Are the Toronto Maple Leafs done with their moves in today’s NHL rumors? In the meantime, are the Boston Bruins interested in some of the notable defenders available at this year’s close? The Vancouver Canucks are taking calls at JT Miller while the Detroit Red Wings are no longer taking calls at Tyler Bertuzzi. Are the Montreal Canadiens likely to remain calm compared to last season’s moves?
Maple leaves not ready yet?
There are a few notable tidbits about the Ryan O’Reilly to Toronto trade that make the trade even more interesting. Darren Dreger reports that the leaves may not be ready yet. He tweeted: “It’s reasonable that Dubas isn’t done yet, underscoring an all-in approach. Kerfuss? Engval? Hello? Battle? What collateral is Toronto using for another move?” He adds, “Obviously it got hotter between St. Louis and Toronto as the day went on. Sounds like Minnesota only approved their piece of the puzzle right before their game against the Stars last night.”
Ryan O’Reilly, Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)
Elliotte Friedman noted that the Maple Leafs were looking at the San Jose Sharks’ Timo Meier, but the price was too high. Kyle Dubas moved to St. Louis and got two players (O’Reilly and Noel Acciari) for far less than he would have had to pay for Meier.
Bruins are looking for left-footed defenders
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek said during Saturday’s 32 Thoughts segment that the Boston Bruins are likely involved in trade talks with Vladislav Gavrikov. He remarked, “They looked great, they smoked the Islanders, but I think one of the reasons[Vladislav]Gavrikov got the trade-related suspension from the Columbus Blue Jackets is because the Bruins are after him. ”
He added that he believes the Bruins may have kicked hoops at Jakob Chychrun as well, but that the cap situation in Boston is something that could be holding things up. He notes, “One of the problems, Ron and Jeff, I think, is the cap. The Bruins need to do a few things to make this work. But we’ll see where that leads over the next few days. I think Left D is an area Boston is targeting.”
Marek adds that teams missing Gavrikov could turn their focus to Dmitri Kulikov.
Canucks gets calls from JT Miller
Friedman believes teams called the Vancouver Canucks about JT Miller. He can’t be sure the discussions will lead to anything, but teams may ask the Canucks if they would consider it.
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Miller is in the final season of his current contract with a $5.25 million cap hit and has no no-trade protection. Once that deal ends, he’ll begin the first year of a seven-year extension worth $8 million per season, and there’s a no-trade clause that takes effect July 1.
Bertuzzi is not traded by the Red Wings
Friedman also reports that Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi is not on the trade market. Despite a string of rumors linking certain teams with the winger, he is not going to be transferred for the time being. The Red Wings appear to want to keep him while they’re still in the playoffs until the March 3 close. Of course, should the Red Wings drop out of the race, the team could reconsider the idea of moving it before the deadline.
Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
Bertuzzi is a player the Red Wings don’t want to lose for free. If the race is close, trade talks could shift to the summer and a possible deal could be in the works around the NHL draft if Bertuzzi doesn’t sign an extension. The return won’t be as great as trading it over the next 10 days, but the Red Wings appear willing to take the risk in hopes of progressing into the postseason.
Canadians will likely be quiet on deadline day
Marek reports that fans shouldn’t expect too much from the Montreal Canadiens this year’s deadline. With a number of veterans struggling with injuries, players the club may wish to treat will not achieve what the Canadians are hoping. While general manager Kent Hughes is taking calls, he also wants to keep some of his executives around to add youth to his team.
Hughes will trade if he offers a first-round player for one of the vets he has but the market for players like Mike Hoffman, Jonathan Drouin and Evgenii Dadonov is not great. Arpoon Basu from The Athletic writes:
Perhaps Josh Anderson could land one for the Canadians if they decide to trade it, but otherwise they have very little chance of entering this market. A healthy Edmundson might have made it, but an unhealthy one wouldn’t.
Source – “What trading with Ryan O’Reilly reveals about how Canadians can tackle the trade deadline” – Arpon Basu – The Athletic – 02/18/2023
Source: thehockeywriters.com
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