Now that the Olympics are over, the NHL is back to its regularly scheduled programming. The two week trade freeze has been lifted, and GM’s around the league have until the March 5th trade deadline to figure out what the hell is wrong with their teams – and that means TRADE RUMORS.
GOALIES
Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres)
Courtesy: Pro Hockey Talk/NBC Sports
Miller’s name has been in the trade rumors circuit for a little over a year now. His contract is up after this season, and the Sabres are still talking about re-signing him. He could go somewhere as a rental as well, and then re-sign somewhere else in the summer. Miller has control over his own destiny and chances are he really doesn’t want to be part of another rebuild in Buffalo. He’s 34 years old and in the tail end of his prime. Now’s the time to trade him. Everyone knows that he would love to be closer to the West Coast to be closer to his actress wife, but Anaheim, L.A. and San Jose don’t need goaltending. The closest teams in the West would be Colorado and St. Louis. Colorado is very content with Varlamov and Giguere in net, and I don’t think they are a factor anymore considering the Avs are doing well. The Blues however are iffy in net with Halak and Elliot. The tandem used to a power in the league, but have struggled this year. I’ll get to Halak rumors in a sec. Miller would fit in very nicely in St. Louis, especially with the amount of U.S. players they have, and with the cap going up next year, they could easily fit him right in place. On the East Coast, there are a ton of teams interested, but only two that stand out – the New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals. The Isles are in trouble as they have just lost John Tavares after he blew his ACL in the Olympics and Frans Neilson is down with injury. They need goaltending, but that might not be their priority anymore.
The Capitals are the most interesting team in the Miller sweepstakes. The Caps have been all over the place with their goaltending for at least 8 years now. Holtby hasn’t worked out the way they wanted. Neuvirth hasn’t progressed at all either. They are still very young and have a lot of growing to do in the NHL, but the Caps cannot wait that long. They need a veteran goalie NOW. They have either goalie to offer up plus a dozen or so prospects for Buffalo to choose from. If GMGM wants to keep his job at the end of the year (his contract is up), then he has to make a dramatic culture change and Miller would be it. The Caps are also, at this point, the front runners for Miller, according to more than a few pundits I’ve been reading. The Sabres want a starting goalie in return for Miller, and, so far, Braden Holtby seems to be the best offer they have received.
Very interesting.
Jaroslav Halak (St. Louis Blues)
Halak’s has been linked to the Caps as well, and with this $3.75M salary, I can see why. He’s still a great goalie, but in need of a change. I don’t doubt Washington would make a serious offer – but I feel it would be another Vokoun fiasco IMO. I wouldn’t want GMGM to offer up Holtby for Halak. Neuvirth yes, but that won’t happen. The team to watch, I think, is the Islanders. They need a goalie. Nabokov might retire at the end of the year, and they don’t have a good prospect other than Kevin Poulin. They need to build for next season and Halak would be a great start. Calgary could make a pitch as I don’t think they are set with Jonathan Bernier in net, but that’s a long shot, too. The Blues need one more piece to make themselves a Cup contender and could pull the trigger by trading Halak and someone else to Buffalo for Miller. It all depends on what they offer and if Miller wants to go to St. Louis as a rental or long-term.
Tim Thomas – Florida Panthers: Thomas has done well in Florida despite being on a really, really bad team. He only has a couple years left, but with his experience and drive, could make a team a threat in the playoffs either backing up or stealing the starting job. One team in particular who needs a reliable backup for the post season – the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury choked last year, and although he has been strong this season, it doesn’t mean he will shine come playoff time. Thomas would relieve the pressure that Vokoun did last year in relief of Fleury. It’s the perfect fit. St. Louis could also come calling if the have faith in Halak going into the playoffs. Brian Elliot would most likely go back to Florida in exchange.
Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils)
New Jersey is have a (what for it) devil of a time this season. They haven’t had the experience they were hoping for. Their best player left for the KHL and that left a huge hole in the offense. Jagr has been extrordinary, but he can’t lift this team to the next level. Schneider has been solid at times in net, but there is not enough defense in front of him. The Devils will need to rebuild. Not a firesale, but some good tweaks, and the first place they’ll start is parting ways with Martin Brodeur. Brodeur will most likely retire next year, so he’ll be a rental. Interestingly enough, the team with the most interest right now is the Washington Capitals. They want Brodeur just as much as they want Miller – who knows, maybe they’ll get both! The Caps could offer up Erat, Orlov and Neuvirth in some sort of combo for an easy shot at Brody. It could work. Would it fix the Caps? No. But it would sell tickets.
The Blackhawks could also use Brodeur as well as the Blues. One rumorist says that one scenario involves the Blues getting Brodeur then shipping Halak to Washington – it could happen. The Colorado Avalanche are also a team high on Brodeur. They could send Giguere to New Jersey easy. Everyone wants a reliable backup especially if it’s the winningest goalie of all time.
DEFENSEMAN
Shea Weber (Nashville Predators)
Courtesy: USA Today
It’s not unlikely that Shea Weber could be traded. He’s on the books for over $7M a year in salary cap, and is owed $14M in each of the next two seasons with 12 years left on his contract. That’s a lot of money. The Oilers could use a guy like Weber to stabilize their defense and they have the assets to do it. Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall will most likely be asked for by Nashville, and who knows what the Oilers will do at this point. They suck. The Flyers were willing to forego 4 first round draft picks when they offered Weber a contract and force Nashville to counter. Would the Flyers be willing to give up a boat load to have him on the blueline? I wouldn’t put it passed them.
