If you look at Tuesday through the lens of a chessboard, you can start to see the pieces moving around as teams in the Eastern Conference scramble to potentially land Johnny Gaudreau if he reaches free agency on Wednesday.
To date, the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils have been linked with interest in the 115-point wing, who finished second to Connor McDavid in scoring this season.
Both the Flyers and Islanders would have to clear cap space to sign Gaudreau.
Gaudreau’s hometown team, the Flyers, made the first move Wednesday, creating $3.3 million in salary cap space when they bought out the final year of infielder Oscar Lindblom’s contract. It was a tough decision because they love Lindblom and admire his fight back from Ewing’s sarcoma in 2020. But buying out Lindblom as he was 25 was the cleanest cap space option.
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Will the Islanders follow suit? Who else would be involved from the two teams?
A few of these options are in the latest Trade Targets dashboard, which always looks to match a player’s notoriety with their likelihood of a trade:
1. JT MillerCenter, Vancouver Canucks Age: 29 Stats: 80 GP, 32 G, 67 A, 99 points Contract: 1 more season, $5.25 million AAVScoop: Canucks and Miller are far apart in terms of extension parameters contract, and there has been no shortage of outside interest in Miller, who the Canucks have maintained since before the hiring of GM Patrick Alvin. There were rumors of a deal with the Islanders involving Miller that never materialized. Miller has accumulated 217 points in 202 games with the Canucks. The sense is that the Ohio native would prefer to play in the United States. One of his former clubs, the New York Rangers, has been talked about as a possibility. The New Jersey Devils are believed to have interest, in addition to the Washington Capitals as a potential replacement for Nicklas Backstrom. Expect the return to be north of what Kevin Fiala returned for Minnesota.
2. Blake WheelerRight wing, Winnipeg Jets Age: 35 Stats: 65 GP, 17 G, 43 A, 60 points Contract: 2 more seasons, $8.25 million AAVScoop: Sources say Jets have scouted market and committed to teams on the possibility of moving Wheeler, the stable franchise and the last remaining vestige of the Atlanta Thrashers days. Wheeler has full control over his destination until July 1, when his full no-movement clause becomes a list of five teams to which he would accept a trade. The initial feeling is that Wheeler might be willing to consider a proposed destination that’s also not on his list if it’s a good fit for his family and career. Will his cap hit prove difficult to move? Maybe not. Wheeler could be the missing piece for a contending team as a point-per-game winger with size and heart.
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3. Jakob Chykrun Left tackle, Arizona Coyotes Age: 24 Stats: 47 GP, 7 G, 14 A, 21 points Contract: 3 more seasons, $4.6M AAVScoop: The rebuilding Columbus Blue Jackets were recently mentioned as a possible fit for Chykrun. Los Angeles will likely remain in the mix. While his name was in the news last season, Chychrun said he learned one lesson: “Stay off the phone.” Chychrun also hinted at his end-of-season media availability that he’s not ready for a major burnout recovery land in the Valley of the Sun. “These things are important to me. I want to be in a position where I’m preparing to play [in the playoffs], without packing up and leaving the boys.” Will the Coyotes return? The four-piece package that Arizona requested was met with polarized opinions from other GMs.
4. Brent Burns Right guard, San Jose Sharks Age: 37 Stats: 82 GP, 10 G, 44 A, 54 points Contract: 3 more seasons, $8 million AAVScoop: New Sharks GM Mike Greer certainly didn’t pour cold water on speculation on Monday that Burns could move. Greer said he will work with Burns, San Jose’s only valuable blue-line defenseman who has played near his peak, to find a suitable home if No. 88 is willing. Burns holds most of the cards with the ability to block a trade to 28 teams by virtue of his three-team trade list. Some of the rumored destinations include Dallas, Nashville and Carolina, though all three would likely require some sort of salary cap operation to land him.
5. James van Riemsdyk Left wing, Philadelphia Flyers Age: 33 Stats: 82 GP, 24 G, 14 A, 38 points Contract: 1 more season, $7 million AAVScoop: Yes, sure, cap space is limited, but the Flyers were short surprised at how high the price is to move their leading goalscorer. The belief is that teams like Detroit and Arizona have emerged, among others, willing to take on “JVR,” but the question is the first-round pick as a sweetener. This is expensive. The fact is, van Riemsdijk has averaged a 27-goal pace in each of his first four seasons in Philadelphia on this deal, factoring in shortened seasons, so he’s lived up to his end of the bargain. The thinking is that the Flyers would prefer to potentially move van Riemsdyk as a terminal rental when they can save the salary and actually get something in return for him, but they may not have that luxury.
