Trade deadline activity definitely heating up
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period: As teams continue to sit out players for “precautionary reasons” for protection, the trade deadline activity gets hotter. With Kyle Palmieri now off the market, teams are scrambling towards other plans. Mattias Ekholm now appears off the market too so David Savard has vaulted up a lot of lists. Savard was a healthy scratch on Thursday which only fueled more speculation.
If Columbus is willing to retain part of Savard’s salary then the door opens to many teams including Winnipeg, Tampa Bay, and Colorado among others. Nick Foligno is on the radar for many teams including the Boston Bruins. Montreal, Toronto, and Colorado are exploring options that include Foligno.
The other big fish from Columbus is Elvis Merzlikins. Does Boston or Colorado consider the goaltender? Darcy Kuemper is on Boston’s radar too. Lots of options are being floated. San Jose is on both sides of the fence but will not mortgage their future either way. Anaheim continues to shop Rickard Rakell and Josh Manson at the very least. Los Angeles might part with Alex Iafallo (Toronto equivalent of Zach Hyman) and may fetch a decent return.
Los Angeles could wait until the summer to make a bigger deal but they have the room to add sweeteners to any deal.
Mike Hoffman could move once again?
Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Mike Hoffman was recently scratched for the second time in five games. While Craig Berube expects more out of his forward, speculation grows that Hoffman is being dangled on the trade market. The St. Louis Blues attributed to getting Sammy Blais into the lineup. Blais scored a goal once inserted into the top-six at even strength. Blais had been a healthy scratch in five of the past seven games.
The difference is Hoffman has value and with the Blues on the bubble, they have to consider all options. Until Monday at 3:00 PM EDT, there is a chance that Hoffman might be on the move. The weekend will be telling for St. Louis.