Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! Teams are always looking to improve, and the NHL trade deadline is just a couple of days away. With the rumors hot and heavy, we are going to cover all 32 NHL teams listing their latest rumors in this edition of NHL Rumors. We will have the Eastern Conference in this article, with the Western Conference being published on March 7th.
NHL rumors in this edition include:
What does each NHL need to do at the 2024 trade deadline? We break it down, team by team, to inform you of the latest rumors.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Florida Panthers
The Panthers are sitting pretty, leading the conference with 88 points. They have won five straight and are a favorite in the postseason to repeat a playoff final appearance. Their first four scoring leaders include Sam Reinhart (44-G, 30-A), Matthew Tkachuk (21-G, 47-A), Carter Verhaeghe (30-G, 34-A), and Aleksander Barkov (15-G, 46-A). There is some firepower, but the scoring falls off after that, much like the Edmonton Oilers with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
They could use a bottom-six player like Jason Zucker, who the Arizona Coyotes are shopping. They have about $5.7 million in cap space to add such a player. Zucker is being paid $5.3 million, but the Arizona club will likely retain some of that.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins are looking to make up for falling on their respective faces last year in the playoffs. Have they missed Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak? It doesn’t seem like it. They rank right behind the Panthers, just two points back. So, they need a defenseman like Noah Hanifin and have a shot at acquiring him. He won’t be cheap, and the Bruins will have an estimated $26 million in cap space next season to pay him. Adding Hanifin can boost the Bruins’s performance in the postseason. They could also move goalie Linus Ullmark, but that isn’t certain.
Toronto Maple Leafs
While the Leafs are always listed in NHL rumors, they don’t possess the cap space or draft assets to make any consequential deal. They have $14.5 million tied up in long-term injury reserve. That gives them little bargaining power to execute a trade. They did add defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin from the Anaheim Ducks recently. He could help, but they need more improvements to the blue line.
Detroit Red Wings
While they have finally progressed from their rebuild, guided by GM Steve Yzerman, they aren’t quite classified as buyers in this trade deadline. They hold the top wild-card spot with 72 points as of this writing. The Red Wings seem content with staying put at the deadline. They will have $13.7 million in cap space if Yzerman uses it. At this point, he is satisfied with his team’s performance this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning
They, too, are all in to grab Hanifin as they lost Mikhail Sergachev to a severe leg injury. They have not had any first-round picks in 2024 or 2025, which limits their possibilities. Yet, the Lightning always figure out how to get the players they seek. They do have $7.4 million in cap space, but is that enough to persuade Hanifin to the sunny skies of Florida?
🚨TRADE🚨
Anthony Mantha is headed to the Golden Knights.@JimBiringer breaks it all down.#NHL #VegasBorn #NightCapRecap @FP_Coverage pic.twitter.com/UyQrj11HUj
— Full Press Hockey (@FullPressNHL) March 6, 2024
Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres are out of the playoffs again for the 14th straight season. They will have $36.5 million in cap space and have not used it much. On expiring contracts, they have four unrestricted free agents: Erik Johnson, Zemgus Girgensons, Kyle Okposo, and Victor Olofsson. GM Kevyn Adams may intend to trade off these free agents to improve his club. Okposo (12-G, 10-A) and Olofsson (4-G, 8-A) have been a disappointment and would make it difficult to move them. Something needs to be done; this team needs to snap out of it!
Montreal Canadiens
The Habs have already traded Sean Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets. They may still move Jake Allen and David Savard as the selling continues in Montreal. As GM Ken Hughes surveys his options, he must sell but keep his club’s future in mind. The Canadiens have some very talented young players, Nick Suzuki (24-G, 35-A) and Cole Caufield (19-G, 29-A), whom they want to build around. Hughes could also move Tanner Pearson, Jake Evans, and Joel Armia for the right price. And remember that the Habs are currently 26th in the standings, priming them for another good chance at acquiring additional talent in the draft this summer.
