Countdown to TradeCentre: Rantanen sign-and-trade off the table?

The NHL's March 7 Trade Deadline is tomorrow at 3pm ET 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.

Rantanen sign-and-trade off the table?

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports in the Athletic that as of Thursday morning, the Carolina Hurricanes have not granted interested teams the opportunity to discuss a contract extension with Mikko Rantanen.

LeBrun writes that a sign-and-trade appears to be off the table for now, but that could change before Friday's deadline. Rantanen is up to No. 1 on the TSN Trade Bait after informing the Hurricanes he does not intend to sign an extension with the team before the deadline. 

The Hurricanes spent big to add Rantanen in January, sending Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-rounder to the Colorado Avalanche. The Hurricanes, who also received Nils Juntorp from Colorado, sent a third-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks in the trade in exchange for them eating half of Rantanen's $9.25 million cap hit and forward Taylor Hall. 

In the weeks since, Rantanen has struggled to find his more than point per game form from his time with the Avalanche.

"Probably as expected, but league sources confirm that Carolina has received clarity from Mikko Rantanen's camp as far as not being ready to make a decision on the team's contract offer by Friday's trade deadline,"  LeBrun wrote Thursday on X. "Hence, Carolina talking to teams and seeing for real what the trade market is for him. It comes down to weighing best trade offers on the table versus keeping Rantanen as a rental... let's see how it goes."

Rantanen took part in Carolina's morning skate on Thursday and head coach Rod Brind'Amour said he is expected to play against the Boston Bruins. 

"I know everyone is talking about it. He's here. He was out there this morning," Brind'Amour said. "So I'm assuming he will be here tonight and go at it."

Rantanen has two goals and six points in 12 games with Carolina after posting 25 goals and 64 points in 49 games with the Avalanche prior to the trade. 

In the last year of a six-year, $55.5 million deal, Rantanen is carrying a cap hit of $4.625 million in Carolina and that could be halved again if a team eats salary if he is traded for a second time. 
 

Will the Canadiens stand pat?

The Montreal Canadiens have won five straight games to sit just two points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. 

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun writes in The Athletic that the Canadiens continue to listen on pending unrestricted free agents David Savard and Joel Armia, but he does not believe the team will move both players.

He could see the Canadiens trading one of them if a team steps up with a big offer, but the management team does not want to send the message to players that they are a seller.

Savard, 34, has one goal and 12 points in 55 games this season while averaging 17:42 of ice time. He is signed at a cap hit of $3.5 million. 

Armia has 10 goals and 24 points in 61 games this season. The 31-year-old carries a cap hit of $3.4 million on his expiring deal.
 

Interest growing in Soucy?

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports interest in growing in Vancouver Canucks defenceman Carson Soucy. 

Dreger notes that Soucy, who is signed through next season at a cap hit $3.25 million, has a full no-trade clause and talks have not reached the level of approaching him about it, but teams are calling the Canucks with interest.

Soucy, 31, has three goals and 10 points in 59 games this season while averaging 18:22 of ice time.

The 6-foot-5 left-shot defenceman is on the second season of a three-year, $9.75 million contract with an annual cap hit of $3.25 million.

Sharks listening on Ferraro

The San Jose Sharks are listening to trade offers on defenceman Mario Ferraro, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports.

Ferraro, 26, has five goals and 11 points in 63 games this season. He remains signed through next season at a cap hit of $3.25 million. 

"It doesn't mean they'll move him," LeBrun wrote on X. "Happy to keep him. But given the small number of D on the trade market, Sharks are seeing what comes their way."

Ferraro sits second on the Sharks in average ice time this season at 21:05 per game, behind Jake Walman's 23:10. Cody Ceci previously sat second in that category before he was traded to the Dallas Stars in a deal with Mikael Granlund last month. 

The Sharks have been among the most active teams ahead of the deadline, trading goaltender Vitek Vanecek to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday before acquiring defenceman Vincent Desharnais from the Pittsburgh Penguins later in the day. 

Selected by the Sharks in the second round of the 2017 draft, Ferraro has 17 goals and 85 points in 393 career games. 

Will Schenn's stay in Pittsburgh be a short one?

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators caught some by surprise on Wednesday when the two apparent sellers swung a deal with each other.

The Predators sent veteran defenceman Luke Schenn and forward Tommy Novak to the Penguins in exchange for forward Michael Bunting and a fourth-round pick in 2026.

Schenn is signed through next season at a cap hit of $2.75 million, but at 35, he doesn't appear to fit with the current plan in Pittsburgh. 

TSN Hockey Insiders Chris Johnston and Darren Dreger both reported following the deal that the Penguins will at least explore the trade market for Schenn before the deadline.

"Yeah, two sellers doing business doesn’t seem to make sense at the deadline, but in this case, I do think Pittsburgh will at least listen and gauge the market on Luke Schenn," Johnston said on Insider Trading. "Where it’s at with him, obviously some familiarity there with Kyle Dubas who brought him to Toronto in 2023 at the deadline. Luke Schenn is signed through next season and I think the Penguins are very comfortable having him be part of their team if the market isn’t there.

"They’ve got to get a sense of what could he get, but I’ll tell you this, you look at Trade Bait, not a lot of defencemen on there, so I think if the offers are strong we see him flipped in the next couple days."

Schenn, 35, has a goal and five points in 61 games with the Predators this season. The 6-foot-2 right-shot defenceman is in the second season of a three-year, $8.25 million deal with an annual cap hit of $2.75 million. 

Drafted fifth overall by the Maple Leafs in 2008, Schenn has 44 goals and 203 points in 1,057 career games split between the Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Predators.

Schenn is a two-time Stanley Cup winner, helping the Lightning win championships in back-to-back seasons in 2020 and 2021.

Leafs' pursuit of a centre continues

The Toronto Maple Leafs watched have watched their Atlantic Divisions rivals get stronger in the past week with the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning both pulling off significant trades. 

The Panther bolstered their blueline in a major deal for Seth Jones and the Tampa Bay Lightning added forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde, giving up two first-round picks in that trade. 

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports the Maple Leafs remain active in trade talks, with the team on the hunt for centre help. 

"Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs are as eager as ever to acquire that number two centre or worst case, the number three centre," Dreger explained on Insider Trading. "But I don't think that the targets have changed a whole lot despite the reality of where the St. Louis Blues are and that's right near the playoff line in the Western Conference. Treliving is going to continue to push Doug Armstrong and end until he says, ‘we're not trading the captain.’ And then you've got, of course, Brock Nelson, you've got Scott Laughton and you have some other options, but for me it's that 1-2 scenario between Schenn and Brock Nelson.

"Would Toronto consider trading all three of their young prospects? You're talking about Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten and Ben Danford for Brayden Schenn. Is that even enough? And the belief out there is as long as Armstrong is willing to listen that means that he's absolutely fishing and shopping for an unbelievable return, and if it's not Toronto, is it a team that is willing to also give roster players, right? Because the players that I've mentioned out of Toronto aren't ready to be NHL roster players, so still looking at Schenn and then Brock Nelson for Toronto."

The Maple Leafs are tied with the Panthers for first place in the Atlantic with 79 points, while the Lightning are just three points behind the two teams with a game in hand.