More trade talk than in past years
TSN: Bob McKenzie notes that there has been a lot more trade talk going on than in recent years, but it doesn’t mean there will be a bunch of trades before the Christmas roster freeze. The LA Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers have struggled and were open for business.
Hurricanes had a deal fall through
TSN: Pierre LeBrun said that the Carolina Hurricanes had a trade fall through at the last minute with a Western Conference team. They are looking for a top-six forward, and it’s believed they’ve talked internally about Toronto Maple Leafs winger Kasperi Kapanen. Kapanen is a pending RFA, and the Hurricanes haven’t put forth a trade offer yet. The Hurricanes have defenseman that could interest the Maple Leafs.
Leafs still looking for blueline help
TSN: McKenzie adds the Leafs don’t have anything imminent but they’ll be looking for help on the blueline. There is no guarantee the Blues would trade Alex Pietrangelo, but they would listen, and the Maple Leafs would be interested.
McKenzie continues that forwards Andreas Johnsson and Connor Brown are two others that the Maple Leafs could trade for a defenseman. Johnsson is arbitration eligible after this season and could be a reason why he’s moved over Kapanen.
The Kings have some assets they could move
TSN: LeBrun says that the Kings won’t be trading Drew Doughty or Anze Kopitar. Could the Kings move goaltender Jonathan Quick? Don’t think they are shopping him but they could look at it. He doesn’t have a no-trade clause. Defenseman Jake Muzzin could be another option.
McKenzie adds that teams looking for offense could be interested in forward Jeff Carter. The Boston Bruins and Arizona Coyotes are among the teams looking at forwards. The 33-year old is has three years left at a $5.27 million cap hit but only $7 million in actual salary. He wants to stay but if traded and he doesn’t want to go, he could retire and stick the Kings with a cap recapture hit of $3.75 million.
Seattle creating a list of potential GM candidates
TSN: LeBruns says the Seattle group has 10 to 12 names on a list of potential GM candidates. They are not in a big rush and won’t reach out to potential candidates until after the season.