Ahead of TradeCentre on Friday, TSN’s Hockey Insiders have the latest on Maple Leafs Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Bobby McMann, the Devils possibly moving Simon Nemec, multiple teams being interested in the Rangers’ Vincent Trocheck and if Robert Thomas will move at all.
James Duthie: Your Insiders getting ready for TradeCentre: Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun, Darren Dreger.
We are now down to hours before the 3p.m. ET trade deadline on Friday - we know the Toronto Maple Leafs would like to get a substantial amount done, they’ve traded Nicolas Roy on Thursday, what’s the latest on Oliver Ekman-Larsson?
Darren Dreger: Brad Treliving, the general manager, needs the interest level to pick up in the form of a legitimate offer for Ekman-Larsson that he can work with, and so far, that hasn’t been the case.
Obviously the veteran defenceman is on notice, being scratched in back-to-back games, but it is going to take a considerable offer for the Maple Leafs to move him.
On most nights he’s their No. 1 defenceman, second year of a four-year, very affordable contract, and most importantly, he wants to stay in Toronto.
The interest is going to pick up on Friday, I don’t think there’s any question about that.
In the meantime, it is the silly season where general managers are calling on just about every single player, and yes, Treliving gets calls on key players like Matthew Knies. He is not in any way, shape or form, shopping Matthew Knies. If he were to be traded either now or at the draft in the summer, imagine what the return would have to be. It’s just not happening.
Chris Johnston: Where there will be some business for the Leafs on this day is with their pending unrestricted free agents - that’s Scott Laughton and Bobby McMann. They will either be traded by the deadline, or they will be signed to extensions.
I think what’s interesting here is that on Thursday there was no contract talk. Everything was pretty quiet on that front in terms of the Leafs.
That tells you they were out there in the market place gauging what the returns could be. McMann and Laughton both have low cap hits, both play premium positions and we’ve seen this be a pretty good market so far for teams selling these kind of players.
The Leafs, in addition, can retain salary on them, so I think there’s a very high chance we will talk about these guys being moved by the deadline.
In the event that the offers aren’t what the Leafs like, look for them to circle back and look at contract extensions.
Duthie: This is what TradeCentre is usually about: pending UFAs or depth players... it’s not usually about 22-year-old soon-to-be restricted free agents that were second-overall picks in the draft. Could New Jersey really trade Simon Nemec?
Pierre LeBrun: The New Jersey Devils have talked to teams all week long about Nemec, the second-overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
The only way they go down this path and do a blockbuster is if they pick up a first-line-type forward, preferably a centre, that can augment their forward group.
That’s what they’re asking teams, that’s what teams are aware of. It would be easier to name the teams that didn’t call than those that called, because it’s so rare to have a guy like this on the market.
His deal’s up at the end of the year, and you saw what kind of contract Luke Hughes signed last year, it wasn’t an easy negotiation, I’m telling you, Simon Nemec and his camp would probably start with that comparison as well and say well ‘we want a big contract as well.’
I think if he doesn’t get dealt by Friday, it’s maybe a conversation we pick up in June.
Duthie: There were a lot of healthy scratches on Thursday night, and the New York Rangers listed their entire lineup as game-time decisions for this one. Vinny Trocheck was scratched, what’s the likelihood of him getting dealt?
Johnston: He’s one of the big prizes of the day, and it’s kind of an interesting file because all along we’ve sort of thought the Minnesota Wild were the favourite team to keep an eye on here.
As we start this day on Friday, they’ve sort of stepped back because the ask is just beyond what Wild general manager Bill Guerin is comfortable paying.
But there is a considerable amount of other teams around this. I look at the Carolina Hurricanes, the Detroit Red Wings have certainly checked in on Trocheck, I’m even told the Boston Bruins are among the teams that are at least hanging around here.
It’s not yet clear who’s going to step up and pay the price - I tried to get the exact price and all I got back was “A lot more than the Leafs got for Nicolas Roy,” which was a first- and a fifth-round pick.
So the offer’s a lot more than that. He could be, when the dust settles, the biggest trade that’s made on deadline day.
Dreger: Normally there’s a pecking order, positionally speaking. All the centres who are available are linked together in some way. So Nicolas Roy goes to the Colorado Avalanche, well Colorado’s down the road as well on Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames.
Well Calgary’s organization just doesn’t feel comfortable retaining - or at least retaining a good chunk of his salary. It’s going to be interesting to see how that trade interest continues to develop around this veteran forward.
He’s a good team guy, he’s a pro, I’m telling you he will be deeply disappointed if he’s with the Flames after the trade deadline.
There’s some work to do there for Flames general manager Craig Conroy. Tons of interest in Blake Coleman, tons of interest in Zach Whitecloud, but right now, Kadri appears to be a tougher sell.
Duthie: Not all the centres are linked, because Robert Thomas would stand apart from all of these guys, and after so much noise on Thomas, suddenly quiet on this day.
LeBrun: It was quiet on Thursday, and I can tell you as of Thursday night it was status quo on the Thomas front. And that is noteworthy for a couple of reasons.
One, he has that no-trade clause, and you would think that if he was going to move, that the Blues would have wanted to get this done by the end of Thursday night so they could go to his camp and make him think about that move.
Utah believes it has the best package available and is ready to get back in that but that did not happen on Thursday, so we’ll see where it goes, maybe Thomas stays put.
