NHL Rumors: St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild

Welcome to the Wednesday edition Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors. The trade deadline is under a week away and the rumors are picking up. Though the action off the ice is slow, all of that could change with one phone call. Therefore, we here at Full Press Hockey will continue to deliver NHL rumors articles four times a week, whenever possible. The March 16th edition of NHL rumors covers the trade deadline possibilities for the St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild.

St. Louis Blues – Jordan Binnington, Ivan Barbashev

Rumor: Per – Shane Seney – nhltraderumors.me. Management has less than a full week to land some upgrades and according to multiple reports throughout the past couple of weeks, the St. Louis Blues are interested in some big fish on the trade market.

There isn’t a hockey prognosticator who would have predicted that the Blues netminder Jordan Binnington would lose his net to Ville Husso, but it is happening. Binnington just has lousy stats. His 13-12-4 record with a .903 save percentage to go along with a meager 3.11 goals-against-average tells it all.

Husso meanwhile has been spectacular in net with a 15-4-3 record. It’s also tough to beat his .928 save percentage or his 2.24 GAA. He is earning just $750,000 and is an unrestricted free agent at the season’s end. That alone could motivate the Blues to send Binnington packing. There are a couple of teams in desperate need of a goalie. The Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs may check out Binnington, but that cap hit won’t be easy to manage. He certainly won’t like being a backup to Husso, so something’s got to give.

Ivan Barbashev is a top-six forward who is having a great season. His 18 goals, 24 assists in 58 games bring up his possible trade value. He has a very reasonable contract through next season at just $2.25 million. He could become expendable if the Blues win the Claude Giroux sweepstakes, or luck out getting Jakob Chychrun. Be sure to watch NHL rumors right here to see how this turns out.

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Vegas Golden Knights – Evgenii Dadonov, Alec Martinez

Rumor: Per – Shane Seney – nhltraderumors.me. With the huge in-season trade for Jack Eichel, you’d think the Vegas Golden Knights would be done making trades but that’s apparently not the case at all.

Before the Golden Knights acquired Eichel, the possibility of needing to create cap space could have included moving Evgenii Dadonov. But then the injury to Mark Stone “saved” the Vegas team for the moment. The former big scorer who is 33 years old, is signed through next season with a $5 million cap hit. This season he has just 12 goals, 12 assists in 59 games, and could have some interest from the Washington Capitals, Edmonton Oilers, or Boston Bruins.

Alec Martinez sustained a nasty face laceration injury from a skate back in November. He’s been on LTIR ever since but may be back soon. The Golden Knights defenseman has a $5.25 million cap hit through 2023-24. While Dadonov being traded seems more likely, Martinez could be moved since the team has pretty much gone without him all season. This is a tough call, but one of these players needs to go to create some cap space.

Minnesota Wild – Matt Dumba, Victor Rask

Rumor: Per – Shane Seney – nhltraderumors.me. The Minnesota Wild have surprised many this season with all their success as they appear destined for the postseason. Offseason question marks included their goaltending and depth on defence, along with who was going to be their #1 center.

Matt Dumba has been involved in NHL rumors in the past, so it’s nothing new. He’s a right-shooting defenseman and lots of teams can use his skills. Dumba is getting paid $6 million through next season. He has 22 points in 45 games this year. Possible landing spots could be the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers.

Victor Rask has been playing in the AHL after playing just 29 games for the Minnesota Wild with five goals, eight assists. It is hoped that GM Bill Guerin can package a pick and a prospect with Rask to gain some help in his middle lineup. It certainly appears that Rask has played his last game for the Wild.

 

That concludes this edition of NHL rumors. As the deadline approaches on Monday, be sure to follow Full Press Hockey for all the latest news on trades.