- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: The Blue Jackets own the eighth, 34th, 38th, and 58th, overall picks – and are itching to cash in some of their chips for the player(s) they covet. This includes possibly trading with Arizona to move up to third to potentially select defenseman Noah Hanifin:
“The Blue Jackets are one of those “legitimate” offers, and they would appear to have all the pieces Arizona would want to slide down five spots,” Portzline notes. “Roster players, the Blue Jackets, as noted frequently in the last few weeks, have too many forwards on their roster and are looking to unload.”
Add in the above mentioned draft picks, and the Blue Jackets may be able to make the most appealing offer.
- James Mirtle of The Globe and Mail: With the fourth overall pick, the Maple Leafs appear divided on selecting either forward Mitch Marner or defenseman Noah Hanifin:
“Unsurprisingly, the main voice in the Marner camp is Toronto’s director of player personnel, Mark Hunter. The former Knights general manager knows Marner intimately – he picked the forward 19th overall in the 2013 OHL draft and persuaded him to forgo a scholarship offer from the University of Michigan.”
Meanwhile it’s new head coach Mike Babcock that’s pushing hard for Hanifin:
“His vision for how the Leafs will play mirrors his philosophy in Detroit and with Team Canada: He wants a team that moves and thinks fast and that doesn’t spend a lot of time in its own end. Strength on the blueline and at center is paramount. A smallish winger? Not as much.”
Which leaves President Brendan Shanahan to break the potential deadlock as Mirtle notes:
“he made Hunter his draft and scouting guru for a reason.”
- Joe Haggerty of CSNNE: It’s clear that Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney is determined to get into position to draft Noah Hanifin, but it may cost them:
“It’s clear the B’s have one player in mind: Boston College defenseman (and Norwood, Mass., native) Noah Hanifin. He’s the consensus top defenseman in the draft.”
Arizona owns the first pick after Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, and it’ll take more than Milan Lucic and a pick to get the Bruins into position says Haggerty:
“It would take a young, talented player like Hamilton to get the Coyotes to move a very valuable first-round asset, and Arizona has ample cap space to give the 22-year-old defenseman the eight-year, $56 million deal he’s rumored to be seeking.”
One source is saying that Marc Savard may come into pay. His $4 million cap hit and help the Coyotes get to the salary floor.
- Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area: The Sharks stand to select ninth overall and want to improve their roster, but any trade probably won’t include Arizona and their third overall pick:
“The only players on the Sharks’ current roster that would meet that criteria would be 26-year-old forward Logan Couture, who owns a limited no-trade clause and is in the second year of a five-year, $30 million contract, and Justin Braun, 28, who has a five-year, $19 million contract that is about to kick in and is coming off of a mediocre campaign.”
The assets don’t seem to align for the Sharks:
“Subtracting from their current core for an 18-year-old prospect, regardless of his potential, would seem to go against their stated approach.”