Quick Hits on the Predators, Blue Jackets, and Panthers
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: The Nashville Predators have reached out to a lot of people with their GM search. They’ve spoken with some candidates two or three times already. Believe that they’ve spoken with Marc Bergevin, Panthers AGM Brett Peterson, and maybe an agent or two. Shortening their list could come next week.
Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell said that he’ll talk to Rick Bowness after the season: “We’re the only two people who aren’t worried about it.”
It’s believed that Brad Marchand‘s six-year, $5.25 million cap hit was used as a comparable deal for goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, but the Florida Panthers weren’t willing to do it.
NHL Injuries: Sabres, Wings, Oilers, Wild, Habs, Preds, Sharks, Leafs, and More
Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Atlantic: The New York Rangers will have almost $27.5 million in projected cap space to work with this offseason, and that’s with 19 players, and not all will be back. Jaroslav Chmelař, Juuso Pärssinen or Urho Vaakanainen are not locks to make the team, and someone, like Vincent Trocheck, could be dealt.
Finding the best trade offer for Trocheck will remain an offseason priority. Rangers GM Chris Drury had been asking for a forward with top-six potential as part of the package. Drury still eye’s a retool, so players who are NHL-ready or close will be a preference.
Before the deadline, teams like the Minnesota Wild, Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins were reluctant to part with any roster players, but teams will have more options in the offseason. Drury is trying to move Trocheck as a top-line center, but teams may be looking at him as a second-line center, and by the end of his deal in 2029, he could be a third-line center.
Pending RFA defenseman Braden Schneider will be an offseason trade candidate, and they’ll continue to see what the market brings for Alexis Lafreniere. Both Schneider and Lafreniere are 24 years old.
Depending on what happens with Schneider, they could look at moving Will Borgen, whose full no-trade clause becomes a 15-team no-trade list on July 1st.
J.T. Miller, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Fox, Vladislav Gavrikov and Igor Shesterkin have no-movement clauses.
Don’t Sleep on the Florida Panthers Heading into Next Season
The Rangers could be willing to take on a player from a team looking to shed some salary for an extra asset. If on a one-year deal, could then flip them at next year’s trade deadline for another asset. Potential options could be Ross Colton (Avalanche, one year at $4 million), Evan Rodrigues (Panthers, one year at $3 million), and Brenden Dillon (Devils, one year at $4 million).
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