It's still slow moving on the NHL trade market, but the closer we get to March 21 deadline day, the more teams have optimized the cap room available to make moves. And with so many teams up against the limit this season, that's no small factor.
In Tuesday's Rumour Roundup we take a look at:
• P.K. Subban's emerging trade candidacy
• Toronto, and if it could still search the goalie market despite GM Kyle Dubas' comments
• What Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen said about his approach to the 2022 deadline
• And why a defenceman might be the key to any trade involving the Vancouver Canucks
PK SUBBAN ON THE MOVE?
With his contract expiring this summer, P.K. Subban, 32, is setting up to test free agency in July and, possibly, join the rental market ahead of the trade deadline.
“I sat down with P.K. yesterday and we talked about uncertainty and the deadline, and that we’re not at a spot where we’re looking to extend him at this point," Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald told The Athletic.
“He’s done a lot for the community here and the organization. But I told him, ‘On the last day, somebody may lose a right-shot D and may call me and if the move makes sense for the New Jersey Devils and makes sense for you to potentially have a chance to win, I have to do what’s best for the organization.’’’
Still making $9 million against the cap on a contract signed in 2014 with Montreal, Subban's base salary is actually only $2 million. He's far from the player he was when he first signed this deal, though, with injuries taking a toll on him over the years. Subban has just three goals and 18 points in 53 games, and is averaging less than a minute of power-play time this season -- by far the lowest mark of his career. He's basically settled in as a bottom-pair defenceman.
Still, depth defencemen are a hot commodity this time of year. The cost shouldn't be much to pull it off, either.
His exorbitant cap hit for what he'll actually bring to a team will make a move difficult to pull off, but there are ways. The Devils could certainly retain a portion of his salary, and it could even become a three-way deal for a broker team to bring down the AAV even more. The biggest question might be if a team thinks it's worth giving up the picks required to bring Subban's cap hit down far enough to fit.
Interestingly, although the Devils won't be "buyers" in the sense they'll add for a push, Fitzgerald left open the possibility of acquiring a goalie with term.
New Jersey has used six goalies this season, as MacKenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier have both been out with injuries. Blackwood, trending up before the pandemic years, has hovered around a .900 save percentage this season and last, with negative goals saved above expected rates. At 25 years old, Blackwood likely still factors into the Devils' plans, but he's less secure as a locked in No. 1 for years to come.
“MacKenzie is getting better, he’ll be back at some point. Bernier will be a full go by the summer. But how do we know what they’re going to be?’’ Fitzgerald wondered.
“That’s my job, my duty, to make sure we’re covered with goaltending."
LEAFS STILL A MATCH FOR FLEURY AFTER DUBAS SAYS FOCUS IS ON BLUE LINE?
The Leafs seem to have more "needs" for this trade deadline than you'd like a supposed Stanley Cup contender to have. At forward, should they seek more left wing help, or perhaps another centre? Do they need to think about someone who could help the second line?
On defence, Jake Muzzin's head injury hangs over everything. If he's out for the season, Toronto will have roughly $7 million in deadline cap space, but that leaves a huge hole on the back end that will need to be filled. If he could return, the Leafs will have around $2 million in space, but may want to bring in a bottom-pair player at least, or possibly even someone to play with Morgan Rielly in the top four.
Goaltending is a mess these days and that is not an issue you want to have in the playoffs. The hope is Petr Mrazek and, especially, Jack Campbell get back on track, but we're now less than two weeks from decision day and it hasn't started to turn yet.
“I think we tend to get a little bit game-to-game in this marketplace, and I'm not concerned about either one of them,” Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said last week. “They both have shown themselves to be good goalies, and they will be.”
Dubas indicated that if Muzzin is on track to return, he would have one more deal to make, and that it would likely be an addition to the blue line.
But this is Toronto, and the debate about the Leafs' need for a goalie will not subside. After all, the Leafs have the league's second-worst 5-on-5 save percentage since Dec. 1. The Leafs did add a depth goalie leading up to the 2021 deadline, bringing in David Rittich when Frederik Andersen was out with an injury. He played four regular season games, losing three of them.
With Mrazek and Campbell healthy, but struggling, it would seem if the Leafs did go into the goalie market again in 2022, it would be for a more impactful player.
