With the trade deadline now less than two weeks away, activity is starting to pick up across the NHL with a pair of signings and a trade headlining the key stories of the week.
Maatta Re-Signs: Olli Maatta opted to take a one-year deal with Detroit last summer in the hopes of rebuilding some value after some tough showing with Chicago and Los Angeles. That proved to be a wise move as he agreed to a two-year, $6MM extension with the Red Wings that runs through the 2024-25 campaign. The 28-year-old has been a dependable depth defender for Detroit this season, logging more than 18 minutes a night and his extension will allow some of their prospects to spend a bit more time developing at AHL Grand Rapids.
Gavrikov Sits: Perhaps inspired by Arizona’s decision to sit Jakob Chychrun for trade-related reasons last weekend (a move hasn’t happened yet), Columbus has decided to follow suit with blueliner Vladislav Gavrikov. The 27-year-old is expected to be one of the top rental blueliners on the move but the Blue Jackets have set a high asking price at a first-round pick, a third-rounder, and a fourth-round selection although they may have a taker pending another move being made first. Gavrikov had a breakout year last season with 33 points in 80 games but while his playing time hasn’t gone down in 2022-23, his production has as he has just three goals and seven assists in 52 games so far. At this point, it’s not believed that the rearguard will be discussing an extension with any of his trade suitors.
Maple Leafs Make A Splash: The Maple Leafs decided to do their deadline shopping early as they acquired centers Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from St. Louis in a three-team swap. St. Louis, who retained 50% of O’Reilly’s $7.5MM AAV, receives Toronto’s 2023 first-round pick, Ottawa’s 2023 third-round pick, and Toronto’s 2024 second-round pick along with prospect Mikhail Abramov and veteran Adam Gaudette. Minnesota retained an additional 25%, receiving a 2025 fourth-round pick for their troubles along with prospect Josh Pillar. The swap certainly bolsters Toronto’s depth down the middle which is particularly important with the Maple Leafs lined up with Tampa Bay and Boston as their potential first two opponents. It is, however, a bit of a high price tag when you consider that O’Reilly had just 19 points in 40 games prior to the swap, well below his norms. Both O’Reilly and Acciari are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer but Toronto is certainly going all-in while St. Louis now has three first-round picks at their disposal as they look to rebuild.
Staying In Los Angeles: The Kings have locked up a young blueliner for the long haul as they’ve inked Mikey Anderson to an eight-year, $33MM contract extension that will go through the 2030-31 campaign. The 23-year-old is logging nearly 22 minutes per game this season and while he doesn’t put up a ton of points (his 13 this season is already a career high), he plays an important role on the penalty kill and there’s still certainly time for him to improve. As long as Anderson stays in the top four for Los Angeles, this contract should age well.
Toews Out Indefinitely: There were set to be questions about Jonathan Toews and if he’d agree to be traded by the deadline with Chicago firmly in a rebuild. However, he revealed that he is still dealing with symptoms of Long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and, after consulting with team doctors, he has elected to take a step back and focus on getting healthy. He isn’t necessarily out for the season but the decision has now been made that he will not be traded in the coming days. Toews has spent his entire 15-year NHL career with the Blackhawks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
You have to wonder if he will retire after this season. He has had alot of health issues in recent years.
Whether or not he has covid is conjecture; though he probably wants to retire a Black Hawk. Blame everything on covid and he sits on the IR and doesn’t have to play to get paid and can retire this off season a Hawk.