In today’s NHL rumors rundown, there are more details coming to light with respect to the New York Rangers dropping a bomb on the NHL yesterday when they said they were open for business and would be willing to trade Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba. Meanwhile, the Ottawa Senators are aggressively scouring the trade market in the hopes of finding a defenseman to replace the injured Artem Zub. Finally, the Columbus Blue Jackets are open to discussing different trade scenarios for David Jiricek. Might this bring a team like the Edmonton Oilers back into the conversation?
Rangers Send Memo to All 31 NHL Teams
Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports that Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury sent a memo to all 31 of the other NHL teams that his club was ready to talk trades, “specifically citing multiple players as available, not merely their longest-tenured player, Chris Kreider, and captain, Jacob Trouba.” Speculation that the Drury was just trying to wake up the roster was out there, but his memo indicates he really does want to make a move.
Both players have modified no-trade clauses in their deals, so they won’t be the easiest trades to facilitate, but Trouba is reportedly open to considering a few teams in the Western Conference.
Chris Johnston of TSN reported that there has been a general displeasure with the way the team has played and they are trying to make changes. When asked if the Rangers are making this extremely public on purpose, the memo might have been intended to encourage the players to waive their no-trade clauses.
Senators Looking for Zub Replacement
According to Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen, defenseman Artem Zub will be out for some time after sustaining a fractured hand in Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. “He’s going to be out for a while,” head coach Travis Green said. It is believed the Senators are immediately looking into the trade market to try and find a replacement.
Related: Ottawa Senators Have Been Constructed to Lose
Garroch writes:
League executives have told Postmeda in the last 24 hours that Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, has been aggressive in his pursuit of depth on defence and the injury to Zub could for the Senators to step up their efforts for help.
source – ‘Senators searching for help on defence after loss of Artem Zub long-term’ – Bruce Garrioch – Ottawa Citizen – 11/25/2024
Blue Jackets Flexible on Jiricek Trade Talks
Johnston also noted that the initial reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets were only interested in trading David Jiricek if they could get back a similar type of player is no longer accurate. It was true, but the Blue Jackets are looking to create more discussion about a deal.
He explained:
“At this point in time I think Columbus is trying to sort through where the best offers are coming from. Initially, they focused on trying to get another prospect like him, sort of a kind-for-kind type of deal, but i think Columbus is shifting into a mode where they at least start to listen on draft pick packages in exchange for Jiricek and that might help move things along on the trade front.”
This news means that teams who might have potentially been excluded from the running are back in. Specifically, Friedman noted that he didn’t see a fit from an Edmonton Oilers’ perspective, but if they don’t have to give up a similar prospect, they could have the assets to make a deal work.