Kings Interested In Jarome Iginla
The Los Angeles Kings have expressed some interest in Colorado right winger Jarome Iginla, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports via Twitter. Iginla holds a full no-trade clause but is open to lifting it to move to a contender and McKenzie adds that the interest may be mutual.
The Kings are looking for some help up front as they are one of the lowest scoring teams in the Western Conference. However, Iginla has tailed off offensively this season and is on pace for the worst offensive numbers in his career. In 61 games this year, the 39 year old has just eight goals, ten assists, and a -21 rating while averaging a career low 14:45 per game.
However, perhaps a change of scenery would result in a bit of a spark for the veteran. The Kings wouldn’t exactly represent a contending team, however, as they remain on the outside looking in at a playoff spot (they are one point behind the Blues for the last Wild Card spot but St. Louis has a game in hand).
Iginla is in the final year of his contract with a cap hit of $5.33MM. It’s likely that Colorado will have to retain a significant portion of the deal if a trade is agreed upon.
The Latest On Radim Vrbata
At least five teams have expressed an interest in Arizona right winger Radim Vrbata according to ESPN’s Craig Custance (Twitter link). The Bruins, Flames, Islanders, Panthers, and Penguins are all interested in the services of the 35 year old, who is expected to be one of the more prominent forwards dealt today. TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (via Twitter) that the Canadiens are among the teams that have the most interest in him as well.
Vrbata is in the middle of a strong bounce back season in his third stint with the Coyotes. Through 62 games this year, he has 15 goals and 32 assists to lead the team in scoring. That type of production would fit in well on just about any contender so GM John Chayka should be able to line up a nice return for the veteran.
Part of the allure for Vrbata is his contract which carries a cap hit of just $1MM and he will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. However, it’s worth noting that he has playoff-based incentives in his deal as well: $250K if his team makes the postseason plus an additional $250K for each round that team wins and the acquiring team will be responsible for absorbing those onto their cap either this year or next season as a bonus overage penalty.
Coyotes, Avalanche Exchange AHL Wingers
The Avalanche and Coyotes have made a small trade as Terry Frei of the Denver Post reports (via Twitter) that Colorado has dealt right winger Joe Whitney to Arizona in exchange for left winger Brendan Ranford.
Ranford’s stay with the Coyotes lasted only a month after being acquired from Dallas back on February 1st. He didn’t get into any games with Arizona and instead played in ten games with their AHL affiliate in Tucson, being held off the scoresheet. For the season, the 24 year old has six goals and 11 assists in 46 minor league contests.
As for Whitney, he has spent the entire season with Colorado’s AHL affiliate in San Antonio. In 55 games with the Rampage, he has 11 goals and 17 helpers which ranked him fourth in team scoring.
Both players are slated to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.
Hurricanes Listening To Offers On Teuvo Teravainen
The Carolina Hurricanes are exploring trade possibilities for forward Teuvo Teravainen, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The revelation is intriguing as Teravainen is just 22 years old and is believed to be part of Carolina’s core moving forward.
The Hurricanes added Teravainen from Chicago back in the offseason as part of the deal that also saw them pick up Bryan Bickell’s contract. He has fared pretty well in his first season with the ‘Canes, picking up 11 goals and 18 assists through 58 games while averaging a career high in ice time at 15:54 per night. The former 2012 first rounder (18th overall) is on pace to beat his career best in points of 35 which was set last season.
One possible reason for Carolina checking around on what they could get for Teravainen is his contract situation. He’s slated to become a restricted free agent this offseason and would be a candidate for a bridge deal coming off his entry-level pact. If the Hurricanes do move him, he won’t be an expensive piece for the acquiring team as he has a cap hit of just $833K, though that amount can be increased to just under $1.5MM if all of his performance bonuses are hit.
PHR Trade Deadline Chat Transcript: 03/01/17
Click here to read today’s special trade deadline live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
Dallas Stars May Miss Chance To Trade Patrick Sharp Due To Injury
Mar. 1: Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that Sharp’s injury is significant enough that it will stop him from being traded today.
Feb. 28, 4:00pm: If you’re a fan of the Dallas Stars and you hate that they’ve begun to sell off expiring assets this year, you may be in luck. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that team doctors will meet with Patrick Sharp at the conclusion of the Stars game against Pittsburgh to discuss a nagging injury. Though he is able to play through it—he played two nights ago and is expected to be in the lineup tonight—it may keep him off the trading block.
Friedman says that Stars GM Jim Nill has been very up front with teams who have inquired about the pending free agent. Though this doesn’t by any means guarantee that he won’t be moved, any team looking for an immediate impact in their top six may look elsewhere.
