Countdown to TradeCentre: Up to 8 teams swirling around Laughton
Published
The NHL's March 7 Trade Deadline is just days away 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.
Interest building in Laughton
As many as eight teams are swirling around the Philadelphia Flyers with calls on forward Scott Laughton, according to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger.
Dreger notes that the centre market is shrinking, which means that Flyers general manager Daniel Briere is in no rush to make a deal.
The Edmonton Oilers took one centre off the board earlier on Tuesday, acquiring Trent Frederic from the Edmonton Oilers and the Minnesota Wild picked up Gustav Nyquist from the Nashville Predators over the weekend.
Dreger adds that first-round picks are in play, but there could be more room for improvement in teams' offers as the week unfolds.
Laughton has drawn heavy trade speculation in recent weeks and is in the fourth year of a five-year, $15 million deal that pays him $3 million annually.
Despite the rumours, Laughton took part in Philadelphia's optional skate Tuesday morning and told reporters he is planning to play as the Flyers host the Calgary Flames. The Flyers enter play Tuesday four points out of the wild wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The 30-year-old Oakville, Ont., native has 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points in 58 games so far this season, his 12th with the team.
Laughton poked fun at a possible trade over the weekend, posting a photo to social media mimicking Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper.
Kraken to help with Tanev's salary
There's strong interest in Brandon Tanev from both top contenders and bubble teams, and TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports the Seattle Kraken are willing to further boost his value by retaining salary in a trade.
LeBrun reports the Kraken are willing to retain the maximum 50 per cent of Tanev's $3.5 million cap hit on his expiring deal.
Tanev is in his fourth season with the Kraken after joining the franchise via the expansion draft in 2021 and has scored nine goals and posted 17 points over 59 games this season.
Over 532 career games with the Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins and Kraken, Taven has tallied 83 goals and 92 assists. He has scored seven goals and seven assists in 46 career playoff games.
The Ottawa Senators are among the teams who have been linked to Tanev this season.
Can the Ducks deal Gibson?
As the trade deadline approaches, John Gibson is once again in the rumour mill as he and the Anaheim Ducks continue to look for a deal to give him a new start elsewhere.
Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports that while Gibson has a 10-team no-trade trade list, he's willing to shorten it further to put more teams into consideration, a list that is believed to include the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes.
What has long been standing in the way of a Gibson trade is the goaltender's contract, which runs for two more seasons at a cap hit of $6.4 million. Stephens writes the Ducks would prefer to not retain salary, but haven't ruled it out completely, adding the team would be more comfortable taking a contract back to make the money work.
The 31-year-old netminder has quietly been enjoying his best season since 2018-19 with the Ducks this year. He has a 9-10-2 record with a .911 save percentage and a 2.76 goals-against average.
His save percentage is the 11th-best in the NHL this season and sits well above Oilers starter Stuart Skinner's .898 (35th in the league) and just higher than that of Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen, who has .907 save percentage across his 11 starts this season.
TSN's Ryan Rishaug reported Monday that uncertainty around when Evander Kane will return could leave the Oilers with limited cap space ahead of the deadline, unless the team can find a trade to take on Kane in a trade. Rishaug, however, did not list an upgrade at goaltender among the many things on Edmonton's wish list.
The Hurricanes also project to have less than $500,000 in cap space ahead of the deadline, per PuckPedia, complicating any further moves ahead before Friday.
More moves to come in Dallas?
The Dallas Stars were among the teams to jump into the trade market early this year, acquiring Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks in January for first- and third-round draft picks.
General manager Jim Nill told NHL.com on Monday that deal may not be the team's only move before the market closes.
“I thought we had to get ahead of things,” Nill said explained of the trade for Granlund and Ceci. “In reality, we couldn’t wait. Because of our injuries, we had to move fast. There’s a risk in doing it that way because maybe it takes us out of contention for a remaining big deal approaching the Deadline. Does it mean maybe there’s another deal I can’t get into now? We’re still looking.
“We’re still interested if there’s a good fit, but we needed to do something at the time.”
The Stars have both veteran forward Tyler Seguin and star defenceman Miro Heiskanen on long-term injured reserve, with potentially out until the postseason. Dallas has weathered the storm of those injuries and sit second in the Western Conference and stuck in second in the Central Division, eight points behind the Winnipeg Jets.
As the deadline draws closer, Nill said he will be targeting blueline depth, but noted he may need to stay patient until just ahead of the 3pm ET cutoff on Friday.
“You can never have enough defencemen,” Nill added. “So, when we look at some of that, we'll see what's on the market. That's probably the biggest obstacle right now is what's available until we get a full feel for what's out there.
“I fully understand the dilemmas some teams on the cusp are going through right now. If you're a team that's in the fight to make the playoffs, it's too important to make the playoffs; to make the playoffs is huge for those franchises. Teams are going to have to make those decisions. And that’s why I think it's going to go down to the wire to March 7. You might have some guys suddenly being put on the market at the last minute because of that.”
What to do in Ottawa?
The Ottawa Senators have a chance to make the postseason for the first time since 2017 this season, but are far from a lock to do so.
The Senators remain one point back of the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild-card spot after settling for a point in Monday's loss to the Washington Capitals. There's no shortage of competition around them, either, with the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins all within two points of the Red Wings as well.
Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia joined TSN on Monday to weigh in on whether trading a first-round pick could be on the table for the Senators this season in order to boost their playoff push. Garrioch doesn't believe the Senators, who must surrender their first-round pick this year or next as as punishment for failed Evgenii Dadonov trade in 2021, will swing big at the deadline.
Garrioch has previously mentioned Seattle Kraken veteran Brandon Tanev and Chicago Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato as potential trade targets for the Senators.
Watch the full breakdown below: