In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks might be working on a deal, there is buzz about where defenseman Zach Bogosian could end up and are the Boston Bruins still working on deals after landing a top-six winger in a trade on Friday?
Canucks Trying to Land Tyson Barrie?
At this point, it’s only speculation and there could be a number of teams in the mix but the Vancouver Canucks might be putting together a package that would see them land defenseman Tyson Barrie from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Defenseman Troy Stecher could be among the pieces going back to Toronto. Rick Dhaliwal notes, “Talks are on-going between the #Canucks and Leafs for Barrie, let’s see where this ends up.”
This report comes after TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported that the Maple Leafs were getting calls on Barrie and were entertaining the idea of moving him in the right deal.
TSN’s Frank Seravalli confirmed McKenzie’s report on Friday saying that four teams were specifically in the Barrie sweepstakes: the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes.
Kristen Shilton of TSN notes that Barrie wants to stick with Leafs this season: “I love it here, I love the guys and we want to try to be a team that does something special this year and I’d obviously like to be around for that. But it’s out of my control.”
If the Maple Leafs do move Barrie, possible targets to replace him could be the Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba or Jonas Brodin, the New York Rangers’ Tony DeAngelo, the Montreal Canadiens’ Jeff Petry, the Buffalo Sabres’ Rasmus Ristolainen, and the Chicago Blackhawks’ Erik Gustafsson.
Related: 2008 NHL Draft: Five Forgotten Picks
Teams Interested in Bogosian
According to a report from TSN insider Darren Dreger, there are currently at least four teams considered contenders for the services of Zach Bogosian, if and when he shakes loose from the Buffalo Sabres.
On Saturday morning Dreger tweeted the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins were all in the mix, which makes sense considering all those teams are considered clubs looking for shore up their blue line.
Blackhawks Pull Gustafsson from Lineup
Friday night, the Chicago Blackhawks pulled defenseman Erik Gustafsson from the lineup just prior to puck drop. The assumption was that he was being held out as a precautionary measure in the event of a pending trade.
Gustafsson is drawing interest as one of the top offensive threats from the blue line and with only a $1.2 million cap hit, he’s an affordable option for a number of teams. Leading the way is rumored to be the Vegas Golden Knights who also picked up Alec Martinez in a trade earlier this week.
A clear rental as a pending UFA, Gustafsson leads all Chicago blue liners in points though he only has 26 points in 58 games.
Related: NHL Rumors: Sabres, Senators, Maple Leafs, Bruins, More
Vatanen Could Still be on the Move
Chris Ryan of NJ.com lists the Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and Calgary Flames as the most logical trade destinations for Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen.
Ryan writes, “Even though Vatanen hasn’t played since Feb. 1 due to a leg bruise from blocking a shot, teams still have interest in the veteran.”
Bruins Done Making Deals?
Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now cites a well-connected source claiming the Boston Bruins might not be done making moves after adding Ondrej Kase from the Anaheim Ducks yesterday.
With some cap space freed up — cap space that will likely be used to re-sign Torey Krug next season — the Bruins could still use that money this season to land a rental. Murphy’s source suggests the Bruins could be considering San Jose Sharks center (and former Bruin) Joe Thornton. Assuming Thornton waives his no-move/no-trade clause to leave the team, others would be interested beyond the Bruins, The Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, and Pittsburgh Penguins are among them.
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