Rory Boylen of Sportsnet: Looking at a potential trade candidate for each team in the Eastern Conference.
Boston Bruins – Nick Ritchie – They may not be able to fit him long-term with Torey Krug needing a new deal, and after next season Tuukka Rask, Jaroslav Halak, Brandon Carlo and Ondrej Kase.
Buffalo Sabres – Rasmus Ristolainen – Another year in the trade rumor mill.
Carolina Hurricanes – Jake Gardiner – Three years left at $4.05 million and a seven-team no-trade clause. Hurricanes are deep on the blue and could move him.
Columbus Blues Jackets – Josh Anderson – Injuries limited him to 26 games. Making under $2 million but is arbitration-eligible. Scored 27 goals last season but only once this year.
Detroit Red Wings – Anthony Mantha – Likely won’t be moved but they could receive a big package for him and wouldn’t have to commit to a big, long-term deal.
Florida Panthers – Michael Matheson – He’s signed through 2025-26. The Panthers defense needs some tweaking.
Montreal Canadiens – Max Domi – The 25-year old Domi is a pending restricted free agent and his production dropped this season. The Canadiens have some other young centers in Nick Suzuki, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Ryan Poehling.
New Jersey Devils – Pavel Zacha – If they select a forward early in the draft this year and if they can add to their prospect pool by trading Zacha, they could explore the idea.
New York Islanders – Johnny Boychuk – The 36-year old carries a $6 million cap hit for two more years. The Islanders need to cut salary.
New York Rangers – Henrik Lundqvist – It would be Lundqvist’s call if he wants to be traded – full no-movement clause. It doesn’t really make sense for the Rangers to trade Alexandar Georgiev.
Ottawa Senators – Anthony Duclair – The pending RFA is salary arbitration-eligible. He scored 23 goals in 66 games this year – only 2 since Jan. 1 though – after only scoring 30 in the previous two seasons combined. They could sell high on him.
Philadelphia Flyers – Shayne Gostisbehere – Was a third-pairing defenseman this past season with a $4.5 million cap hit. Has been in the rumor mill before.
Pittsburgh Penguins – Tristan Jarry/Matt Murray – Both pending RFAs and it would be hard to fit in both.
Tampa Bay Lightning – Alex Killorn – Lightning need some space to re-sign Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev. Killorn’s full no-trade moves to a partial no-trade after July 1st. Carries a $4.45 million cap hit.
Toronto Maple Leafs – Alex Kerfoot – The Maple Leafs will need to move out some salary. Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen could be other forward candidates. Could they consider defenseman Travis Dermott after adding Mikko Lehtonen.
Washington Capitals – Nick Jensen – Not in a cap crunch, but if they re-sign goaltender Braden Holtby they’ll need some cap space. It could come down to Jensen or Michal Kempny.
