The Islanders are starting to receive trade interest in veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara, Pierre LeBrun reports in the latest TSN Insider Trading segment. While the 44-year-old is no longer the top pairing player he was for a lot of his time in Boston, some contending teams could use him as a shutdown and penalty kill player in a limited role. He carries a $750K AAV although there are bonuses of up to another $750K in the existing deal but those could roll over and be applied on next year’s cap with the bonus cushion. While Chara doesn’t have any trade protection, LeBrun adds that GM Lou Lamoriello will go to the veteran to see if he indeed wants to move. He has seven assists in 42 games this season while still averaging over 18 minutes a game.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- New Jersey is set to get blueliner Dougie Hamilton back on Thursday, notes NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. The veteran has missed the last 17 games due to a broken jaw although he still sits second in scoring by Devils defenders with 20 points in 30 games. New Jersey is currently carrying a full roster and will need to make a move in order to free up a spot to activate Hamilton from IR.
- The Sabres should have defenseman Rasmus Dahlin back in the lineup on Wednesday in Montreal after he missed Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The 21-year-old is on pace to surpass his career highs offensively from back in his rookie season as he already has 33 points in 49 games this season while logging just shy of 24 minutes a game.
- The Flyers have transferred center Derick Brassard to injured reserve, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The placement was not backdated so it appears the veteran – who has battled hip injuries all season long – will miss at least another week. Brassard played in one game two weeks ago after coming back from hip trouble and clearly, the injury hasn’t fully healed yet. When healthy, he has been productive with 11 points in 20 games.
Zdeno Chara to NYR
Z hasn’t played badly this season — he could easily hold up his end of a bottom pairing. Heck, given how battered the Bruins’ backline is, we’d sure take him back in Boston.
Hasnt played badly? He’s been terrible all year. Look at his numbers. He looks his age even moreso than last year when he was brutal on the Caps backend. I get the nostalgia from the Bruins fan perspective but Big Z is cooked.
Chara to Trono pronto!
Brassard is just another failure of Fletcher signing an old/injured player to play minutes he’s not capable of anymore. How’s Ryan Ellis? LOL
Can the Flyers trade Fletcher and Holmgren to rid themselves of the free wheeling spend to the cap limit, trade draft picks and wind up in disarray just like when Holmgren stepped down as gm.