Headlines

  • Mark Giordano Signs Extension With Maple Leafs
  • Rick Bowness Will Not Return As Dallas Stars Coach
  • Nashville Predators Extend John Hynes
  • Vegas Golden Knights Fire Peter DeBoer
  • New York Islanders Name Lane Lambert Head Coach
  • Montreal Canadiens Win 2022 NHL Draft Lottery
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Trade Rumors: Predators, Fleury, Vesey

February 17, 2021 at 8:15 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 4 Comments

While Mattias Ekholm may be the name that teams are clamoring over right now, whether he’s actually available or not, he isn’t the only Predator that might eventually be on the block. Many, including top analysts Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Pierre LeBrun of TSN, believe that the Predators are quickly approaching the point of no return this season and will begin to move players shortly. Despite a talented roster on paper, Nashville sits in seventh place in the Central Division with a points percentage of just .400 through 15 games. More than a quarter of the way through their campaign, the Predators face a slim chance of turning it around and making the playoffs, especially in this season’s difficult makeshift format.

While Nashville may not quite be ready to fully blow up their roster, both Friedman and LeBrun agree that impending free agents Mikael Granlund and Erik Haula are as good as gone. Both had significant interest on the open market late into this past off-season before deciding on Nashville and that interest should remain. Granlund especially has performed well – he’s arguably Nashville’s second-best forward thus far – and should net a decent return. That may not be the end of the list, though. Veterans Brad Richardson and Luca Sbisa may also hold rental value, while term forwards like Nick Cousins, a disappointment in his first season with Nashville, Rocco Grimaldi, or Calle Jarnkrok could also find themselves on the block. Friedman notes that top-six centers Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen may be made available, but given their massive contracts and lacking production in the current flat cap climate, interest will likely be slim. Their potential availability is still a sign that the Predators could be considering a major shake-up nonetheless.

  • Although they considered moving him this off-season in an effort to open up cap space, Friedman does not believe that Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is still available. The fan favorite has been stellar this season, especially in light of the struggles of “starter” Robin Lehner. While Lehner has battled injury and inconsistency, Fleury has posted a .937 save percentage and 1.56 GAA, and most importantly seven wins through nine starts. He has been a major reason why the Knights are off to such a hot start; a start that likely would have gone the other way had Fleury been moved this off-season leaving the frustrated Lehner as the only experienced goalie on the roster. So while Fleury remains an aging asset on an expensive contract who at least had the appearance of only being a backup moving forward, he has proven himself invaluable to Vegas. With a number of teams troubled in net, including Fleury’s former Pittsburgh Penguins, there is a renewed interest in taking on Fleury’s contract in order to take advantage of his current hot streak, but don’t expect the Golden Knights to give him up this season.
  • Following their acquisition of Alex Galchenyuk, Friedman wonders if the Jimmy Vesey experiment has already come to an end in Toronto. The free agent addition has just three points in 16 games despite having been given ample opportunity to produce. Given the Maple Leafs’ tight salary cap situation, even with a pair of players currently on Long-Term Injured Reserve, Toronto has to be measured in every roster decision. Once Wayne Simmonds and Jack Campbell return to health and especially if Galchenyuk has earned a role in the starting lineup by that time, the team likely will not have room to carry Vesey, even at just $900K against the cap. An affordable (to most) impending free agent with size and goal-scoring ability, it seems likely that someone would be willing to give Vesey another shot, especially if they can get him for free on waivers. If the Maple Leafs feel that Vesey will not clear, the countdown may have already begun for the team to make a trade before he is lost for nothing on the waiver wire.
Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Alex Galchenyuk| Brad Richardson| Calle Jarnkrok| Elliotte Friedman| Erik Haula| Jack Campbell| Jimmy Vesey| Luca Sbisa| Marc-Andre Fleury| Matt Duchene| Mattias Ekholm| Mikael Granlund| Nashville Predators| Nick Cousins| Salary Cap| Toronto Maple Leafs| Trade Rumors| Vegas Golden Knights| Waivers

Minor Transactions: 02/17/21
Main
Taxi Squad Shuffle: 02/18/21
View Comments (4)
newest oldest

Comments

  1. bigdaddyt

    1 year ago

    Granlund is reportedly who Elliot was talking about on Saturday who the leafs are reportedly trying to acquire. Know the guys ok SDP were thinking it was Hall but this makes more sense

    Reply
  2. ericl

    1 year ago

    The Preds aren’t likely to trade any of their young players like Tolvanen & Kunin or Tomassino & others in the minors or juniors. Of the veterans on their roster, they would probably move anyone other than Josi, Ellis, Forsbert & Arvidsson.

    Reply
  3. forwhomjoshbelltolled

    1 year ago

    They have an enigma and a dog as their 1-2 center punch. They have no goaltending. Their once deep D corps is depleted.

    And, they have the worst uniforms in the NHL*.

    *Oilers oranges are a close second.

    Also, firing Lavy to give Hynes the job outright made no sense.

    Time to start over. Less catfish next time.

    Reply
  4. DarkSide830

    1 year ago

    shouldnt have signed Lehner to begin with…

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Mark Giordano Signs Extension With Maple Leafs

    Rick Bowness Will Not Return As Dallas Stars Coach

    Nashville Predators Extend John Hynes

    Vegas Golden Knights Fire Peter DeBoer

    New York Islanders Name Lane Lambert Head Coach

    Montreal Canadiens Win 2022 NHL Draft Lottery

    New York Islanders Fire Barry Trotz

    Philadelphia Flyers Will Not Retain Mike Yeo As Head Coach

    Jets Agree To Three-Year Extension With Kevin Cheveldayoff

    Red Wings Will Not Bring Back Jeff Blashill Next Season

    Recent

    Offseason Checklist: Detroit Red Wings

    Islanders Sign Ruslan Iskhakov

    East Notes: Senators Injuries, Goodrow, Kaski

    Snapshots: PWHPA, Kane, Chiasson

    Examining Sergei Bobrovsky’s Future

    Tom Wilson Undergoes Knee Surgery

    Brian Lashoff Signs AHL Contract

    Atlantic Notes: St. Louis, Giroux, Senators

    Minor Transactions: 05/25/22

    Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Taylor Fedun

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Coyotes Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version