Dan Girardi (New York Rangers)
Down the road from MacDonald is Dan Girardi. The Rangers need to figure out what the hell they’re doing right now. GM Glen Sather needs to either re-sign Girardi or trade him. The Bruins, Flyers, Kings and Ducks are all in the mix. The Caps should be, but they’re stupid. Anaheim has a lot of interest in him have the assests to move. The Rangers have interest in the Ducks’ Sami Vatanen. Could be an even swap.
Andrew MacDonald (New York Islanders)
MacDonald is having a very strong year on a mediocre team. His trade value has never been higher and chances are the Islanders will make a move to bring in some help for next year. The Ducks may ‘settle’ for him if they can’t get Girardi. The Bruins, Flyers and Kings could also have interest.
Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg Jets)
Big Buff is getting nods from the Flyers who, like every other defenseman not in a Flyers sweater, they love. Buff carries a sizeable contract, and the Flyers would have to shed some talent to get him, but it might be worth it for them. The Caps were interested at a time, but I doubt that now. Buff seems to have some immaturity issues at times, and that could be a factor in teams looking at someone else.
FOWARDS
Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Courtesy: Zimbio
Like Weber, it’s hard to think that someone like St. Louis could get traded. He’s in the tale end of his career, but he’s playing like he’s 28. Bob McKenzie of TSN thinks that after the first Olympic snub, St. Louis went to management and inquired about a trade. Who knows? St. Louis lives in NY, and a trade to the Rangers could happen if he lets it. He’s in charge of his own destiny. If the Rangers are serious, it would cost them Ryan Callahan at least. If the Lightning can get Callahan for their aging star, then do it. However, Stamkos would still need some help scoring. I also wonder if Boston would be a good location. Could cost them someone like Marchand though.
Ryan Callahan (New York Rangers)
Callahan is in the same boat as teammate Dan Girardi. He needs to be either resigned or traded. Chances are he gets traded. To trade a guy like this could career suicide foe Glen Sather. Every team wants a Ryan Callahan. The Blue Jackets might be the front runners. The two have history (Nash) and could make another deal. The Sharks are also an interesting team to watch – it could cost them Dan Boyle, who the Rangers are linked to.
Jaromir Jagr (New Jersey Devils)
Jagr doesn’t want to be traded, but he doesn’t have a no-trade-clause. The Devils will most likely trade who they can to start a re-build with their core players, and Jagr is still a very valuable rental player for someone in need of a push come playoff time. The Blackhawks and Canucks could be interested, but the Avalanche could sneak in and offer up something juicy.
Ryan O’Reilly (Colorado Avalanche)
O’Reilly’s name hasn’t really been out there lately, but the Avalanche don’t seem to want him in their future plans. He’s a big, strong, skilled power forward, he’s been off and on this year and, IMO, hasn’t lived up to his big contract. The Lightning could be an option (Marty St. Louis?). The Devils may even inquire and we could see Jagr head to Colorado with someone else.
Steve Ott (Buffalo Sabres)
Ott is the guy you really want on your team because, if he wasn’t, you’d most likely attempt to kill him. He’s a pest, and he’s good at it. Teams would love him for the playoffs, and the Sabres might offer him up once they’ve dealt with Miller. The Caps were interested at one time, and still could be, although I doubt Ott would get along with Ovechkin. The Senators may be interested too, as well as the Blues.
Nail Yakupov (Edmonton Oilers)
Yakupov has had a really, really awful year. He just cannot get it together under head coach Dallas Eakins, The Oilers need to trade him before he becomes untradeable. The Predators will be interested as well as the New York Rangers. The Rangers want him bad, and perhaps we’ll see Callahan or even Girardi head North. Yakupov is a huge fan of Ovechkin, but I really would rather not see Yaku in a Caps sweater.
Sam Gagner (Edmonton Oilers)
Gagner’s season hasn’t been that great either, but neither has the Oilers. He’ll most likely be traded at the deadline, and the Kings seem to be in the lead of possible destinations. It all depends on what they offer up. The Lightning are another possible destination.
Thomas Vanek (New York Islanders)
Vanek’s already been traded once this year, and he’ll most likely be traded again. The Isles offered him an obscene amount of money to stay in New York, but he turned it down. He’s earned the right to be a free agent at the season’s end. Now, GM Garth Snow has to trade him and try to get his first round draft pick and a reliable player back. Everyone is expecting Vanek to sign with Minnesota next year. He played for Minnesota-Duluth and his wife is from there, but Minnesota probably doesn’t have anything the Islanders need if they want to trade for him now. The Detroit Red Wings, however, do. So do the Anaheim Ducks. So do the St. Louis Blues.
The days leading up to March 5th are going to be very exciting. With the cap going up next year and teams feeling more confident in spending, we could see the return of blockbuster deals.
Personal note: I’ve taken some time off the last few months because I needed to get some things in order. Things that myself and friends worked so hard on all last year abrubtly came to an end by… a certain individual. It sucked. It was deflating. But that’s life. To those of you who actually read this, thanks for the support and thanks for letting me know it hasn’t all been in vain. And thanks to Phil and Brett for being patient.
I’m back.
More to come…
