In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Edmonton Oilers are reportedly calling “every team” with a defenseman available at this year’s NHL Trade Deadline. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks are trying to sign pending free agent Andrei Kuzmenko.
Are the San Jose Sharks getting calls about Erik Karlsson and will the Philadelphia Flyers consider moving Ivan Provorov to the Winnipeg Jets?
Oilers Have Called Around About Defensemen
TSN Insider Pierre LeBrun notes on the recent Insider Trading report that Oilers’ GM Ken Holland isn’t ready to panic, but he’s been calling around the NHL to get a sense of the cost associated with players like Jakob Chychrun out of Arizona and Joel Edmundson out of Montreal. He does believe the team will make a trade but isn’t sure anything is imminent.
As it stands, the prices for these players and defenders, in general, are sky-high. The Coyotes are sticking firm to their ask for Chychrun and the Canadiens aren’t sure they want to trade Edmundson. Darren Dreger also notes that Matt Dumba is on the Oilers’ radar and the price for him is high too. He eats a lot of minutes, the Minnesota Wild are in a playoff spot, and they would likely need to replace him if they traded him.
Canucks Working on Andrei Kuzmenko Deal
LeBrun also noted that the Vancouver Canucks are trying to sign pending unrestricted free agent, Andrei Kuzmenko. LeBrun has noted that Kuzmenko could earn as much as $6 million per season on a bridge contract.
All the while, the Canucks are getting phone calls about Kuzmenko‘s availability via trade. Contenders are interested in adding the forward for their playoff run and he’s on a cheap and affordable contract, which is attractive for many competitive teams.
Kuzmenko has 17 goals and 35 points in 39 games, and it said that he is quite happy playing in Vancouver.
Sharks Are Getting Calls About Karlsson
Back in November, the general manager of the Sharks, Mike Grier confirmed that he would listen to trade offers on defenceman Erik Karlsson. Less than a month and a half later, reports are that the Sharks are getting phone calls about the blueliner’s availability ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline.
Related: Why Can’t the Sharks Close Out Periods?
Karlsson has not asked for a trade and it is not clear if he would waive his full no-movement clause to leave the Sharks. LeBrun believes this might be a deal that waits until the off-season.
Could Provorov Be a Fit for the Jets?
During the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek spoke about the rumors regarding Ivan Provorov of the Philadelphia Flyers and how a trade might be coming because both sides are frustrated with how things have gone since Provorov’s strong season a couple of years ago. Among the teams, both wondered if a potential suitor could be the Winnipeg Jets.
Marek suggested Rick Bowness was the defense whisperer and Friedman noted: “The other thing is, the Jets like term.” He added:
“Now this isn’t a ton of term. This is two years, but the Jets really like to trade for players who have term. So I don’t know how they would feel about this but I have to say that Winnipeg was, and again, please don’t radio us, we’re not saying the Jets are trading for this guy, it’s just, it was one of the first teams I thought about because of connection, and you make a great point about Bowness.”
Friedman doesn’t think there’s anything imminent regarding a Provorov trade, only that things could be heading in that direction.
