Countdown to TradeCentre: Oilers not planning to move Skinner

The NHL's March 7 Trade Deadline is approaching, and teams are making decisions on whether to buy or sell, and on which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out today's trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.

Jeff Skinner staying put?

Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman is keeping his options open ahead of the trade deadline, stating that his path could still be changed by a key injury before March 7.

Bowman, however, told Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic that parting with free-agent addition Jeff Skinner is not likely to be part of his plans. Signed at $3 million for this season, Skinner has 10 goals and 20 points in 49 games this season and was a healthy scratch for a stretch of games last month. 

"I don’t envision that being the case," Bowman said of potentially approaching Skinner about waiving his no-move clause. "He’s shown the real willingness to work through things with our group, and I commend him on that. He’s had a really great attitude the entire time. Haven’t had any complaints from him at all. He’s a professional and he’s got a lot of pride. He wants to take a step forward and play a bigger role. We’ve seen signs of that very recently, not only scoring the last game, but also made some noticeable plays with determination and finding a way to be able to contribute. That’s a great sign.

"There are not a lot of games left even though there’s a month till the deadline. I suppose things can always change, but that’s not the focus right now for Jeff."

Skinner has topped the 30-goal mark five times in his career and scored a career-high 40 goals with the Buffalo Sabres in 2018-19. He was bought out by the Sabres last summer with three years remaining on his contract at a cap hit of $9 million. He's struggled to find a place in the Oilers top six this season, averaging 12:29 of ice time.

While Bowman believes he's more likely he looks for depth adds than a star player on the trade market, his roster could also see a boost in the postseason if Evander Kane returns from both abdominal surgery in the pre-season and knee surgery in January. The Oilers general manager said Kane remains without a firm timeline for return, with the team potentially receiving clarity closer to the deadline. 

"Nobody knows. Evander as well. It’s not a known fact when he’s going to be ready to play," Bowman told Nugent-Bowman. "As a result, a non-update update.

"As you get closer to the deadline - when you get to a month from now - he’ll have continued with his training. We’ll see how he’s feeling, and then we’ll know how much of the season is left. There are too many factors right now to be able to nail it."

Kane, 33, had 24 goals and 44 points in 77 games last season, adding four goals and eight points in 20 games during Edmonton's run to the Stanley Cup Final. 

The Oilers entered the 4 Nations break sitting atop the Pacific Division, tied at 72 points with the Vegas Golden Knights with one game in hand. Edmonton is nine points back of the Winnipeg Jets for first in the Western Conference. 

Goalie watch in Calgary?

Wes Gilbertson of the Calagary Herald wonders whether the Calgary Flames should explore options to replace struggling backup goaltender Dan Vladar for the team's stretch run. 

Vladar, a pending unrestricted free agent, has three wins in his last 10 starts and posted a .857 save percentage over three outings in the month of January. He posted 29 saves in a 3-2 win over the Seattle Kraken before the 4 Nations break to end a six-game winless run. 

For the season, Vladar has a 7-10-5 record with a .888 save percentage and 3.07 goals-against average, while carrying a cap hit of $2.2 million on his expiring deal.

Gilbertson believes the Flames could pursue a veteran option on the trade market to pair with rookie sensation Dustin Wolf, or give AHL netminder Devin Cooley a shot before his contract turns into a one-way deal next season.

Cooley, 27, was signed by the Flames in free agency and has posted the best numbers of his professional career with the Calgary Wranglers this season. Named to the AHL All-Star game, Cooley has an 18-9-2 record with a .927 save percentage and a 2.26 GAA. He went 2-3-1 in six games with the San Jose Sharks last season, his first NHL action, posting a .870 save percentage and a 4.98 GAA. 

Flames general manager Craig Conroy said he was rewarding his roster for their play this season in acquiring Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers last month, but the focus for Calgary remains long-term success. 

“These players coming in, we feel like they’re going to help us this year, for one, but they also fit the wheelhouse for what we’re trying to do,” head coach Ryan Huska said of the trade. “These aren’t just guys that are going to kind of get us there now. We want to grow with these players.”

High Price for Rakell 

While there could be a trade market for Pittsburgh Penguins winger Rickard Rakell, Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes it will take a significant return for the team to consider moving him.

The 31-year-old Rakell has 25 goals and 48 points in 56 games, bouncing back after posting 15 goals and 37 points in 70 games last season. The forward will have a chance to further boost his value at the 4 Nations Face-Off as he appears set to play on a top line with William Nylander and Mika Zibanejad for Team Sweden. 

Yohe notes that with Rakell signed through the 2027-28 season at a cap hit of $5 million, the Penguins could elect to hold on to him through the deadline and reassess their options in the summer, or ahead of the deadline next season. He adds that president Kyle Dubas has not labelled Rakell as "untouchable" but believes the Penguins would only consider trading Rakell now if a team offered a first-round pick and a top prospect. 

Selected 30th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2011 draft, Rakell has 226 goals and 497 points in 777 career games with the Ducks and Penguins. He is on pace on top the 30-goal mark for the third time in his career this season.