Ottawa Senators
Now, here is a team filled with juicy trade speculation! The annual Jakob Chychrun trade rumors are again running rampant. And why not? He is a stud of a defenseman, and the Sens have so much money tied up in Thomas Chabot ($8M thru 2027-28) and Jake Sanderson ($8.05M thru 2031-32) that Chychrun may be vulnerable to being moved again. He has a reasonable $4.6 million contract, good through next season. You can be assured that GM Steve Staios will be receptive to offers on Chychrun. The trade interest in him has picked up of late, and even if the Sens don’t want to trade him, they need to listen to offers as they arise.
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Eastern Conference
Metropolitan Division
New York Rangers
The Rangers have been linked to Adam Henrique and Frank Vatrano of the Anaheim Ducks. They also have interest in Alex Wennberg from the Seattle Kraken, per reports. New York has been seeking for third-line center Filip Chytil, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the season due to lingering symptoms from a suspected concussion in November. Wennberg is a pending unrestricted free agent in the final year of a deal that pays him $4.5 million annually. The Rangers, who are projected to have around $5.2 million in available salary cap space, could absorb the total cap hit.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have been linked to Jordan Eberle of the Kraken, per Michael DeRosa of nhlraderumors.me. Eberle commands a $5.5 million contract, and the Kraken have fallen off expectations this season. As of this writing, he has 14 goals and 22 assists this season in 57 games. The Canes may also acquire Vladimir Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators. He has a $5 million cap hit, and the Canes have about $5.9 million of cap space. They could also want Jake Guentzel, but who doesn’t?
Philadelphia Flyers
The latest on the Flyers is what will happen to Sean Walker or Nick Seeler. According to phillyhockeynow.com, when both players seemed destined to be traded, only one may be dealt now.
Still 3 days to go, but sounds increasingly unlikely that #Flyers will be re-signing both Sean Walker and Nick Seeler. They’ve got a good feel now on what both will cost.
Meantime, they’re fielding trade offers for both and will weigh return vs. extension. One likely traded.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 5, 2024
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared in his latest “32 Thoughts” column that Seeler wants more money than the Flyers might be willing to give, while Walker wants a longer term than what the Flyers might be willing to give.
New York Islanders
Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello spoke with the media on Tuesday before the trade deadline and clarified that the team knows what they’re doing – or, more specifically, what they’re not doing.
“If we can add, we will,” said Lamoriello. “Are we going to subtract? Absolutely not.” The Isles trail the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final wild-card spot by six points but have three games in hand. They could gain some valuable cap space by placing Scott Mayfield, who will be out for 4-6 weeks due to an injury, on LTIR.
Another Caps’ player mentioned in trade rumors is Nic Dowd. A few teams have needed centers, so this veteran could also be moved.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Everyone knows that Jake Guentzel is the main topic when mentioning this team. According to Darren Dreger, insider for TSN, things could go down Wednesday evening.
Sources say the Penguins are hoping to have a trade in place for Jake Guentzel by tomorrow evening. Pittsburgh is open to quality over quantity in return, but would like a 1st, young NHL player, plus prospects. Flexibility comes in the calibre of prospect or roster player.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 5, 2024
Numerous teams, including the Vancouver Canucks, who are already a solid team, are looking to get stronger. Pittsburgh’s GM Kyle Dubas is looking for blue-chip prospects over draft picks. In any case, Guentzel will be a valuable forward with excellent scoring ability, whichever team acquires him. Just ask Sidney Crosby, who has had Guentzel on his line and will undoubtedly miss his presence if he is traded. Guentzel has collected 22 goals and 30 assists in 50 games. He commands a $6 million cap hit, and with the Penguins attempting to get younger, he is vulnerable to being traded.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets have had rumors involving Patrik Laine, young defenseman Adam Boqvist, goalie Elvis Merzlikins, and defenseman Ivan Provorov. Forward Jack Roslovic could also be dealt away. The Blue Jackets need to improve by being open to moving players to get things going. Laine’s contract at $8.7 million through 2025-26 limits where he may go. He has only appeared in 18 games this season and recently entered the Players Assistance Program.
A more likely trade may come from Provorov. He could attract some attention at the trade deadline. With numerous needs in Columbus, look for them to pull off some moves to get out of their doldrums.
That concludes this edition of NHL rumors. Check out our next article covering the 2024 Western Conference trade deadline breakdown. Thanks for reading!