Today, we made Tuesday “choose day'” because there are two NHL rumours articles out today. But please feel free to read both to catch up on what’s going on in the hockey world. It’s a busy time with NHL rumours swirling. In this afternoon’s edition of NHL Rumours, we look at the Arizona Coyotes, Columbus Blue Jackets, and what all the Canadian teams will do going forward.
NHL Rumours
Arizona Coyotes
Rumour: On Monday’s 32 Thoughts the Podcast, Elliotte Freidman said he believes Jakob Chychrun will be traded before the deadline because Arizona doesn’t want this hanging over them and to move him before he gets hurt. Jeff Marek says Arizona is looking for a young player, a top prospect and a first-round pick for Chychrun. The teams he says have the capability to make this trade are the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues.
Analysis: Marek says the Coyotes are looking for a package similar to the haul the Minnesota Wild received for trading Brent Burns and a 2012 second-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in the summer of 2011, which is Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle and a 2011 first-round pick (Zack Phillips). Setoguchi, Coyle and Phillips were all first-round picks. The three first-round pick (or highly skilled young players) model is what Arizona will ideally be looking for. Chychrun is a big, all-around defenceman who finished 10th in the Norris Trophy voting last season. Those types of defencemen don’t come available too often, so I think they get that package.
So what could the three teams Jeff Marek suggest offer Arizona based on this model?
Los Angeles: Davis Green already wrote on this topic for Last Word on Hockey. His suggestion was Gabriel Vilardi, Rasmus Kupari, Jordan Spence and a 2021 first-round pick.
Anaheim: Max Comtois, Jacob Perrault, 2022 first and a 2023 third-round pick.
St. Louis: Scott Perunovich, Joel Hoefer, 2022 first-round pick and a 2022 second-round pick.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Rumour: The eighth player on Daily Faceoff’s trade board gathered by Frank Seravalli is Columbus Blue Jackets’ centremen Jack Roslovic. Seravalli mentioned his ice time dropped from 16:54 to 12:19 this season.
Analysis: The stats don’t lie, Roslovic’s ice-time drop shows that he is falling out of favour in Columbus. Boone Jenner is the top guy. Jenner has the experience, size and defensive acumen to play against the opposing teams best, but his 21 points in 33 games shows he has the offence skill as well. Behind him, Alexandre Texier is playing well with 19 points in 30 games. Also, young Cole Sillinger is rising quickly with 12 points in 33 games. This makes Roslovic expendable.
There will be lots of interest in Jack Roslovic. He is a young soon to be 25-year-old centre who can provide secondary scoring. His $1.83 million cap hit makes him really affordable. Teams that make sense for Roslovic include the Arizona Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens and the San Jose Sharks. There will be more NHL rumours to come on Roslovic’s next destination.
Canadian NHL Teams
Rumour: On Insider Trading, Darren Dreger reports that tighter Covid restrictions in Canada could impact players’ willingness to be traded north of the border.
Analysis: The restrictions in Canada are different depending on which province the team is in, but across the board there are capacity limits on restaurants and venues, gathering limits in social settings and mandatory masks in public places. The more restrictive measures include a 10:00 p.m. curfew in Quebec and indoor restaurant service and entertainment centres closed in Ontario. We will see where these restrictions are by the March 21 trade deadline, but it could impact whether players with no-trade clauses decide to go to Canada. Players like Tomas Hertl, Jakob Chychrun, Reilly Smith, Patric Hornqvist, Phil Kessel, Mark Giordano all have some control of where they can be traded.
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