In today’s rumor rundown, there is news that the Tampa Bay Lightning have looked into two popular forwards on the trade market, the Oilers are considering an extension for a surprise roster player, the Blackhawks might ask a star to waive his no-move clause and the Bruins are looking to add a forward.
Lightning In On Simmonds and Ferland
TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that while the Tampa Bay Lightning might have trouble adding significant pieces considering their mere $1.7 million in salary cap space, they have inquired about both Wayne Simmonds from the Philadelphia Flyers and Micheal Ferland from the Carolina Hurricanes.
Dreger explained that trick will be whether or not the Lightning are willing to send something back, especially in the case of Micheal Ferland. The Hurricanes are rumored to want to add to their scoring and that’s why a team like Toronto didn’t make a deal for Brett Pesce or Dougie Hamilton (they weren’t willing to give up a roster player).
Related: NHL Rumors: Gostisbehere, Zuccarello, Oilers, Isles, More
Duncan Keith Weighing His Trade Deadline Options
The Chicago Blackhawks are sellers at this year’s trade deadline and names like Chris Kunitz and Marcus Kruger have come up as available players. Another name that might be out there is Duncan Keith.
Moving Keith comes with a few challenges. First, he’s got a full no-movement clause that gives him total control over his future. Any trade will need to be one that he approves. Second, the team that takes him on will need to be ok wit the fact that he’s now 35 years old and has four years remaining on his deal.
All that said, speculation is that the Blackhawks will approach Keith at the deadline and ask him what he what he wants to do according to Pierre LeBrun on last night’s Insider Trading for TSN.
Related: NHL Rumors: Hurricanes, Jets, Kings, Canadiens, More
Updates in Edmonton With the Oilers
While speculation seems to be that the Oilers will look at a trade involving Cam Talbot, Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that the Oilers have recently had a conversation with Talbot about a possible extension and are leaving the door open for a possible return at season’s end.
Talbot is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and it makes more sense that the Oilers would move him to free up cap space, especially if they aren’t in the playoff picture, but if Talbot is willing re-sign at a lower cap hit, there is a chance it works for both parties.
There was also news out of Edmonton that Oscar Klefbom suffered a setback in his quest for a return to the lineup on Saturday. He’s nursing a protector on a broken finger and had it bumped in practice. He was part of the Oilers practice on Friday but didn’t take part in many of the drills, being replaced on the rushed by Andrej Sekera. Kelfbom will travel with the team but may not play against the Flyers.
Oscar Klefbom suffered an apparent setback in his recovery from a broken finger (@SportsnetSpec)https://t.co/alSkDTpPBV
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 1, 2019
Related: Three Oilers Trades to Expect Almost Immediately
Marner’s Unwillingness to Negotiate Causes Problems for Maple Leafs
TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that Mitch Marner’s decision to not negotiate with the Maple Leafs during the season opens up issues when it comes to offer sheet complications.“Yeah, an offer-sheet problem,” Dreger said.
He added, “I can tell you that teams are 100 percent preparing an offer sheet for Mitch Marner. We’ll see if it gets to that point. And as we’ve known, the Leafs have made it abundantly clear that if it does, they will match.”
Bruins Looking to Add a Forward
Dreger was asked on Buffalo’s WGR 550 if he thought the Bruins would do anything before the February 25 deadline and his response was:
“Yeah, or before, right… Boston is definitely thinking that they’ve got to add up front. They’d like to add a center. If they can’t find that piece, whoever it might be – Matt Duchene, if he’s available – then maybe they look to a right-winger. I think they’ve got interest in Toffoli. My understanding is Boston is going to heavily scout tonight’s Senators-Pittsburgh game, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a play on Ryan Dzingel.
With teams in the Eastern Conference already strong and adding pieces as the days go by, there is pressure on Boston to keep up and improve their team as well.
