NHL Rumors: Ducks, Oilers and the NHL Trade Market

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In today’s NHL rumor rundown, Dallas Eakins is being described as the ‘last man standing’ in Anaheim, the Edmonton Oilers have a few potential trades on the burner and Elliotte Friedman takes a closer look at the NHL trade market.

Eakins the New Head Coach in Anaheim?

While no official announcement has come from the Anaheim Ducks or the NHL, Dallas Eakins is the last man standing in the Ducks search for a head coach, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli. 

Candidates who interviewed for the head coaching job have been informed they’re out, and that a formal announcement is expected sometime this week to introduce the former Ducks’ AHL affiliate the San Diego Gulls to the Anaheim fan base.

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Elliotte Friedman on the NHL Trade Market

In his latest 31 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes there are a number of aggressive NHL teams testing the trade market. As he got into specifics, he noted:

Jacob Trouba
Jacob Trouba – Winnipeg Jets vs Philadelphia Flyers – November 17, 2016 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
  • The Buffalo Sabres have spoken with the New York Rangers about Jimmy Vesey.
  • The Maple Leafs are going to try and move Nikita Zaitsev and would like to try and get a defenseman in return. The team is also going to try moving Nazem Kadri but can’t move him to the Winnipeg Jets.
  • The Penguins are interested in Jacob Trouba but hard to see a fit. The Philadelphia Flyers were also looking at Trouba.
  • The Minnesota Wild could be interested in Anders Lee or Joe Pavelski if they go to free agency.

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Oilers Trade Whispers

There are a few notes of speculation when it comes to trades, specifically surrounding the Edmonton Oilers.

Loui Eriksson’s agent has told the Canucks it’s time to trade his client and there have been some whispers about the Oilers and Jesse Puljujarvi. The Calgary Flames have also officially put James Neal on the market in an attempt to dump his salary and they gave some thought to Milan Lucic in that deal. Eventually, they changed their minds.

Nikita Zaitsev, Connor Brown, Maple Leafs
The Leafs need to find some significant depth scoring – especially from guys like Connor Brown. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The Athletic’s James Mirtle looked into a possible trade between Edmonton and Toronto that would include d-man Nikita Zaitsev. He believes the Oilers could be near the top of the Maple Leafs list for potential trade partners and wonders if either Connor Brown, Kasperi Kapanen or Andreas Johnsson to could be paired with Zaitsev to acquire either Matt Benning or even Adam Larsson in the right deal.

He writes:

But the reason Edmonton is a good fit here is they have some depth on defence, and they’re trying to get stronger up front – specifically on the right wing. The Leafs have depth on right wing and they’re trying to convert some of that into help on right defence.

This doesn’t have to be a deal with a clear winner and a clear loser, although that depends I suppose on how you feel about Zaitsev’s value.

source – ‘Mirtle: Where will the Maple Leafs trade Nikita Zaitsev? Ranking all 30 potential destinations’ – The Athletic – James Mirtle – 06/15/2019

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Capitals to Move Burakovsky’s Rights

NBC Sports’ James O’Brien notes that with the signing of Carl Hagelin to a new four-year extension, the Washington Capitals have little money left to sign the rest of their roster. O’Brien wonders whether the Hagelin deal could mean the team considers moving Andre Burakovsky’s rights.

Capitals Andre Burakovsky
Andre Burakovsky. (Sammi Silber/THW)

The Capitals and Burakovsky have always seen eye to eye, there is some talent there with a few teams likely interested in seeing what they can get out of the 24-year-old.