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UPDATE - The Toronto Maple Leafs got a jump on the NHL trade deadline, moving winger Daniel Winnik to the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Zach Sill, Pittsburgh's 4th round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and their 2016 2nd round pick.
The Leafs will retain 50% of Winnik's $1.3 Million salary.
The 26 year old Sill has one goal, two assists and 60 penalty minutes in 42 games for Pittsburgh and like Winnik is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
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As trades unfold leading up to the March 2nd NHL trade deadline, they undoubtedly will have a domino effect on the participants involved the deal and those who tried but failed to obtain the player in question.
Such is the case with the trade of forward Sean Bergenheim to the Minnesota Wild that occurred on Tuesday. The 31-year-old pending UFA had requested a trade in February, putting Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon in not the best negotiating position, but Tallon was still able to get the Wild’s 2016 third round pick in return and have Minnesota pick up all of Bergenheim’s pro-rated $2.75 Million salary.
Bergenheim had reportedly drawn the interest of a number of contending clubs, but the veteran forward’s cap hit was large enough that Florida may have had to retain some salary or take a contract back to make the deal work.
The deal may positively impact what the Maple Leafs end up getting for winger Daniel Winnik. Toronto is reportedly looking for a 2015 second round pick and a lower pick or prospect for the 29-year-old pending UFA, which would seem to be an inflated cost for rent-a-players with similar offensive numbers, but Winnik’s more economical $1.3 Million salary, the subtraction of Bergenheim off the trade market and the Maple Leafs willingness to retain up to half of the cap hit to make a deal work could attract the return that GM Dave Nonis is looking for.
TSN’s Darren Dreger indicates that the Leafs have not wavered on their asking price for Winnik and continue to stick with their plan to wait until just before the deadline to pull the trigger on a deal.
Nonis is once again in scouting mode, as the Leafs GM followed up his trip to Boston to watch the Beanpot Tournament on Monday with a trip to New York City to check out the Rangers – Flames game at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers are one of many teams that have been rumored to have interest in Winnik, but Sportsnet's Roger Millions reports of rumors of talks between Toronto and Calgary about a possible deal.
The Flames are engaged in a tight battle with Los Angeles and San Jose for third in the Pacific Division with 68 points and have a significant amount of available cap space to add players if they wish to take a shot at the post-season.
The name of winger Joffrey Lupul had continued to be mentioned in rumors recently, but interest in the 31-year-old winger from the Montreal Canadiens may have cooled on Tuesday after the Habs acquired big forward Devante Smith-Pelly from the Anaheim Ducks for Jiri Sekac.
According to the Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle, the Canadiens are one of a number of teams on Lupul’s limited no-trade list.
The winger’s $5.25 Million cap hit and three remaining years may be difficult to move (especially someone with his injury history) but it is not impossible as there are many NHL teams offensively challenged who can use a top six scoring winger, the challenge is whether that type of deal is realistic in the next five days or more likely in the offseason.
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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicates in his weekly 30 Thoughts column that Leafs defenseman Roman Polak could be a fit for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have lost Victor Hedman and Matt Carle for sizable chunks of the season and may be without Radko Gudas for the rest of the season.
Polak has one year left on his contract at $2.75 Million and could attract significant assets in return from a team like the Lightning, whose blueline has long been their area in need of upgrade.
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An interesting tidbit from Comcast’s Kevin Kurz who addressed possible interest from the San Jose Sharks in Phil Kessel.
The Sharks have the cap room to take on Kessel’s $8 Million contract, also has significant young assets like Tomas Hertl, Matt Nieto, Mirco Mueller, and Nikolay Goldobin that would undoubtedly have to be a part of a deal and center Joe Pavelski, who centered the Leafs winger for Team USA at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
San Jose may be willing to make big changes depending on how they finish this season. If the Sharks miss the playoffs or make an early exit, it could force GM Doug Wilson to shuffle the group that has consistently disappointed in the post-season in recent years.
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