The NHL's Mar. 21 Trade Deadline is approaching and teams are making decisions on whether to buy, sell and decide 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. And follow TradeCentre on TSN and TSN.ca through Deadline Day for all the updates.


The Missing Piece?

With Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending becoming a reason for concern of late, Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun argues general manager Kyle Dubas should look into acquiring veteran Marc-Andre Fleury to boost his team's chances in the playoffs.

Fleury, who has a 16-19-4 record with the Chicago Blackhawks this season, is expected to become available ahead of the deadline as he plays out the season as a pending unrestricted free agent. He has a .911 save percentage this season with a 2.83 goals-against average while backstopping the Blackhawks, who are 15 points back of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Even with Jake Muzzin on LTIR, Simmons writes the Leafs will have to do further maneuvering to squeeze Fleury's $7 million contract under the salary cap. He argues, however, with a matchup against either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Florida Panthers likely looming in the first round of the playoffs, the Leafs can't afford to risk sticking with Jack Campbell, or backup Petr Mrazek. 

Campbell has struggled in 2022 after a red-hot start to the season, he has a 23-8-4 record this season with a .917 save percentage and a 2.55 GAA. He had a .894 save percentage over seven starts in February after posting a .880 mark over eight January starts. 

Mrazek started the Maple Leafs 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals on Monday as head coach Sheldon Keefe said Campbell was working through a "mental block." Mrazek, who stopped 30 of 33 shots on Monday, has a 9-4 record this season with a .895 save percentage and a 3.07 GAA.

Simmons believes that Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals and Colorado Avalanche should also consider deals for Fleury, who listed at No. 13 the TSN Trade Bait board. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner said last month that he'd welcome the opportunity to chase another Stanley Cup.

"If … if … I move, I would love a chance to win," Fleury said. "That's what I play for and that's what I love. But like I said, it's still a big if at this point."

 

Stock on the Rise?

Jake DeBrusk is officially on a hot streak.

The Boston Bruins winger, who requested a trade in November, recorded a natural hat trick and four points in Monday's 7-0 rout of the Los Angeles Kings. The 25-year-old has seven goals and and two assists over his current five-game point streak. 

Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe wrote last week that DeBrusk could be used as a trade chip by the Bruins at the deadline in a possible move for Jakob Chychrun. 

The Bruins, who have won five straight, could, of course, still elect to hold on to DeBrusk, who has been thriving since moving to the team's top line alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

"Happy for him. It’s made us a more dangerous lineup, obviously, when he’s going and contributing on that line," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said Monday. 

The 2015 first-round pick now has 14 goals and 24 points in 48 games and is on pace for his best season since 2018-19, when he scored a career-high 27 goals in 65 games.

“It’s one of those things where it’s just the game of hockey, and you need bounces, whether it’s passes or goals or whatever,” DeBrusk said Monday of his recent success. “But an inch here, an inch there, it’s in the net or it’s not in the net. 

“It kind of makes you giggle, but it’s a very rewarding feeling, because it’s one of those things where I personally had to wait for probably around three years to feel this kind of trend.”
 


What Comes Next?

With the calendar turning to March, decision time is fast approaching for the Winnipeg Jets regarding the team's pending unrestricted free agents.

The Jets currently sit six points back of the Dallas Stars for the final wild-card spot with three teams ahead of them, leaving Winnipeg in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Veteran centre Paul Stastny, forward Andrew Copp and defenceman Nathan Beaulieu are all currently playing on expiring deals and could draw attention on the trade market ahead of March 21.

For now, however, the pending UFAs stay their focus remains on a postseason push in Winnipeg.

“I’m a Jet,” Beaulieu said Monday. “So I’m trying to push to make the playoffs. It’s a bitter taste in your mouth when you don’t get in, you work so hard over the course of a long season, put so much effort into it. So I’m going out there trying to win hockey games.”

“It’s parked for right now,” Copp said of his thoughts on the deadline as he gets set to return Tuesday from a concussion. “Worried about getting back healthy and worried about coming back in and playing my best hockey for the team. Try to get on a little run here.”

The Jets will host the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday in the first of a four-game homestand, which includes hosting the Stars on Friday.