Nick Foligno, David Savard persistent trade rumor targets
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic: Yes, Nick Foligno will be a difficult piece to deal for the Columbus Blue Jackets. For now, David Savard is the most sought-after player from Columbus. With the team expected to sell after a 1-5-1 plunge.
Now, what if Foligno were to be on the market? Contenders would jump at the chance to acquire the captain. Four of the last five Columbus captains have been traded oddly enough. If Foligno wants to go to a contender, that would make it a five of six. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche and New York Islanders are believed to be interested. He has a 10-team no-trade clause.
As for Savard, his value has gone up with Nashville’s unexpected 9-2 run and Mattias Ekholm likely off the trade market. Suddenly, he goes from an afterthought to some team’s potential top option. The Winnipeg Jets, Boston Bruins and Maple Leafs could be among the teams. Can the Blue Jackets get a first-round pick.
This has been an ever-changing market and the sellers are starting to become clear.
Tampa Bay Lightning and the trade deadline
Joe Smith of The Athletic: Tampa Bay is the defending champion and in a position to repeat. They will get Nikita Kucherov back for the playoffs and yet still have one of the best teams in the NHL without him. However, the offense has dried up of late. Tampa Bay has also lost four of their last six games and has scored three goals or fewer in all of them. Andrei Vasilevskiy has a goals saved above average around 19 which has masked a lot of the increased scoring chances allowed.
Erik Cernak is also injured but is expected to only be out for a while. Depth is an essential thing to have an abundance of this time of year. Look what roles Kevin Shattenkirk and Zach Bogosian played last season in Tampa’s title run. Having fresh defensemen is important this time of year.
Tampa Bay is in a dollar-for-dollar scenario. It may be harder for the Lightning to deal for a David Savard. However, players like Jon Merrill, Marc Staal, or Patrik Nemeth could be available and easier to stomach. Do these players give Tampa Bay a boost on their right side? Is Ben Thomas the answer? Those questions must be answered before next Monday. Julian Brisebois likely brings in some form of depth.