Most teams are waiting until the last minute to make moves — hey, every dollar matters in this salary-cap world — but a pair of Wednesday trades should spur some action.
But he’s 34 years old, he knows his chances to win a Stanley Cup are dwindling, and chasing the Cup with a contender this spring is too good of an opportunity to pass up.
I have been told that the Florida Panthers are the front-runner, though there may have been some sort of snafu in talks this week — around the same time the Panthers were trading for Ben Chiarot.
He doesn’t want to uproot his family for a few months — the kids are engaged in school, and activities like soccer teams — so he’ll only go to a team that he feels has a legitimate chance to win a Cup.
There was some preliminary talk about Edmonton, but I don’t think Fleury was crazy about going there, and it seems like the Oilers have ultimately decided goaltending prices are too rich for their liking and they’ll stick it out with Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith.
Some might call it an overpay for Chiarot, but I think it was smart to get the guy who helped shut down Auston Matthews in last years’ playoffs, no matter the price.
We know Seattle captain Mark Giordano, who just celebrated his 1,000th game as a healthy scratch for trade protection, is going to go.
I know Boston has had serious talks with Arizona; Fabian Lysell is a prospect in Boston’s system that the Coyotes really covet, but it doesn’t seem like the Bruins want to part with their 2021 first-round pick.
The Ducks have tried to work out an extension for Hampus Lindholm but there doesn’t seem to be much progress as of Thursday.
Going down a tier, Justin Braun, Calvin de Haan, Robert Hagg, Nick Leddy and Colin Miller are all solid veteran options that should have new homes by March 22.
Phil Kessel may only have six goals on the season, but he’s still Phil Kessel, a gifted scorer with 96 games of playoff experience who could add an extra dimension to any team’s third line.
The asking price for Miller at this point would be so exorbitant, that I can’t imagine any teams actually doing it.
That could help facilitate a trade, but it seems like the Rangers would like to have Georgiev play backup the rest of the season and let the trade play out over the summer instead.
The Senators wanted to re-sign him, but I’m not sure how far they got, and I think there are a few teams who believe the 29-year-old would be a sneaky good pickup.
But from the amount of work I hear that organization has been doing behind the scenes, it seems like they’re plotting something — specifically on the blueline.
And Detroit? A few people have told me to keep an eye on them, and there’s a belief that anyone on the roster is in play outside Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond .
They’d like to add a depth defenseman, for sure — and don’t have to worry about sides, as their eight NHL-caliber defenseman split up as four righties, four lefties.
Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams made it clear to the rest of the league he’s open for business and willing to help broker deals.
They got a good deal for Calle Jarnkrok, one of the expansion draft picks they absolutely hit on, and plan to deal Giordano, too.
A lot of teams have lottery protection, so this won’t really be relevant around the trade deadline, but let it be known while the consensus No.
The Wild, Wild West it is! While the East playoff picture has been set for weeks now — the eight teams are just jockeying for seeding — the West is anyone’s guess.
Petr Mrazek has had a season to forget, while Jack Campbell lost his way, and is now sidelined by a rib injury.
That’s reason enough to panic for Vegas, which has made the playoffs easily each of its first four seasons, rarely playing meaningful games down the stretch.
