The National Hockey League's Trade Deadline is 3 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 25, 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.


All Ears

Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said Wednesday the team has not set a price tag on pending unrestricted free agents Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin, but added he continues to field offers.

"No," Kekalainen told NHL.com on if he had a set price. "Make an offer if you're interested."

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun said last week that the Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins "had a bit of sticker shock" when they heard the Blue Jackets' asking price for Panarin, while Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic reported that the Blue Jackets are seeking a first-round pick, a high-end prospect and a young player back for the star winger.

While the Blue Jackets currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division, Kekalainen said where the team sits in the playoff picture will not be the deciding factor in a trade.

"It's more about the outcome of the whole deal - for now, the near future and into the little more distant future," Kekalainen said. "That's the deciding factor, not where we are in the standings.

"We're going to have to look at all our options, and once we have them in front of us, we'll make a decision."

Panarin, the team's leading scorer with  22 goals and 64 points in 53 games, continues to sit at No. 1 on the TSN Trade Bait board. Bobrovsky, 30, is listed 10th on the list. He has a 23-16-1 record this season with a 2.90 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage.

The Blue Jackets have made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, but exited in the first round on both occasions. Kekalainen said Wednesday he's trying to find balance between helping the team advance further this year while not impacting the team's future.

"That's what you've got to look at," he said. "You've got to make sure that you don't mortgage the future too much by putting all the eggs in one basket for the spring, but at the time you want to give that group of guys that have worked extremely hard all year to make the playoffs and then make a run in the playoffs the best possible chance to do it."

 


Back in the Race

Just two months after sitting last in the Western Conference, the St. Louis Blues are now in the top wild-card spot and are in the midst of a seven-game win streak. The Blues were once viewed as a surefire seller - with Colton Parayko at No. 1 on the Trade Bait Board in December - but forward Ryan O'Reilly said he believes the team will at least stand pat at the deadline.

"I don't expect really anything big to happen here, and that's good," O'Reilly told NHL.com on Wednesday. "I think we have the group that can get it done." 

Brayden Schenn is the highest ranked Blues player on the Trade Bait Board, coming in at No. 29 on the list updated Wednesday. Parayko has dropped to No. 34, followed by Alex Steen at No. 35, Jay Bouwmeester at No. 37 and Patrick Maroon at No. 39. Three Blues were listed in the Top 20 on the board in December.

"It was a tough start to the season, but we hung on and we stayed in the fight," said O'Reilly. "But we're not done. There's still plenty to fight for."

The Blues have only $1.18 million in cap space ahead of the deadline and O'Reilly acknowledged that could limit the team's ability to be buyers over the next 11 days.

"That's the thing," he said. "You never know, but (being in in position to add is) the better side to be on, for sure."

 


Staal Tactic?

The Winnipeg Jets are expected to pursue big names such as Mark Stone and Matt Duchene ahead of the trade deadline, but TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun believes the team could pursue an experienced veteran if they strike out elsewhere.

LeBrun wrote in The Athletic on Wednesday that the Jets may pursue Minnesota Wild forward Eric Staal to boost their playoff push if other efforts fail. 

Staal, 34, has 17 goals and 37 points in 56 games this season with the Wild, who currently own the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. 

Staal is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $3.5 million cap hit but has a 10-team no-trade clause, which LeBrun reports is made up largely of contenders to limit his chances of being moved. He adds that he believes the Jets are on Staal's list, but the veteran could still opt to waive it for a move.