In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Vancouver Canucks are going to take their time with Andrei Kuzmenko and not lock themselves into any sort of decision. Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers continue to scout teams, having checked out the Nashville Predators twice. The Toronto Maple Leafs want to spend their cap space money on a trade, but teams aren’t working with them. Finally, what does a possible injury to Chris Tanev mean when it comes to the trade market?
What Does Tanev’s Injury Mean for the Flames Trade Prospects?
Trade speculation around Flames defenseman Chris Tanev intensifies after a concerning injury during Monday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. Tanev, a coveted player among this season’s NHL Trade Deadline targets, left the game in the first 15 seconds following a hard hit from Ross Colton, causing him to collide with the glass.
The undisclosed nature and severity of the injury may jeopardize his status as a trade asset in the coming weeks. If he’s suffered anything long-term, the injury introduces an unexpected complication into the decision-making process for Flames GM Craig Conroy. In fact, every day that the Flames wait to trade players, there’s a chance that on of their pending UFAs goes down.
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Other teams seeking defensive reinforcements ahead of the trade deadline are now monitoring the situation closely, and it will be interesting to see what ripple effect results.
Toronto Having Trouble Making a Trade
One of the teams that will keep close tabs on the Tanev situation is the Toronto Maple Leafs. They are already having a tough time making a trade and as Carlo Colaiacovo explained on TSN First Up this past week, might have to go bargain bin shopping.
Colaiacovo reports that opposing managers are trying to “take advantage of the situation.” in Toronto and the fact that the Leafs are in a serious need to improve their blue line. No one wants to jump up and help, so the prices are too high right now. He adds:
We might, they might have to just go bargain shopping with some guys and just find, maybe just another NHL caliber defenseman instead of a guy that’s that, that’s going to fit the mold of what they’re looking for as a top pairing defenseman.”
As for who is available at a lesser price, that’s unclear. So too, the Leafs need to be sure not to blow their cap space or assets that will later need to be used to add a bigger fish when the prices come down because teams that believe they have a shot are no longer in the playoff mix.
Oilers Heavily Scouting the Nashville Predators?
Yesterday, I reported that Oilers assistant GM Brad Holland was scouting the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators game. The assumption by many was that the Oilers were closely watching Montreal. But, Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now notes that Holland was also at the Predators vs. Maple Leafs game.
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This new report means that this is the second time Holland checked out the Predators, opening up the possibility that someone from the Preds is on Edmonton’s radar. Who that might be isn’t clear, but names like Colton Sissons or Dante Fabbro might make sense. Ideally, the Oilers would love to add a player like Juuse Saros, but it’s been made clear that he’s not available.
Canucks Not Locking Into Anything With Kuzmenko
According to Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford emphasized that the team won’t commit to a long-term stance on Andrei Kuzmenko amid escalating trade speculation surrounding the underperforming winger. Elliotte Friedman revealed on Saturday that several teams have expressed interest in Kuzmenko, who secured a two-year, $11 million contract following his impressive 39-goal campaign last season. However, Kuzmenko has encountered difficulties this season, experiencing a reduction in playing time and being scratched from two games in late November.
The Canucks are committed to helping Kuzmenko through this rough patch, but Rutherford’s comments suggest that the Canucks are open to evaluating their options with the forward. It’s not clear what his future with the team would be if he doesn’t turn things around rather quickly.