Annual rumour mill spins as March 2 closes in
As the March 2 trade deadline nears, trade talks are dominating the schedule of the leagues general managers, who are trying to set their teams up for a bright future. Some teams have given up their playoff hopes and will be focused on trading away pending unrestricted free agents for picks and prospects. Others will try to add a few players to pad their team for a playoff run. The teams outside the playoff picture are selling their assets hoping to build towards future success.
The Toronto Maple Leafs certainly fall under the category of sellers, as they have gone 4-20-3 in their last 27 games, and have fallen to 26th in the league. Any success they have now is counterproductive, as the mathematical possibility of making the playoffs is down to 0.1 per cent according to sources. We take a look at some of the potential moves hanging around Leaf-land as the trade deadline nears.
Phil Kessel
If the Leafs could make a blockbuster trade to get rid of Kessel now, they probably would. The issue remains that he has a list of only eight teams he can be traded to, and his $8 million cap hit-per-season is difficult for most teams to accommodate. The common belief is that trades of this magnitude are better left for the draft when there are less variables and a fresh season to look ahead to.
As the Mar. 2 NHL trade deadline approaches, rumours surrounded the Toronto Maple Leafs star in Phil Kessel and captain, Dion Phaneuf.
Teams rumored to be interested
The Florida Panthers have been mentioned frequently in trade rumors lately, but have said that they will not sacrifice their young core players, such as Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad, and Nick Bjugstad. The Panthers are one point out of the playoffs and could give up a few less valuable prospects and a few draft picks to acquire Kessel to help push the team to their first playoffs since 2012.
Dion Phaneuf
It is unclear if Toronto will make a push to trade Phaneuf before the deadline or if they believe Phaneuf can be a part of their future. If the Leafs are going young next season, they may want to keep a veteran in the system to help prospect development, but Phaneuf has been rumoured to be on the way out with the market’s demand in defencemen.
Teams rumored to be interested
The Los Angeles Kings are desperate for a defenceman ever since Slava Voynov fell into legal trouble earlier this season. For this trade to work, Toronto would have to either retain a part of Phaneuf’s salary or take additional players back to clear LA’s cap space.
Other Notables
Ryan O’Reilly of the Colorado Avalanche has one more year left on his contract with a cap hit of $6 million per season before becoming an unrestricted free agent. This trade is made complicated, because acquiring him would take many valuable assets, and there is no certainty that he will resign with whichever team acquires him.
Teams rumored to be interested
The Buffalo Sabres, fresh off back-to-back deals including the blockbuster Tyler Myers-Evander Kane trade, have been said to be very interested in O’Reilly. Buffalo traded one of their three first round picks this summer to Winnipeg for Kane, but can afford to trade another to acquire O’Reilly.
Keith Yandle
Yandle of the Arizona Coyotes is another defenceman that would bring huge returns to his team in a trade. The Coyotes are in on the Connor McDavid race and could use a Yandle trade not only to increase their chances, but also stock up on young players and draft picks to help with the rebuild. Arizona may hold off on this one until the summer, as they are already 28th in the league, and can use an asset like pending unrestricted free agent Antoine Vermette as trade bait.
Teams rumored to be interested
The Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Bruins are two teams that are high up on the list of rosters that can afford to spend big on a defenceman.