Sharp is in the last year of a five-year, $29.5MM deal that he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2011 and is easily one of the most decorated scoring threats on the rental market. With eight 20+ goal seasons (including four in which he scored at least 33) he presented an opportunity to get a player who could provide a real impact with top-line players for the remainder of the season and in the playoffs.
We profiled Sharp a month ago and listed no less than seven teams that could have been interested in the three-time Stanley Cup winner. The fact that he has 47 goals in 142 playoff games and is only owed an actual salary of $5MM this season was just icing on the cake. Sharp is admittedly getting older at 35 and has seen his production slip this year because of concussion problems, but when the market is paying solid prospects for Alex Burrows and second-round picks for Brian Boyle, he still looked likely to command a hefty return.
Again, this doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to stay with the Stars but it could definitely cool the market on him if he’s deemed to injured to help immediately. Teams may still acquire him if he had a shot at returning for the playoffs, but it would likely have heavy conditions on any picks sent back to Dallas. Obviously the type or extent of the injury isn’t known, but Michael Russo of the Star Tribune guesses that it may have been a collision with Nino Niederreiter on February 16th for which the Minnesota forward was given a five-minute major and game misconduct (video of hit).
Regardless of when it happened, it’s bad timing for the Stars if they wanted to get anything out of Sharp at the deadline.
Minor Transactions: 03/01/17
While all the big deals will be listed on our deadline transaction tracker, we’ll keep an eye open for any player movement between the NHL and AHL here like always.
- The New York Islanders have brought Josh Ho-Sang back up on the emergency conditions he was recalled on yesterday. Interestingly the team loaned him back to Bridgeport just a few hours after recalling him yesterday to leave room in case they made a deal.
- After acquiring Brendan Smith, the New York Rangers have sent Steven Kampfer back to the Hartford Wolf Pack. Kampfer was up with the team because of the Dan Girardi injury, and logged almost 16 minutes of ice time in the Rangers’ 4-1 loss last night.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have added from the inside today, bringing up Derrick Pouliot from the AHL. The defenseman has played seven games with the NHL club this season.
- According to Mark Divver of the Providence Journal, the Boston Bruins have brought Joe Morrow back to the big leagues. Morrow hasn’t played in an NHL game in over a month, but has 17 under his belt this season.
- The Devils announced that they have recalled forward Kevin Rooney from Albany of the AHL. This will be his first NHL stint after signing an entry-level contract back on Monday. In 57 AHL games this season, he has ten goals and seven assists.
- Dallas announced that left winger Remi Elie was re-assigned to their AHL affiliate in Texas. The 21 year old didn’t get into a game after being recalled on Sunday. In 49 games this season in the minors, he has eight goals and 17 helpers.
- According to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star, the Maple Leafs have sent Nikita Soshnikov down the Toronto Marlies ahead of the AHL playoff eligibility deadline. The forward was left out of the lineup last night after Brian Boyle joined the team.
Los Angeles Kings Trying To Trade Marian Gaborik
According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports (who is the early MVP of trade deadline day), the Los Angeles Kings are trying to move Marian Gaborik out of town. Sending out the rapidly declining sniper would free up some space and ice time for other players as the Kings push hard for the playoffs this season.
Gaborik has seen his play diminish in the past couple of seasons as he heads into the second half of his thirties, but still has four more seasons at $4.875MM on his current deal. It’s a tough pill to swallow for anyone despite Gaborik’s elite goal-scoring history.
It’s been a long time since his last 40 goal season, but perhaps a team would be willing to take him at a reduced salary if the Kings retained some of the money. A former Stanley Cup champion, Gaborik has just seven goals and 15 points in 40 games this season even playing more than 16 minutes a night and skating mostly beside Anze Kopitar.
Valtteri Filppula Rejected Trade To Maple Leafs
According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, Valtteri Filppula could have been included in the Brian Boyle trade to Toronto, had he not exercised his no-trade clause to reject the deal. The swap would have expanded if he had allowed it, something that fits in with what Bob McKenzie of TSN hinted at yesterday when he mentioned the Leafs.
Toronto has quite a bit of cap space due to their players on LTIR this season, and could use it to acquire some assets or a better deal on rentals that they want to bring in. Filppula causes a big problem for the Lightning going into the expansion draft as his NMC forces protection. The team has several forwards that may be left exposed because of their crunch.
He also has one year remaining at $5MM, something the Lightning simply can’t afford if they want to re-sign Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson. There isn’t enough money to go around in Tampa, and expect Filppula to be out at some point over the next few months (if not the next few hours). His clause gives the team only 16 possible destinations, but he may decide to waive it to go to a place that he’ll get more icetime.