Rangers, Hurricanes Discussing Brady Skjei
The Carolina Hurricanes have been looking for help on defense and the New York Rangers have been trying to move out some salary. It makes sense then when Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the two teams have discussed Brady Skjei. Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that a first-round pick is part of the talks, though both insiders point to cap issues for the Hurricanes as a potential impediment to a deal.
Skjei, 25, is under contract through the 2023-24 season and carries a $5.25MM cap hit, room that the Hurricanes don’t have after acquiring Vincent Trocheck earlier today. Skjei is also another left-handed shot, something the Hurricanes already have plenty of in Jaccob Slavin, Jake Gardiner, Joel Edmundson and Haydn Fleury, not to mention prospect Jake Bean. The team recently lost right-handers Brett Pesce and Dougie Hamilton to serious injuries, obviously making that side of the ice a little weaker for this season.
Still, adding a player like Skjei would give the team another legitimate top-four option as they try to get back to the playoffs this season. Even though his play has been inconsistent, the Rangers defenseman still has 23 points through 60 games and is logging more than 20 minutes a night.
After signing Chris Kreider to a major extension, it seems as though the Rangers are even more motivated to get rid of some salary. With the emergence of Adam Fox, Anthony DeAngelo and Ryan Lindgren, the Rangers could afford to move Skjei out of town and still have enough exciting pieces to build around on the back end.
Edmonton Oilers Acquire Andreas Athanasiou
After coming close to a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Detroit Red Wings are actually sending Andreas Athanasiou back to his old GM instead. Ken Holland and the Edmonton Oilers have acquired Andreas Athanasiou and Ryan Kuffner. In return, the Red Wings will receive Sam Gagner, a 2020 second-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick. The Oilers will retain 10% of Gagner’s remaining salary.
As our Brian La Rose wrote when Athanasiou looked like he was heading to Columbus, it has been a very strange season for the 25-year-old. Last year, he had a career-best 30 goals and 24 assists in 76 games and it looked like he was on his way to being part of Detroit’s long-term core. However, things have gone completely off the rails this season. He has struggled considerably offensively with only 24 points in 46 games while his plus/minus has been dreadful at -45. That’s already in the bottom 30 all-time among NHL forwards.
While he would have had plenty of opportunity in Columbus due to their injuries, Athanasiou’s future in Edmonton may be even more exciting. One of the few players in the league who can keep up with Connor McDavid‘s skating ability, there is a chance the pair could be combined to make the fastest line in the league. That kind of speed could be devastating for opponents to deal with, though Athanasiou will have to find some more consistency in his game to deserve a spot on the top line.
Not only will he know the GM from their time in Detroit, but Athanasiou will join Mike Green on his way over from the Red Wings at the deadline. You might not think that grabbing two players from the worst team in the league is a positive strategy, but familiarity is certainly a factor here for an executive that wants to win right away.
In terms of the return, Detroit gets two nice picks for a player that was bound to be a tough negotiation this summer. Athanasiou is a restricted free agent again and had already held out late into the offseason previously. The 25-year old currently carries a $3MM cap hit but could certainly put himself in line for a big raise with a strong few months in Edmonton.
New York Islanders Pursuing Zach Parise
According to Frank Seravalli of TSN, the New York Islanders are working to acquire Zach Parise from the Minnesota Wild. The Islanders would be sending Andrew Ladd back in a potential deal, though the trade is not complete at this point and there would likely be additional pieces involved. Parise obviously has a link to Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello after playing the first part of his career in New Jersey. Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets that Parise is willing to waive his no-move clause if it does come together.
Boston Bruins Acquire Nick Ritchie
The Boston Bruins are going to try their luck with a different Ritchie brother. The Bruins have acquired Nick Ritchie from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Danton Heinen. Brett Ritchie meanwhile is currently playing for the Providence Bruins.
The new Bruins’ winger will fit right into the culture that Boston has built as a physical, grinding team, but it’s hard to know exactly where his ceiling is at this point. The 24-year old Ritchie was a 10th-overall pick in 2014 but has a career-high of 14 goals to this point. In fact, his eight goals and 19 points this year would look even worse if this trade had happened just a day ago—Ritchie had a career-high four-point game for Anaheim yesterday, scoring twice.
That physical presence may fit better in Buffalo than Heinen, but the Ducks will hope they can get the best out of their talented new forward. The 24-year old Heinen has been a frustratingly-underwhelming presence in the Boston lineup this season, but has a history of success. In 2017-18 as a rookie he scored 16 goals and 47 points, but has gone steadily downhill ever since.
Both players are signed through 2020-21, but Heinen’s $2.8MM cap hit is almost twice the size of Ritchie’s $1.498MM salary. That opens up a bit more room for the Bruins, who also cleared space in the recent Ondrej Kase–David Backes deal with the same team.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet broke the trade on Twitter.
