Insider Trading: Will the Jets be buyers at the trade deadline?

Does Patrick Kane’s current injury affect any early potential trade talks? Will the Jets be buyers at the NHL trade deadline? Will defenceman John Klingberg be traded to one of the 10 teams on his list? What should we expect from the Kraken as TradeCentre approaches? TSN Hockey Insiders Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger discuss this and more.

James Duthie: We are fully into TradeCentre season here on Insider Trading with Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger, and the most tantalizing guy if he were available would be Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks. The current little injury he has, Pierre, does that have any effect on early trade talks?

Pierre LeBrun: Well, let's put it this way: it might delay a few things in a sense that even the conversation that we've talked about between his agent, Pat Brisson, Kane, and the Blackhawks isn't going to happen until Kane is back and feels good and everything is back that way on ice. Now he skated on Thursday, he's supposed to come back from injury on Saturday so good news on that front but there are contenders around the league that are monitoring his health status very closely because this is a type of injury where there could be a re-occurrence of the injury? Where there's some nagging elements to it, where he'll need some time off again. So those are some of the conversations that I know are happening with some of the contending teams who hope to talk to the Blackhawks about him. But right now, it appears that Kane has something else probably with all the other decisions he has – an emotional decision, as far as waiving his no-move clause – something else to think about here as we get closer to March 3rd.

Duthie: Not a contending team out there that wouldn't look a whole lot better with Patrick Kane in their lineup. Winnipeg is a contending team this season and they have some room to add if they wish to.

Darren Dreger: They do and this is strategic and creative work by general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. Now keep in mind the Jets are slowly getting back to good health but they endured most of the first half of the regular season with several of their regular players out of the lineup and a number of those guys could have qualified for LTIR but the Jets opted instead to save the cap space. So it'll depend on how healthy the Jets are for the remainder of this season but they could be a player, they could add pieces at the trade deadline and have several millions of dollars to do that.

Duthie: I think we all figured John Klingberg would be traded at some point this season, and now he's submitted his list of places he wouldn't mind going to, Pierre?

LeBrun: Yeah, that's right James – he had a full no-trade [clause] until January 1, and has now submitted that 10-team list because it is now a modified no-trade. Ten teams that he could be traded to without him needing to waive his clause. The reality is Klingberg will want to go to a contender, so if it's a team that makes the best offer to the Anaheim Ducks that actually isn't on that 10-team list, I think that his reps at Newport Sports will want to work with Anaheim to get that best deal to get him on a playoff team. So I'm not sure that the 10-team list is paramount in this case as opposed to one of those 16 teams headed to the postseason.

Duthie: Seattle Kraken have become one of the most fascinating teams as we head to the deadline because after their performance last year it looked like they'd be your traditional expansion team and build through the draft ranks. But suddenly they're one of the hottest teams in the NHL – do they use some of those draft picks to perhaps make a run this year?

Dreger: Well, there's some wondering about that James; what we know is that the Seattle Kraken have done well in battling with the big boys in that Western Conference and how great would it be for a new fanbase in Seattle to experience what playoff hockey in the NHL is all about? What we also know is that Ron Francis, the general manager, has draft pick currency to dip into the trade market if he feels that there's a fit out there – 11 draft picks in the upcoming June draft, including three second-round picks. Now, Francis hasn't reached a point yet – it's too early to be shopping those draft picks – but other teams in the NHL know that he has that in abundance, so if there's a right fit, he'll make his move.