In today’s NHL rumors rundown, there are more specifics when it comes to how many teams the Ottawa Senators have had conversations with about trading for a defenseman. Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs have their hands somewhat tied based on the timing of multiple injuries on their blue line.
The Anaheim Ducks could be a team Toronto talks to and the Ducks could be busy in general on the trade front. Finally, could the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins make a trade that works for both teams?
Senators Turning Over Every Rock
According to the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, Senators’ GM Pierre Dorion has talked to between 10 and 15 different NHL clubs about acquiring a defenseman. Garrioch notes that Dorion hasn’t been able to find anything he sees as a fit and the issue seems to be a mix of cost to acquire the player, working around no-trade clauses, and salary cap issues. Needless to say, it’s hard to make a trade in the NHL at all, but the Senators are really having trouble finding a partner to dance with.
Meanwhile, Garrioch also reports that as many as 20 different groups have reached out and shown interest in buying the Senators franchise. Garrioch writes:
That means there’s going to be a bidding war for the franchise when it formally goes up for sale. At this point, Galatioti is trying to get all the financial information it needs for a due diligence website it hopes will be able to go live Dec. 1 and will be open for a month.
source – ‘GARRIOCH: The Ottawa Senators have attracted a ton of interest from potential buyers’ – Bruce Garrioch – Ottawa Sun – 11/23/2022
Maple Leafs Hands a Bit Tied
David Pagnotta of NHL Network and The Fourth Period was on ‘Market Rumblings” with Irfaan Gaffar and mentioned that the Maple Leafs have been looking for a defenseman for a while but the situation in Toronto is getting a bit dire as the team lost Jordie Benn following a number of other blue line casualties. Benn is on injured reserve and will be out for a minimum of seven days. The team still needs to assess the severity of his injury beyond that.
Pagnotta mentioned targets like Luke Schenn (Vancouver), Kevin Shattenkirk (Anaheim), Carson Soucy (Seattle), and Vladislav Gavrikov (Columbus).
Pagnotta also says there are a number of veteran players that come out of the Ducks organization and that John Klingberg and Shattenkirk could be players who could be had for a reasonable price. The Leafs might have already shown interest in Shattenkirk. Pagnotta also mentioned the Ducks have a ton of cap space and can take on money as they make these trades. That makes them a club that has the ability to be more active than most.
Timo Meier Will Generate Interest Around the NHL
Pagnotta partially shot down the likelihood that Erik Karlsson is moved out of San Jose, but he did mention that Timo Meier will be a player worth keeping an eye on. He is in the final year of his current contract and will be an RFA at the end of the season and has arbitration rights with a qualifying offer of at least $10 million. “I think he is going to be their primary trade chip this season.”
The two sides have not had any conversations regarding a new contract, but Pagnotta believes the Sharks are still rebuilding so Meier could be a player that gets moved.
Kasperi Kapanen an Option for Oilers
The Athletic’s Jonathan Willis doesn’t typically throw out trade scenarios in Edmonton very often unless he believes there’s a good fit and he recently tossed out the idea of the Pittsburgh Penguins moving winger Kasperi Kapanen to Edmonton in a “change-of-scenery flip”. Noting that Kapanen makes around the same cap hit as Jesse Puljujarvi and is signed a year longer, Willis also pointed out that Kapanen has a better history at 5v5 scoring and finishing his chances. Kapanen’s possession metrics aren’t as good but this could be a win for both teams if there was mutual interest.
Willis linked to an article by Frank Seravalli when coming up with Kapanen as a potential fit because Seravalli noted in that post:
Of all the term handed out by GM Ron Hextall last summer, the extra year to Kapanen might be the most painful at this moment in time. Kapanen has struggled. His warts in compete and effort are there for all to see. And he’s not an inexpensive contract to offload given the circumstances, as Hextall has been one of the more active GMs out there trying to find a landing spot for him.
