Trade speculation increased to a fever pitch around the NHL over the last 24 hours, not only because the deadline is six days away, but due to the unexpected factor of Tampa Bay captain Martin St. Louis and Vancouver Canucks foward Ryan Kesler being thrust into the same old group of pending UFA’s that have been talked about since last October.
While St. Louis appears to be willing to waive his no move clause to go only to the New York Rangers, the Kesler chatter may have wide ranging effect on teams interested in adding a quality top six forward before 3pm on March 5th.
TVA Sports Louis Jean reported Wednesday that the Canucks center had requested a trade as far back as the beginning of the season. Bruce Arthur of the National Post mentioned on Twitter afterward that the Team USA forward had been telling people in Sochi that he wanted out of Vancouver after the Olympics.
May be tough to move Kesler before the deadline. Draft may be more likely. Vancouver would be looking for a hockey trade not picks.
— Louis Jean (@LouisJean_TVA) February 27, 2014Vancouver GM Mike Gillis made noises in early February after a long Canucks losing streak that he may be open to making major changes in hopes of retooling the aging club, but that he is not looking to go through a complete rebuild. For the likes of Kesler, Kevin Bieksa, Alexander Edler, Alexandre Burrows and others, Gillis would be looking for young NHL roster players and not prospects or future draft picks. TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported Wednesday evening that Vancouver would likely be looking for a 20 to 25 year old center for the 29-year-old Kesler, who is under contract at $5 Million per season until 2015-16. The fact that Gillis is looking for a player-for-player swap for some of his veteran players may play into the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are looking to add a top nine forward or top four defenseman before March 5th or after the season.
“We are going to look more for hockey deals where were actually trading assets for assets that will remain with us for a long period of time.… Leafs GM Dave Nonis said on Sportsnet’s Hockey Central on Wednesday. “Whether or not that happens, I think it’s going to be difficult, but again I don’t see us parting with a Jake Gardiner for an older guy that’s a UFA, I just don’t see that is something that makes sense for us.…
Assuming McKenzie’s report is accurate, it’s uncertain how many teams would be willing to offer up a young promising center for a player with a significant injury history, but names like Philadelphia’s Brayden Schenn or Sean Couturier, New York’s Derek Stepan or the Leafs Nazem Kadri would be the cost of doing business.
Kesler is a big two-way center who would be fit with Randy Carlyle’s defensive oriented scheme and his former GM may have interest if center Dave Bolland sticks to his contract demands of seven or eight years at more than $5 Million per season. It may be too big a step for Nonis to trade for the two-time US Olympian in the next six days, but if Kesler stays in Vancouver past March 5, expect Toronto to make a play for him over the summer.
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The Maple Leafs hope to resume their torrid pre-Olympic pace, as they take on the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday.
Toronto was one of the hottest teams in the league before the 18 day hiatus, going 11-2-1 in their last 14 games and have emerged an almost completely healthy club. The Islanders are not so lucky, as they will be without leading scorer John Tavares and second line center Frans Nielsen. Tavares suffered a season-ending knee injury against Lavtia at the Olympics in Sochi and Nielsen broke his hand in the last regular season game before the break.
Center Dave Bolland will not play as his surgically repaired ankle is not ready for game action. The Leafs will make a decision before the game to play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen or dress Trevor Smith, who has been out of action since mid-December with a broken hand.
Jonathan Bernier will start in goal for Toronto, Evgeni Nabokov will be between the pipes for the Islanders.
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