Countdown to TradeCentre: Oilers in on Chychrun?
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The NHL's March 3 Trade Deadline is approaching, 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.
Chychrun on Oilers radar
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports Edmonton Oilers and Arizona Coyotes were progressing on Jakob Chychrun trade negotiations Monday before things cooled in the late afternoon.
Dreger notes Oilers general manager Ken Holland is also talking with the Columbus Blue Jackets about Vladislav Gavrikov and the Nashville Predators on Mattias Ekholm
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun believes Gavrikov is "Plan C" for the Oilers, though likely the easiest to complete. He is a pending unrestricted free agent, while Chychrun (two years at a $4.6 million cap hit) and Ekholm (three years at $6.25M) both have term remaining on their contracts beyond this season.
LeBrun adds he's heard the Predators' ask for Ekholm started with two first-round picks as of last week.
Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch reports the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins are also among the teams looking into Chychrun as the deadline nears.
Chychrun, who has been featured on the TSN Trade Bait Board dating back to last season, currently sits No. 2 on the list.
The 24-year-old has registered seven goals and 21 assists in 36 games this season, his seventh with the Coyotes. He has not played since Feb. 10, being scratched for "trade-related reasons."
The 32-year-old Ekholm has five goals and 18 points in 57 games this season, his 12th in Nashville. He is playing out the first season of a four-year, $25 million contract extension signed in 2021.
Karlsson staying in San Jose?
It appears a blockbuster trade for the NHL's top-scoring defenceman may not come together by the trade deadline after all.
San Jose Sharks veteran Erik Karlsson said Monday he has not been asked to waive his no-move clause and would be surprised if he was asked before Friday's deadline.
"I think it would be weird if (Sharks general manager Mike Grier) comes to me with three days left and asked me to waive my no-move," Karlsson said. "We've had plenty of time for that, if that was the case, so I'm not too worried about it. I'm just here to play hockey and enjoy my time."
The 32-year-old has been linked to potential trades throughout his resurgent year with the Sharks, with the Edmonton Oilers among the reported suitors. Karlsson has 19 goals and 77 points in 60 games this season and his just five points from tying his carrer-high of 82 points set with the Ottawa Senators in 2015-16.
Grier did not fully close the door on trading Karlsson Monday, though he admitted he expects the blueliner to play out the season with the Sharks.
"I mean, there's teams that still always want to check in," Grier said. "When you've got a great player like that who can make a difference and maybe win you the Stanley Cup, I think there's always a little bit of interest. But at the same time, I think with five days to go before the deadline to make everything work, it might be something that's difficult to pull off.
"At the end of the day if someone wants him bad enough, as they say, where there's a will there's a way. I don't know for sure, but at this time I'm anticipating him being here for the rest of the season."
Karlsson carries the league's fourth-highest cap hit this season at $11.5 million and remains signed for four more seasons on his eight-year contract.
A first-round pick in 2008, the Landsbro, Sweden native is on track to miss the playoffs for the eighth time in his 14 year career and the fourth straight year with the Sharks. San Jose is fourth-last in the NHL standings and traded their leading goal-scorer this season, Timo Meier, to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday.
"Yeah, it does [stink] that we're in the situation that we're in and we're not fighting for a playoff spot," Karlsson said. "We know that it's going to be another year where you go home early. That's the tough part of the business. It is what it is. Just staying in the now and trying to enjoy each day. I've been doing a good job of that so far and I expect to keep that up for the rest of the season."
Will the Senators move Watson?
Ottawa Senators pending unrestricted free agent Austin Watson is waiting to see whether or not he'll be moved at the trade deadline.
Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports Watson's preference would be to stay in Ottawa, but adds "the indications are every contender in the Western Conference has, at the very least, kicked tires on Watson."
The 31-year-old winger has five goals and seven points in 55 games this season. He carries a cap hit of $1.5 million on his expiring deal.
“It’ll be interesting,” Watson said Monday of the wait for the deadline. “This is part of the gig. I’ve been through these situations enough to know that you just worry about what you can control.
“You have to look at what’s ahead of you and you just have to take it a day at a time. There’s been a lot going on in the NHL world the last three of four days. I don’t expect that to slow down.”
The Senators picked up a key win the playoff race Monday, defeating the Detroit Red Wings 6-2 in the first of back-to-back games against them. Ottawa remains five points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with four teams - the Buffalo Sabres, Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Washingto Capitals - sandwiched between them.
Senators veteran Derick Brassard, also a pending UFA, argued Monday for general manager Pierre Dorion to be a buyer at the deadline as Ottawa chases its first playoff berth since reaching the Eastern Conference Final in 2017.
“I honest think we’ve earned the right for maybe Pierre to add a player at the deadline," Brassard said. “This group is trying to make the next step and we’ve made progress all year long.
“We’ve had some tough moments but I think in the last two months our play is well-deserved for that and we’ll see what Pierre is going to do. I’m sure he’s going to try to help us but I feel like this group, we’re going to go right to the end. I know there’s a lot of teams battling for two spots.
“We believe in our chances and we believe in those games that we have.”
Change of direction?
With the Atlantic Division arms race in full swing, it appears the Detroit Red Wings have had a change in mindset when it comes to pending unrestricted free agent Tyler Bertuzzi.
After it was reported last week the Red Wings planned to keep the 28-year-old winger, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports Detroit is now willing to once again listen on Bertuzzi in trade talks. He notes the ask from the Red Wings is a first-round pick and more.
The change of heart comes as the Red Wings have lost two straight games to fall back out of the playoff picture, while watching their Atlantic rivals in the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning all make moves to boost their rosters.
Bertuzzi, 28, has four goals and 14 points in 28 games this season, the last of a two-year, $9.5 million contract carrying a cap hit of $4.75 million. He had a career year in 2021-22, scoring 30 goals and adding 32 assists in 61 games.
The Red Wings, who have missed the playoffs in each of the past six seasons, enter play Tuesday sitting three points back of Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild-card spot and five points back of the New York Islanders for the top wild-card spot, with four games in hand.
After falling to the Senators on Monday, the Red Wings will have an opportunity to snap their losing skid at two games in Ottawa Tuesday night.