The Trade Deadline is just one day away and teams are making decisions on whether to buy, sell, and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out today's trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.

 

Big game hunting?

With the Washington Capitals' acquisition of Kevin Shattenkirk Monday night, one big name is off TSN Hockey's Trade Bait List, but there are several still available, including the new top dog, Matt Duchene.

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger questioned whether the New York Islanders could go after the Avs' star forward, who he called a good fit for the team.

Dreger added that Duchene is eager to move and the Avs would be looking for a young defenceman in return for Duchene. The Islanders have Travis Hamonic, but he might not be the right fit for Colorado.

On Insider Trading, Bob McKenzie added the asking price for Duchene - and Gabriel Landeskog for that matter - remains very high: three or four high-end pieces, one of which would likely have to be a young defenceman.

Duchene has 16 goals and 36 points in 55 games for the Avalanche this season, and could make a strong offensive pairing with John Tavares in New York.

 

Fleury decision coming

The Pittsburgh Penguins have a decision to make on Marc-Andre Fleury. The veteran goalie is now No. 2 on the Penguins' depth chart at the position and the assumption is he'll be traded at one point or another. Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford told the NHL Network he will decide whether that point is now in the 48 hours before the Trade Deadline, according to Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

"In an interview with the NHL Network on Friday, Rutherford said he had yet to receive an offer for Fleury, but acknowledged the veteran goaltender would “like to get playing.” The GM said a decision would be made in the 48 hours before the deadline."

Bombulie listed the difficulties of trading Fleury on Wednesday, which include Fleury's contract - $5.75 million per season for two more years, his no-movement clause, the perceived weak market for goalies, and the fact the Penguins would have to replace him with another veteran backup goalie for their playoff run.

Bombulie also listed a number of teams that could be in the market for goalies however, including the Flames, Stars, Senators, Flyers, Hurricanes, Blues, and Jets.

 

Fire sale

The Tampa Bay Lightning have already made some moves ahead of Wednesday's Trade Deadline, with the goal to ease their impending salary cap crunch.

TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie suggested the team could make a similar decision with forward Valtteri Filppula. 

McKenzie reported Filppula has a list of 16 teams he can be traded to and the belief is the Lightning have approached him to consider waiving his no trade clause to the other 13 teams.

Filppula has seven goals and 34 points in 59 games for Tampa Bay this season.

 

Looking forward?

Rumours surrounding the New York Rangers leading up to the Trade Deadline have mostly involved their pursuit of defencemen. But Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggested the team might be better off using their assets to pursue a top-line forward.

Brooks reasoned that Adam Clendening, who has spent a lot of the season as the Rangers' seventh defencemen, has been playing well and could be better than any blue-liner the Rangers could acquire, especially with Kevin Shattenkirk off the market and now with the division rival Washington Capitals.

And the Rangers have been in a goal-scoring rut of late, having potted two goals or fewer in five of their last six games. Brooks listed some offensive rentals that could be more useful for the Rangers, including Patrick Sharp and Radim Vrbata.