6. Tyson Barry Right tackle, Edmonton Oilers Age: 30 Stats: 73 GP, 7 G, 34 A, 41 points Contract: 2 more seasons, $4.5 million AAVScoop: With Duncan Keith and possibly Brett Kulak not returning, the Blue Edmonton’s line is in flux and Barry may not be running at the end of the day. However, in a perfect world, the Oilers wouldn’t spend that much on a power play specialist when Evan Bouchard could probably produce similarly for a lot less money. They would also like to create additional cap flexibility. Sliding Barry, an elite power play facilitator, elsewhere would be one way to try to accomplish that. The defensive solution would be if 2019 No. 8 pick Philip Broberg is ready to take the next step, take over for Barry on the right side with Cody Ceci and Bouchard next season.
7. Jeff Petry Right guard, Montreal Canadiens Age: 34 Stats: 68 GP, 6 G, 21 A, 27 points Contract: 3 more seasons, $6.25 million AAVScoop: The Habs are still working on moving Petry. Last season was a write-off for both Petrie and the Montreal Canadiens. Both player and team struggled, and the Habs admitted they would try to facilitate a trade to help Petrie, whose family was back in the US. This is difficult for any player. At the same time, the Canadiens know Petrie hasn’t suddenly forgotten how to play hockey, the pandemic restrictions have already been lifted, and they’re not willing to pay assets to move a player who was certainly better than last season. He would be a solid backup plan in Pittsburgh if the Penguins fail to re-sign Kris Letang. There is a potential domino effect with some of the power play facilitators available: Barrie, Petry, Tony DeAngelo and Torey Krug.
8. One of Adin Hill or Kaapo Kahkonen’s goalies, San Jose Sharks Age: 26 / 25 Stats: 25 GP, 2.66 GAA, .906 Sv% / 36 GP, 2.87 GAA, .912 Sv% Contracts: 1 more season, $2,175 million / Limited Free Agent, Arbitration EligibleScoop: There are as many as seven NHL teams still looking for goaltenders – the Sabers (starter) plus the Maple Leafs, Rangers, Capitals, Flyers, Blues and Blackhawks are looking for backups. The Sharks have three capable netminders, and the sense is that they would like to stick with James Reimer, who has had a solid season. That leaves Hill, who has cost certainty, or Kakonen, who is arbitration-eligible after being dealt by the Sharks on Monday. Goaltending experts believe Kahkonen has higher potential, but he can bring a little more as well. Who will be on the move?
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9. Anthony Beauvillier Left Wing, New York Islanders Age: 25 Stats: 75 GP, 12 G, 22 A, 34 points Contract: 2 more seasons, $4.15 million AAVScoop: Beauvillier’s name has popped up on several teams’ radars recently few weeks, someone the Islanders might be willing to part with this summer if Lou Lamoriello has any plans to shake things up. Beauvillier’s progression seems to have stalled a bit. After scoring 21 goals in 2017-18 as a 21-year-old, he failed to return to that mark, scoring just 12 in 75 games – a drop from the previous season. He’s undoubtedly a talented player, which is why teams may be interested, even if he doesn’t exactly produce results commensurate with his scoring.
10. John MarinoRight Defense, Pittsburgh Penguins Age: 25 Stats: 81 GP, 1 G, 24 A, 25 points Contract: 5 more seasons, $4.4 million AAVScoop: Do the math. With Rickard Rakell, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust all re-signed, if the Pens have any intention of keeping Malkin or signing an expensive replacement, someone will have to move. The Penguins received several calls for Marino before last season’s deadline, but remained focused and committed to their playoff push. The truth is, Marino is not Pittsburgh’s preferred choice to run their back end. That would be Marcus Peterson. But no team seems willing to commit to three more years of Peterson at just over $4 million, while there are teams interested in Marino and the Penguins have a real need to move money.
11. Travis Konecny Right wing, Philadelphia Flyers Age: 25 Stats: 79 GP, 16 G, 36 A, 52 points Contract: 3 more seasons, $5.5 million AAVScoop: The Flyers engaged in exploratory talks with several teams about Konecny before the trade deadline trade in March, is certainly willing to explore the possibility of moving him. They never progressed beyond that, but GM Chuck Fletcher has put in enough work that if he really is willing to move Konecny, he at least has an idea of what he could get in return. Konecny’s goal output has dropped significantly after 24, 24 and 30 goal seasons (2019-20 pace). He works…
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