Greg Wyshynski of ESPN: Looking at the Atlantic Division – buyers and sellers.
Tampa Bay Lightning – Buyers. Could use a top-four defenseman and a depth winger. Have all their picks over the next three years, lots of prospects, as well as 23-year old defenseman Slater Koekkoek. Mike Green and Jack Johnson are blue line options, but Ryan McDonagh may be the best option.
Boston Bruins – Buyers. Have lots of draft picks and prospects. Have been scouting the Oilers and linked to Patrick Maroon, who would be cheaper to acquire than Rick Nash. Ryan McDonagh could be a nice addition to their blue line. Moving Matt Beleskey‘s contract would be nice for them.
Toronto Maple Leafs – Buyers. A top-four defenseman and a scoring winger could be their biggest needs. Have most of their draft picks, and a couple of extras. Wingers Josh Leivo and Matt Martin could also be moved. Defenseman Mike Green could make the most sense, with Erik Gudbranson another option.
Detroit Red Wings – Sellers. Players likely available include Mike Green, Petr Mrazek, Xavier Ouellet, Tomas Tatar, and Gustav Nyquist. The Lightning and Maple are among the teams interested in Green.
Florida Panthers – Buyers. Could use a veteran scoring winger. They have all their draft picks for the next three years, along with the Coyotes pick this season. Radim Vrbata and Alex Petrovic are pending UFAs. Elliotte Friedman has mentioned the Panthers as a sleeper for Max Pacioretty.
Montreal Canadiens – Sellers. Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty, and Alex Galchenyuk could be available. They don’t really want to trade Andrew Shaw. They could have a quiet trade deadline. Plekanec wants to stay with the Canadiens, but best scenario may be to trade him at the deadline and re-sign in the offseason.
Ottawa Senators – Sellers. Likely available are Derick Brassard, Zack Smith, Ryan Dzingel, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Mike Hoffman, and Johnny Oduya. They likely won’t make a huge deal and move Erik Karlsson. The Phaneuf trade saved a minimum of $4 million.
Buffalo Sabres – Sellers. Players that are likely available include Evander Kane, Benoit Pouliot, Sam Reinhart, Josh Gorges, Robin Lehner, and Chad Johnson. They could get a nice return for Ryan O’Reilly if they wanted to go bigger. A lot of players were brought in before GM Jason Botterill was hired. The Flyers and Islanders could be interested in Lehner.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: Looking at the Atlantic Division – buyers and sellers.
Tampa Bay Lightning – Buyers. Will be looking to add to their blue line. Options are rental Dmen in Jack Johnson or Mike Green, or a bigger trade for Ryan McDonagh. They could also look to add a top-nine forward. The all their draft picks and a deep prospect pool.
Boston Bruins – Buyers. Could look to add a forward and a defenseman. They could look at McDonagh. Patrick Maroon could be an option up front. The Bruins also have a nice collection of prospects and draft picks. The Lightning and Bruins could be looking at the same players, so that might drive up the prices.
Toronto Maple Leafs – Buyers. The Maple Leafs continue to look for a defenseman after failing to land Travis Hamonic and Sami Vatanen. The Leafs have checked in on Jack Johnson, but at what cost? Believe they will keep James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, and Leo Komarov. Do the Leafs think they are a piece or two away from taking a serious run?
Detroit Red Wings – Sellers. Pending UFA defenseman Mike Green has full no-trade clause. The Wings will look for a first-round pick and another piece. Would they try to convince the Flyers or Islanders to trade for Petr Mrazek?
Florida Panthers – Kind of sellers. GM Dale Tallon likely won’t be doing a lot. He’s said he could add some stability to their young players. The Panthers already have Radim Vrbata’s trade list, though there may not be much of a market for him.
Montreal Canadiens – Sellers. Tomas Plekanec is a pending UFA, but they could look to re-sign him. Any other trades could be ‘hockey deals.’ Can’t see why the Canadiens would trade Max Pacioretty unless someone offers a young center. Teams are interested in Andrew Shaw, but they may not want to move him.
Ottawa Senators – Sellers. Defenseman Johnny Oduya is their only notable pending UFA, and he’ll only net a mid to low round pick. Asking prices for other players are high. GM Pierre Dorion is listening on Derick Brassard, Mike Hoffman, Zach Smith and Ryan Dzingel. Dorion is asking for a first, top prospect and another asset for Brassard. Believe that one team has told Dorion that they’d give up a first-round pick for Mike Hoffman, but the Senators want more.
Buffalo Sabres – Sellers. Pending UFA Evander Kane has been on the market for awhile. GM Jason Botterill may be thinking that with Rick Nash now being on the market, and if traded first, it could increase Kane return. Other pending UFAs include Benoit Pouliot, Jordan Nolan, Josh Gorges, and Chad Johnson.
