On the New Yor Rangers and Winnipeg Jets …
Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet: In his “Friedman Five”, which airs on Tuesdays on Sportsnet, Elliotte discussed the possibilities of Rick Nash again going to teams outside of his designated trade list.
One team that may pop up more frequently is the Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg is in a tough battle with Nashville for the Central Division crown and could use another power forward. Nash has a bit more discipline plus can fit in the top six and power play there.
San Jose, Dallas, and St. Louis have been possibilities, along with even Columbus. The return on Nash and whether salary retention is needed could be a bit of a game changer. That may steer teams to Michael Grabner or other wingers.
On the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres …
There were some rumblings that a reunion with the Pittsburgh Penguins is in the cards for Matt Cullen. This still remains a possibility but given the rash of injuries, Pittsburgh could move their thoughts toward maybe Derek Ryan or even Ryan O’Reilly. O’Reilly may be the most far fetched out of the trio.
This is because Buffalo GM, Jason Botterill, is interested in having O’Reilly as a core piece moving forward. It would take some kind of return to pry Buffalo from moving the center. There are other pieces of the team that Botterill is more interested in selling.
On the Toronto Maple Leafs …
The Maple Leafs are in a unique position that teams do not want to be in. They are at the maximum limit for SPC’s (standard player contracts) at 50. This means there will be moves.
Josh Leivo, Nikita Soshnikov, and even Matt Martin could be on the block. If the Maple Leafs are willing to retain some salary, Martin is as good as gone. These are players that can be traded with less effort.
As for players like Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk, those stories are for another time. Currently, the van Riemsdyk rumors have cooled off and may not heat up for a while.