Insider Trading: What’s the market for Habs' Evans, Armia?

TSN Hockey Insiders Pierre LeBrun, Chris Johnston, and Darren Dreger join host Gino Reda and have the latest rumblings ahead of the trade deadline, including the Habs and UFA forwards Jake Evans and Joel Armia. 

Just over a week to the NHL trade deadline. It's crunch time. So, let's bring in the Insiders - Pierre LeBrun, Chris Johnston and Darren Dreger. Guys, with less than a quarter of the season to go the Habs' playoff hopes are fading. Have they made any decisions on pending UFAs Jake Evans and Joel Armia? 

LeBrun: Well, I think it's important to say they haven't given up on playing meaningful games, but they're also not going to let emotion rule the day. They are talking to teams about their pending UFAs, and that certainly leads with Jake Evans, whom they have not been able to bridge the gap in contract talks. Having checked on that situation again today - still a sizable gap there. So, he's most likely getting dealt. And Joel Armia, who kills penalties with Evans, those are the two most notable players getting traction from Montreal. Now, what the Habs have told teams calling: 'We don't have to trade these guys. We've got a lot of draft picks in this organization from our rebuild. If you're not serious in your offers, we're happy to keep them.' So, that message has been sent. But among the teams that I believe have called Montreal on either Evans and/or Armia: Winnipeg, Toronto, Edmonton, New Jersey and Minnesota, among others.
 
Dreger: It makes sense that Winnipeg would check in, right fellas? I mean, Joel Armia, for starters, is a former Winnipeg Jet. They know him and they like that type of player. He can be a bottom-six guy. He can play in their top-six if somebody gets injured. But that's the type of player - I would include Evans as well - that Winnipeg is more interested in depth. Yes, Kevin Cheveldayoff is making his calls on bigger pieces, and the reality is that the market hasn't truly been defined yet. But I think there's also an appreciation for what the Winnipeg Jets have accomplished to this point of the regular season. And, this group has earned its opportunity to make its run. So, I see Winnipeg adding a forward, maybe a defenceman, but more on the side of depth as opposed to a bigger splash.
 
It's been almost a month since the Avs shipped Mikko Rantanen to the Canes and we get the sense his head is still spinning from the shock of it. Could we see a move again before the deadline?

Johnston: Well, at this hour that still remains to be seen. A big reason as to why is Carolina's still waiting for a decision from Mikko Rantanen if he will engage with them on extension talks. What I can tell you is that at some point in the next few days, perhaps by the end of the weekend, Rantanen's camp is expected to formally indicate to the Hurricanes where they want to go next. Obviously, if the answer is they don't want to engage in talks at this time, then he's got to live with whatever happens. And on that side of the ledger, the Hurricanes have been talking to a number of teams. What they've told them so far: 'We do not intend to trade this player. We will circle back if that changes.' But at this point in time, Carolina is not talking trade in a serious way with the other teams. They have to figure out where Rantanen's head is at in the first place.
 
Over the next few days, we can expect general managers across the league to start sitting guys that they try to move at this point. Could the Bruins get caught paying the price for not making that move soon enough?

Johnston: They're now in a tough spot with Trent Frederic, who's officially week-to-week with what is a lower-body injury for him. But the feeling still is that this is a player they're going to be able to move. It's a pending UFA that the Bruins have had a lot of interest in. And I think some of the teams calling here wanted to know  - how many weeks is week-to- week? Because we have seen in the past, players have been traded and put right onto LTIR. So, we'll see if that is potentially an option for Frederic. But whichever way it falls, it's not believed certainly to be a season-ending injury. And the Bruins do believe that this is a player they still could move if that's the direction they go by next Friday.
 
Sabres are dead last in the conference, so it's no surprise that the vultures are circling right now. What's the talk out of Buffalo?
 
Dreger: It feels like it's been the same for the last few months anyway, hasn't it? When you're looking at Dylan Cozens or Bowen Byram and add Alex Tuch's name to the list more recently. But, look, there's interest in all three of those guys. They're all key players for the Buffalo Sabres, but there is no offer that resembles anything close that Kevyn Adams would take to consider moving one of those pieces. So, that's going to have to change. There's time for it to change. There's interest. There's need around the National Hockey League. So, it is possible but the offers and the interest are going to have to elevate in a big way for Kevyn Adams to move a player - any of those players given their significance.

LeBrun: Another big name that teams are wondering what exactly is going to happen with him is Brock Nelson - a pending UFA - and he's kind of holding up a lot of things. There are so many teams looking at center help. He's one of the big names, but there's still no clear indication from the New York Islanders that Brock Nelson will actually be made available. Part of that is I think the Islanders are still hoping to try and re-sign him and that's not been resolved one way or another. Now, I did have the chance to speak with Isles GM Lou Lamoriello on this day. You know he's going to keep things close to his vest. When I asked him about Nelson, he said: 'All I will say is that he's an Islander and he's certainly an integral part of our team.' But I think part of that is, again, is I think he's trying to sign him. The one thing Lamoriello did concede is when I asked him about not always trading pending UFAs in the past - in other cases on other teams - and Lamoriello said 'Yes', that is part of his of his history. But he didn't tip his hand either way as to what that might mean for Brock Nelson.