The NHL season is in full swing. There are lots of moves being made still while each team figures out what is working and what isn’t for their roster. With lots of moving parts in the background, there are numerous NHL rumours as a result. Today we will be looking at NHL rumours surrounding the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and Buffalo Sabres.
NHL Rumours
Montreal Canadiens
Rumour: According to Corey Pronman of The Athletic, the Montreal Canadiens could use Victor Mete and/or Jayden Struble as a trade piece when the deadline rolls around.
Analysis: The Habs have had an up and down season so far. They started incredibly strong and looked like juggernauts. Now they have begun to come back down to Earth. They are almost certainly a better team than how they have been playing, that much is certain. And in the Scotia North Division, they will almost certainly be a playoff team as well.
Acquiring some additional players could be key for this team to make a run at the cup. There have been rumours about Mete requesting a trade for some time now, so his name makes sense. Pronman cites the fact that the Habs have a plethora of left-handed defensemen in their system as to why the Habs would look at trading Struble.
The Habs would be smart to look to create a package to make a trade for some players that would help their special teams. This is likely their weakest area at the moment. With Mete playing so little, it’s almost a wasted asset for the Canadiens, so moving him would be smart at this point.
Detroit Red Wings
Rumour: According to Max Bultman of The Athletic, Steve Yzerman could consider trading some of his younger forwards like Anthony Mantha or Tyler Bertuzzi at the trade deadline.
Analysis: The Red Wings will absolutely be sellers at the deadline this season. While it may not be likely that Yzerman will trade some of his best young players, it’s surprising to hear their names come up. You would think a player like Mantha is a key piece to the Red Wings future. Mantha is in the first year of a four-year contract, so he has term.
While it doesn’t seem like Yzerman is actively shopping these players, other teams should be clambering at the idea of acquiring Anthony Mantha. He’s a fantastic winger at a reasonable contract in the prime of his career. It would likely cost a significant piece to get him away from the Red Wings, but it would likely be worth it.
This could also be an incredibly smart play on Yzerman’s end as well. While Mantha is one of the few bright spots of the Red Wings, he’s a little bit older than the rest of the pack and could net the Red Wings a big return from a contender. The combination of low cap hit, term, skill and age are all things that add value to him. Things like cap hit, term and skill provide more value to a contending team than they do to the 2020-21 Red Wings.
Buffalo Sabres
Rumour: Taylor Hall has said he still has interest in remaining with the Buffalo Sabres past this season.
Taylor Hall says he maintains interest in remaining with the Sabres past this season.
— John Vogl (@BuffaloVogl) March 4, 2021
Analysis: Buffalo has been a big talking point of late. They have not performed as well as they would have liked in this rebuild. It also seems like Jack Eichel is unhappy. This comes as one bright spot for the Sabres though. Taylor Hall has not had as many goals as Sabres fans may like, but he’s still a very good player. And for him to want to remain in Buffalo after seeing it in the state it’s in currently is huge.
The Sabres should try to start extension talks with Hall as soon as possible. While a very long-term deal like Jeff Skinner‘s isn’t ideal, especially considering his injury history, keeping him in Buffalo could be a massive boost. The Sabres don’t have a lot of great players, so keeping Hall could be key.
The question becomes whether the Sabres want to keep Hall or take the chance at trading him for assets at the deadline. The Sabres likely aren’t going to contend soon enough for Hall’s peak years, and he could bring back a lot of strong assets. Hall has a no-movement clause, so it will be up to him if he leaves. However, even if Hall could see himself staying in Buffalo, it might not take much to talk him into moving to a contender.
This concludes the NHL rumours for today!
