The National Hockey League's Trade Deadline is on Monday, Feb. 24, and teams will be making decisions on whether to buy or sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Check out the latest trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.


Needing Help

Michael Hutchinson allowed three goals on 10 shots in relief of the injured Frederik Andersen as the Toronto Maple Leafs blew a 3-1 lead in the third period of Monday's loss to the Florida Panthers.

Following the performance, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic wrote that the Maple Leafs must look into upgrading their goaltending - whether or not Andersen misses time. 

Hutchinson dropped to 4-8-1 on the season with Monday's loss with an .886 save percentage and a 3.62 goals-against average and Siegel writes that the team can't rely on him to help their playoff push, either while covering for Andersen or in spot starts. 

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe offered a defence of Hutchinson's performance after Monday's collapse, but declined to answer when asked about his confidence level in the 29-year-old should Andersen miss time.

“Obviously it didn't go very well,” Keefe said. “But it's a challenging scenario. He comes in cold when he's not expected to play and goes into the second period [where] I don't know that he [faced] any [good] shots. That's a tough ask of any goalie. I'd take a lot more from games he's played previously for us than tonight.”

The Maple Leafs are expected to have an update on Andersen Tuesday, with head coach Sheldon Keefe sounding optimistic about the goaltender's status after Monday's game.

"He's feeling better, from what I'm told,” Keefe said. “They're just going to have to give him the night and see how he is in the morning. He went through that whole [concussion protocol] process. My understanding is the results were positive on that, but given the nature of the injury, [the medical staff wanted] to take caution. We'll give him tonight and see how he is in the morning."

Siegel believes it will be close as to whether the Leafs will make the playoffs with Andersen, while any prolonged absence without an upgrade behind him could leave the Leafs on the outside looking in. He notes it may prove costly to acquire help, but asks whether the team can afford not to. He adds the position has been a weakness for the Leafs throughout the season with No. 3 option Kasimir Kaskisuo owning just one career NHL start.

Two goaltenders are currently listed on the TSN Trade Bait board in Alexander Georgiev of the New York Rangers (No. 17) and Robin Lehner of the Chicago Blackhawks (No. 23).  TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported last month that the Maple Leafs were among the teams to have inquired on Georgiev, who has a 12-10-1 record with a .909 save percentage this season.
 


The Way Forward

As the Los Angeles Kings sit last in the Western Conference with their aging core, forward Dustin Brown admitted to the Los Angeles Times that the team will need to start to find young stars in order to be competitive moving forward.

“Eventually that’s the questions that need to be answered internally,” Brown said. “I want to keep playing as long as I can, but eventually there’s going to have to be guys that are going to be the next crop of guys that are going to be able to take this team to the next level.”

Helene Elliott of The Times points out that Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli were once seen as key to the Kings future, but Pearson was dealt last fall and Toffoli now sits at No. 7 on the TSN Trade Bait board.

“I want to keep playing as long as I can but I want to be on a good team as well, so it’s finding ways to help the younger guys get better,” added Brown, who's signed for two more seasons at a $5.875 million cap hit. “The big thing is that next group coming. None of us guys is getting any younger. ...We need some guys to start taking the team over, eventually.”

In addition to Toffoli, Kings defenceman Alec Martinez is listed at No. 2 on the Trade Bait board, while forward Kyle Clifford checks in at No. 29. 

Los Angeles was ranked 30th in TSN Hockey's Core 4 Under-24 ranking in November.
 


Trade Bait

TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli reported Monday the Winnipeg Jets and Dustin Byfuglien are working toward a mutual contract termination, which will free the Jets to use their $7.6 million in salary cap space previously occupied by the defenceman.

The Jets have been in search of defensive help ahead of the deadline and now it appears will soon have the cap space to help move a deal along. The Jets, however, are believed to be looking for a defenceman with term on his deal with Paul Maurice making the following comments last week.

“Paying a high price for a rental, I don’t know that that makes a whole lot of sense for us,” Maurice told reporters on Friday. “If we can get a guy that can come in and play maybe more than the rest of the season, you’d think about doing that.”

Four defenceman signed through at least next season were listed on the updated TSN Trade Bait board on Monday - Alec Martinez, Shayne Gostisbehere, Matt Dumba and Jeff Petry. 

Martinez, listed at No. 2 on the Trade Bait board, is signed through next season at a $4 million cap hit. He has one goal and eight points in 35 games with the Kings this season while averaging 21:27 of ice time. 

Gostisbehere, listed at No. 8, is closing on a return to the Philadelphia Flyers lineup after undergoing knee surgery last month. The 26-year-old, who's signed through 2022-23 at a $4.5 million cap hit, has five goals and 12 points in 40 games this season.

Dumba carries the highest cap hit of the group, signed at a $6 million cap hit through 2022-23. Ranked at No. 11 on the board, he has three goals and 16 points in 25 games this season.

Petry is listed at No. 20 on the Trade Bait board with one season left on his contract with the Montreal Canadiens at a $5.5 million cap hit. The 32-year-old has seven goals and 33 points in 54 games this season while averaging 23:20 of ice time.

See the full Trade Bait board here.