While Detroit’s rental players have garnered the most attention in trade speculation, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in an appearance on 630 CHED (audio link) that wingers Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist are players that the Red Wings have tried to move at times for a couple of years now and that they may be looking at trying to deal them once again. Both players have underachieved considerably this season but have each put up at least 43 points in the past three years and that track record might be of interest to some teams. Both are signed for beyond this season with Nyquist having one more year left at $4.75MM while Tatar has three more years at $5.3MM which will make him considerably tougher to deal. While Detroit is believed to be willing to retain salary on some of their expiring contracts, they likely won’t be as willing to do so in a move for either of these veterans.
Elsewhere in the East:
- While the Blue Jackets are believed to be looking for scoring help, they’re not willing to part with a first-round pick for a rental player, notes George Richards of the Columbus Dispatch. That would seemingly take them out of the hunt for Buffalo winger Evander Kane. Columbus didn’t have their top draft choice back in June after moving it to Vegas as part of an Expansion Draft trade so it’s certainly understandable that GM Jarmo Kekalainen would like to keep it this time around. However, if they want to pursue one of the other top forwards on the market that are signed beyond this season, they may have to be more willing to use that as a chip to get a deal done.
- Although Canadiens defenseman Jakub Jerabek is slated to become an unrestricted free agent in July, Montreal is hoping to re-sign him instead of moving him by the trade deadline, reports Arpon Basu of The Athletic (subscription required). The 26-year-old started the season at the minor league level but has since worked himself into a mostly regular role with the Canadiens. In 25 games this season, he has a goal and three assists while averaging 17:21 per game so a new deal shouldn’t cost considerably more than the $925K he’s earning on his entry-level deal this season.