It’s time for another round of NHL rumours. We’re closing in on the trade deadline on March 8 and teams are trying to take stock of what they have. Some clubs are going to have to rebuild or retool and that means selling at the deadline. However, other clubs may push their chips into the middle of the table. We have a Central Division edition of our NHL rumours. Today’s focus is on the St Louis Blues and the Winnipeg Jets.
All NHL rumuors come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
St Louis Blues
Rumour: The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford took a look at what the Blues may do at the trade deadline.
Some intermission reading …
Five questions about the Blues’ retool: Core, trades, prospects, coach and caphttps://t.co/f98r6C40j0 #stlblues
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) January 19, 2024
Analysis: The Blues had to make a change and did so in firing Craig Berube. St Louis has gotten a bit of a new coach bump under new bench boss Drew Bannister. However, the Blues are losing ground in the logjam of teams in the race for a Stanley Cup Playoff spot. Teams like the Seattle Kraken and the Edmonton Oilers have gotten red-hot in recent weeks. St Louis is doing what it can to stay in the race, but general manager Doug Armstrong might have to do another retooling. It’s hard to gain ground when you can’t consistently string wins together.
There are a few unrestricted free agents that are likely out the door in Marco Scandella, Kasperi Kapanen and others. The Blues have may be hamstrung by five players that have full no-movement clauses. Some of those names include Jordan Binnington, Torey Krug, and Justin Faulk. The current three mentioned all make at least $6 million or more. All three are also under contract until the end of the 2027-28 season. It’s very unlikely that any of these three are going to be dealt any time soon.
There were some surprising names that Rutherford mentioned that could be in the conversation. Rutherford brought up the future of Pavel Buchnevich, who is under contract until 2025-26 and makes $5.8 million for those next two years. Many thought the Russian was part of the New York Rangers future, but the quest for more grit and the lock of cap space forced him out of the Big Apple. Could a similar fate await him again?
Winnipeg Jets
Rumour: Murat Ates of The Athletic listed five trade targets that the team could seek at the upcoming deadline.
Five trade targets for Winnipeg as the #NHLJets work towards solidifying contender status.
New at The Athletic:https://t.co/najM8rXEVl pic.twitter.com/uiH4WOfcwK
— Murat Ates (@WPGMurat) January 18, 2024
Analysis: It’s been a great season so far for the Jets and they could be active at the trade deadline. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff might decide to roll the dice and go for a Stanley Cup. Capfriendly projects that Winnipeg may have over $5 million in cap space to make some upgrades at the upcoming deadline. However, they likely won’t use all that space so they can pay for Cole Perfetti‘s performance bonuses.
Ates listed a variety of targets that Cheveldayoff could make a play for in early March or before. Three forwards and two defenders were on the wish list for the Jets. Elias Lindholm, Sean Monahan and Adam Henrique were the listed forwards. However, beefing up the defence is also on the table. Names like Chris Tanev and Sean Walker were on the Jets’ radar.
Lindholm and Monahan would be helpful in providing some much-needed centre depth for the club. If either one is acquired, they’d slot in behind Mark Scheifele as the second pivot. Team captain Adam Lowry would anchor the third line centre role. Henrique also has the bonus attribute of being able to play on the wing and in the middle.
Walker and Tanev would be great in a second-pair role and on the penalty kill. There may be more offensive upside to Walker, who plays in a similar system with the Philadelphia Flyers. However, the lack of size may scare Cheveldayoff away from him. Winnipeg already doesn’t give up a lot of goals, but Tanev could give them another shutdown option. However, the Jets are going to be in a lot of competition to land the Calgary Flames blueliner.
Main photo by: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
