Jun 30, 2022
Insider Trading: Dubois unlikely to be traded unless offers too good to ignore
TSN Insiders Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger join host Kate Beirness to discuss the trade market for Pierre-Luc Dubois, the domino effect of the Kevin Fiala deal and what the future holds for Nazim Kadri in free agency.
TSN.ca Staff
TSN Insiders Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger join host Kate Beirness to discuss the trade market for Pierre-Luc Dubois, the domino effect of the Kevin Fiala deal and what the future holds for Nazim Kadri in free agency.
The Jets are still in the hunt for a coach, could there be other big changes in Winnipeg this off-season, though?
Darren Dreger: There's tons of speculation around Pierre-Luc Dubois. We know that Blake Wheeler is available, the captain of Winnipeg, but the Jets competitively aren't interested in going backwards. They're keenly aware of Pierre-Luc Dubois's contract preference, but he's a big part of that team. So there's tons of trade interest in Dubois. However, if the New York Rangers, the Montreal Canadiens or another team intends on landing Dubois, it's going to take a very substantial offer. So, if we're looking at the Rangers, we're looking at [Filip] Chytil, we're looking at [Braden]Schneider, we're looking at [Kaapo] Kakko as one of the main principles and maybe a first-round draft pick on top of that. Otherwise, I don't think that Winnipeg's [general manager] has the stomach to move Dubois this off-season.
Kevin Fiala was traded from the Wild to the Kings on Wednesday, could that start some trade action?
Pierre LeBrun: I think there is a sense around the league there could be a domino effect. We know the Blackhawks have been listening on trade offers for Alex DeBrincat for quite a while now – five to six weeks – but their asking price is higher than what the Minnesota Wild ultimately got for Kevin Fiala, which certainly wasn't nothing. It was a decent return, but we're talking about probably a triple-asset haul here for Chicago in moving Alex DeBrincat. Now, there is a pressure point here in terms of next Thursday's first round. The Blackhawks would expect a first-round pick to likely be part of any package involving Alex DeBrincat. So, things could be coming to a head over the next seven days. Keep that in mind because the Kings were talking to Chicago about DeBrincat before turning towards Kevin Fiala and paying a little less for him.
Kraken eyeing the trade market?
Chris Johnston: Another notable tidbit from those Fiala trade talks is that the Seattle Kraken, I'm told, were among the teams that were there right until the end and trying to land his services from Minnesota. I think that tells us something about Ron Francis's approach to these coming few weeks, namely the Kraken are one of the teams out there that do have cap space. It's not a problem for them and I think they're going to commit some of it to getting a high-end forward or someone who can add to their scoring depth. When you look at the names on the free-agent list, yeah, they didn't get Fiala, but there's a few other appealing players. I think they'll step forward with big offers should they come free on July 13th.
Nazem Kadri earned himself a big raise after a career year and he, of course, helped lead the Avs to the Stanley Cup. Will the Avs be holding on to him?
Darren Dreger: Well, they're going to try hard. Joe Sakic has made Nazem Kadri a priority, right? But there has to be negotiation. Right now, all Kadri wants to do is focus on celebrating the Stanley Cup championship. ... Can Colorado afford the price tag of $8 million to $9 million on an annual average salary? Well, we're going to find out. There will be extension talks with the Avs early next week. Also early next week, I'm told that we can expect the Kadri camp to whittle down the list. It needs to be a family fit. So if it's not Colorado, then what does that list look like? They'll attack that early next week.