Buffalo Sabres To Acquire Wayne Simmonds
The Buffalo Sabres are obviously not giving up on this season just yet. The team is close to acquiring Wayne Simmonds from the New Jersey Devils, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. The Sabres are expected to send a conditional 2021 fifth-round pick to the Devils in return. Pierre LeBrun and Frank Seravalli of TSN chime in with some details. The pick can become a fourth-round pick if the Sabres make the playoffs and Simmonds plays ten games, while New Jersey will retain 50% of his cap hit through the end of the year.
The Sabres looked like they were completely out of the race a few weeks ago, but after some real struggles from both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers, Buffalo now sits just six points out of a divisional playoff spot with a game in hand.
Whether Simmonds will really be able to help them reach that goal is the question. The power forward has just eight goals and 24 points this season, a pace that would see him tally his lowest goal total since his rookie year. Part of that can be blamed on the hapless situation the Devils are in, but there are more than 900 tough, physical games on Simmonds’ frame at this point and he is obviously slowing down.
Still, an acquisition that costs you almost nothing in terms of draft capital can never really be called a loss. The Sabres will add in Simmonds’ leadership and physicality as a little boost to the stretch, a reward for the way the group has played recently.
Derek Grant Traded To Philadelphia Flyers
Not only did the Philadelphia Flyers add Nate Thompson today, but they’ve also acquired Derek Grant from the Anaheim Ducks according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. The Ducks will receive Kyle Criscuolo and a fourth-round pick in return.
Grant, like Thompson, has been all over the NHL throughout his career. A member of the Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins and Ducks (twice), he has 257 career games. This year however has been his best, with 14 goals and 20 points through 49 games.
A big body and even more center depth is exactly what the Flyers were looking for, which Grant brings in spades. The team had been linked to Jeff Carter in the past, but with two additions for their bottom-six already in hand it seems unlikely that the Flyers will go after their former star.
The question will now be whether it even makes a difference for Philadelphia in the brutal Metropolitan Division. The team currently sits in third place with 77 points, but the New York Islanders (76 points), Carolina Hurricanes (74) and Columbus Blue Jackets (74) are all still hot on their heels.
Igor Shesterkin Out With Rib Fracture
The New York Rangers made a huge move to lock up Chris Kreider today, but they’ll lose one of their other top players for a while. Igor Shesterkin and Pavel Buchnevich were involved in a car accident yesterday, and the goaltender will be out for at least two weeks with a broken rib. Buchnevich is listed as day-to-day.
Given that Shesterkin could miss up to a month with the injury, the Rangers’ goaltending situation is back to normal for the next little while. Henrik Lundqvist and Alexandar Georgiev will assume the duties for now, likely ending any speculation on a deadline deal.
Shesterkin has been outstanding since arriving in the NHL, posting a .940 save percentage through ten appearances. The Rangers will have to obviously play this very carefully as the protect their potential new franchise netminder.
Nashville Predators Extend Rocco Grimaldi
While the rest of the league is busy making trades, the Nashville Predators have decided to sign one of their players to an extension. Rocco Grimaldi has signed a two-year contract extension that carries him through the 2021-22 season. The deal will pay Grimaldi $2MM in each year.
Grimaldi, 27, has finally seemed to find a home in Nashville after bouncing around the league his first few seasons. In 58 games this year he has already set career-highs in goals, assists, points, +/-, and time on ice. Ten goals and 30 points may not be eye-popping numbers, but on a team whose identity is collective scoring he fits right into the mix.
Still, even though he has outperformed a $2MM salary, the Predators have been criticized in the past for not having any real stars to lead their group. Locking up another player like Grimaldi just leans into that even further, given how little cap space the team will be dealing with moving forward. Mikael Granlund and Craig Smith are both coming off the books, but with a huge raise coming for Roman Josi and real concern in net there won’t be a lot left.
Grimaldi would have been an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, and will be a UFA in 2022.
Patrick Marleau Traded To Pittsburgh
After spending the first 19 seasons of his NHL career with one organization, Patrick Marleau will now join his fourth in the past calendar year. The San Jose Sharks legend will be traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a third-round selection according to Pierre LeBrun on TSN, pending a trade call with the league. LeBrun adds on Twitter that the pick can become a second-round selection should the Penguins win the Stanley Cup.
Marleau, 40, was traded last summer from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Carolina Hurricanes, only to be bought out and become an unrestricted free agent. After it looked like he might have a hard time finding work, his old team in San Jose ended up signing Marleau for one more go-round. In 58 games with the Sharks the veteran forward has ten goals and 20 points, but will bring his near 2000 NHL games played to the Penguins for one more shot at the Stanley Cup.
While he likely won’t be playing 20 minutes a night like he did earlier in his career, Marleau still has enough game left that he can give the Penguins’ bottom-six a different look. The team already added Jason Zucker to the group to skate next to Sidney Crosby, but still had some questions at the bottom of the lineup given their injuries.
Marleau never has lifted the silver chalice over his head, despite playing 191 playoff games in a long career. The iron man hasn’t missed a game due to injury in a decade.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
PHR Live Deadline Chat Transcript: 02/24/20
Click here read a transcript of this year’s live trade deadline chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.