"My guess is if the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to go down that path and really take a swing at a goaltender, it's probably going to be someone of substance, someone you can feel confident in and hang your hat on for a playoff run," Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli said on The Fan Morning Show on Monday.
We explored the goalie market on Sportsnet.ca this week and, well, it ain't great. Campbell was really solid earlier this season, and that followed a terrific 2020-21 campaign. Mrazek has been good enough for a backup at times as well. If the Leafs really did want to make the position more secure, Fleury might be the only attainable option.
"I don't think the Fleury situation is far-fetched," Seravalli said, pointing out that if the Leafs and Hawks included a third team in the trade, the goalie's $7 million cap hit could be slashed twice and make him more affordable. "The Chicago Blackhawks are in desperate need of a goaltender as well. Can you flip them back Petr Mrazek? Someone with term on his deal. They are going into full rebuild mode. ... If you're rebuilding, does it really matter who's in net? And if you can find a way to increase your return for Fleury by taking on Mrazek, would that help? Then that would free up the Leafs to be in a position where they could enter the summer with a blank slate, an opportunity to start over."
AVALANCHE INQUIRING ABOUT PATRICK KANE?
The Colorado Avalanche are expected, again, to be one of the more aggressive buyers seeking a big name at the deadline. They have been mentioned with Claude Giroux and J.T. Miller, among others, in rumours the past few weeks.
The Chicago Blackhawks will be sellers, though most of that work could involve some of the UFAs and RFAs they have on the roster. A year from now, the team will have to figure out what the future holds for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, when both of those franchise cornerstones come up for new deals. Nothing of that magnitude appears imminent at this deadline, so soon after Kyle Davidson was named full-time GM.
So we'll just leave this little nugget:
HOW COLUMBUS VIEWS PATRIK LAINE, MAX DOMI AT THE DEADLINE
Columbus is the East's first team on the playoff-spot bubble, but the Blue Jackets are 10 points back and a long-shot to get back in. Since GM Jarmo Kekalainen has been active at past deadlines, we should expect him to do something again this season, right?
If it does happen, we should maybe lower the bar of expectation. Any speculation of trading, say, pending RFA Patrik Laine should have the door closed on it.
"We're talking. Made it clear that we want him to stay and I think he's made it clear he wants to stay. Now, we just have to find a common ground," Kekalainen told Kyper and Bourne Monday. "I was upset (about Laine trade rumours) because there hasn't been any talk about trading him with anybody, so somebody just made it up. Same thing with Alexandre Texier, and that's what pisses me off, to be honest with you, that I know there haven't been talks with any team and all of a sudden there's a rumour that we're taking calls on such and such, and I know it's BS."
One name that is coming up a little more lately is Max Domi, who makes $5.3 million on an expiring contract. It's a number the Blue Jackets would certainly need to retain money on, as Domi would likely be an add for someone's third or fourth line.
In 2018-19 with Montreal, Domi was a 28-goal, 72-point player (0.88 points per game), but has averaged 0.56 points per game since. He has nine goals and 28 points in 47 games this season. When he's on the ice at 5-on-5, the Blue Jackets are taking only 43 per cent of the shots. Kekalainen acknowledged his expiring contract means there's much to consider from both sides between now and the deadline.
"Max has been a bit like our team, a little inconsistent," Kekalainen noted. "Some real good games and some not so good."
DEFENCEMAN KEY TO ANY CANUCKS MOVE?
We're all waiting and wondering what move Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin will make for the Canucks by the deadline. Is it J.T. Miller, their top goal scorer and point getter, who is under contract for another season? Will it be Brock Boeser, a pending RFA due a $7.5 million qualifying offer with 16 goals on the season? How about Conor Garland, a fun complementary player signed through 2025-26 at $4.95 million?
These aren't players the Canucks are about to lose that they have to make a choice on now. But there is clearly a desire to start changing the teams' look and future somehow.
Whoever goes, the key to any deal might be the defenceman Vancouver can get back.
"(Some people) think it's going to be the player who can get them the best defenceman they can get," Elliotte Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast. "I think Nils Lundqvist's name has come up in New York. The name Bowen Byram's been thrown around there a little bit. I'm not convinced Colorado's doing that. But I do think that Rutherford wants a young defenceman who he thinks he can build around with Quinn Hughes. Someone said to me, 'I will bet you whoever gets traded from Vancouver, you're going to look at the defenceman in the deal and say that's the guy Vancouver wanted all along.' "
