrie be trade bait for the Oilers? Read about that here.
This is not the kind of news Edmonton Oilers fans will like.
NHL Rumors and Speculation
Satiar Shah: The best-case scenario if the Vancouver Canucks were to trade Tanner Pearson would now be to get a conditional draft pick for him if he’s healthy enough to move before the trade deadline.
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman said that the Ottawa Senators will be listening to teams inquiries about their pending unrestricted free agents including Artem Anisimov, Ryan Dzingel and Erik Gudbranson.
Sportsnet: The Montreal Canadiens have a deep prospect pool and plenty of draft picks. GM Marc Bergevin did a lot this past offseason and he’s said he may not do much. Friedman says that Bergevin is never afraid to make a deal.
“The thing about Bergevin is he’s unafraid and he’s shown that this is an enormous year for the Canadiens with all of his actions so far… So what he’s selling, not everybody is buying. He’s got a lot of picks, he’s got a lot of good players. He said he won’t use things like that to alleviate his cap burden, but if he wants to do something big, there’s probably nobody in Canada that’s more capable of doing it than Bergevin is.”
The Athletic took a look at some potential trade candidates for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both James Mirtle and Jason Siegel listed their top five trade targets, focusing exclusively on forwards.
| Siegel’s List | Mirtle’s List |
| Alex Iafallo | Mikael Granlund |
| Taylor Hall | Kyle Palmieri |
| Filip Forsberg | Tanner Pearson |
| Rickard Rakell | Bobby Ryan |
| Matt Nieto | Eric Staal |
Honourable mentions include Nick Foligno, Adam Henrique, Darcy Kuemper, Mattias Ekholm, Jamie Oleksiak, and Dmitry Kulikov.
Shug McSween (nhltraderumors.me) believes the Los Angeles Kings have two forwards who are very likely to be traded, Alex Iafallo and Dustin Brown.
On Iafallo: The 27-year-old versatile forward is a pending unrestricted free-agent and drawing the most interest of Blake’s hockey team. So far this season he’s recorded seven goals and 19 points in 27 games and can easily jump into a top-six or top-nine forward group on a contender. Last season he finished with 43 points and has shown he’s capable of producing on a nightly basis. Iafallo is making $2.45 million this season and team’s interested include the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins.
On Brown: Brown is battle tested, a proven winner and has outstanding leadership qualities, most playoff bound teams would love to have him. The 36-year-old veteran has one season left on his contract for 2021-22, making $5.6 million on the cap. A steep number for sure, however with the resurgence of 13 goals in 27 games this season, some team’s may be willing to pay it. If the Kings retain salary, their return gets even bigger, it’s likely this is the case if a trade transpires. Teams interested include the Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins.
The Fourth Period is reporting that the Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs have been talking about goaltender Jonathan Quick as of late,
According to multiple sources, the Los Angeles Kings have spoken with the Maple Leafs about Quick. At this point, a move does not sound imminent, but the option appears to be available if Toronto decides to pursue it in the next three weeks.
There’s a belief out there that if Andersen isn’t severely injured, he (and his $5 million cap hit) would be sent to the Los Angeles, upon which Kings GM Rob Blake can hold on to him for their own playoff run until he hits the open market as a UFA in the summer or flip him to another team before the deadline – the Carolina Hurricanes had interest in him in the off-season.
Assuming this actually plays out and the Kings take back a portion of Quick’s deal, acquiring him takes care of Toronto’s starter’s role for the next two seasons at a lower cap figure… It also creates slightly more space for another add up front, which Dubas is trying to do ahead of the April 12 trade deadline.
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Ben Pope reports Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman is “actively having conversations” regarding trade possibilities with other clubs as deadline day approaches. Bowman suggested he could be a buyer and seller. He’s seeking players who can be a part of the club’s future but won’t ship out players he feels can be part of their long-term plans.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL: David Schoen reports the Vegas Golden Knights are unlikely to make moves before the trade deadline. They’ve made big splashes during the last two deadlines by acquiring Mark Stone and Robin Lehner but GM Kelly McCrimmon believes his club is in a different position now. He also pointed out his club has limited salary-cap space.
Sportsnet’s Luke Fox listed Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf, Buffalo’s Taylor Hall and Eric Staal, Columbus’ Nick Foligno, New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri, Minnesota’s Mikael Granlund and Los Angeles’ Alex Iafallo as his top-seven pure rental targets for the Leafs.
TSN: Frank Seravalli considers the following clubs as “soft” buyers: Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Oilers need either a scoring left-winger or a second-pairing left-shot defenseman but they aren’t interested in rentals or moving draft picks.
Sources: Spector’s Hockey, NHLTradeRumors.me, The Athletic, NHLRumor.com, NHLTradeTalk.com, The Fourth Period,
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