NHL Trade Rumors: Latest News and Chatter on Each Team's Trade Front

It is that time of year when baseball trade talk is at its hottest, yet so much is unresolved on the hockey hot stove near the halfway mark of the NHL’s offseason.

In the dusk of July, Rick Nash has finally been dealt from Columbus, but the likes of Anaheim forward Bobby Ryan and Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo continue to make their winter homes on the Pacific coast.

With that said, there are a little less than two months between now and the tentative start of training camp for these magnets of rumors and speculation to settle the debates. There is an equal amount of time for trade talk to pick up a second wind around those teams whose recent chatter has been confined to rural library decibels.

Whether names are hot topics among fans and pundits or someone has done nothing to draw serious attention since a trade that happened weeks ago, here is an encapsulation of the latest in all 30 NHL circles.

Anaheim

Elliot Olshansky of the Sports World Report holds that the five teams that lost the Rick Nash derby to the New York Rangers should seek the next best thing in Bobby Ryan. Olshansky is particularly keen on the prospect of Ryan going to Philadelphia or Detroit, or perhaps just staying with the Ducks.

There is much more on this to come in the slides on Ryan’s prospective suitors.

Boston

Olshansky is weighing in on Tim Thomas’ latest off-ice headlines and speculating that the more he draws attention to his polarizing political views, the less any prospective suitors will be willing to take his $5 million cap hit off the Bruins’ hands.

As far as trading for the purpose of addition is concerned, everything is going exactly as general manager Peter Chiarelli is implying it will. That is, nothing more to see here until headlines are being made on the ice again.

Buffalo

The Buffalo buzz has been next to nonexistent in the media ever since the front end of this month, when the Sabres dealt Derek Roy to Dallas in exchange for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy. That remains the story of the summer for this franchise.

Calgary

With rising goaltender Leland Irving locked in for another season as of this past Friday, the Calgary Herald declares the Flames’ summer checklist is down to “a major trade…to acquire some muscle.”

Could they accomplish that in the midst of exporting defenseman Jay Bouwmeester? Hard to say until a deal happens, but in the meantime, the Calgary Sun’s Randy Sportak cites Detroit, Philadelphia, Edmonton and St. Louis as reasonably prospective buyers.

Carolina

Even after the trade for Jordan Staal and the victory in the Alexander Semin free-agency derby, Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford is not about to let up on retooling his team.

A weekend report had Rutherford expressing his desire to acquire a “gritty forward or a tough guy.” How he will go about that, whether it be via trade or free agency, remains to be seen.

Chicago

The mill is not churning with nearly the same speed as before, but the latest musings regarding the Blackhawks still pertain to them possibly taking Luongo from rival Vancouver.

Colorado

While the Avs have not generated much talk in recent weeks, Calgary Flames Hockey Buzz correspondent Colin Dambrauskas has been thinking aloud about what might happen if the aforementioned Bouwmeester were dealt to Colorado for forward Paul Stastny.

Columbus

In the aftermath of the Nash trade, there isn’t much to do other than assess what the export of their elite-scoring captain and the import of three pieces from the Rangers means for the Blue Jackets' future. Then again, that topic alone is plenty to keep a hot stove burning for a while.

One of the more interesting perspectives on the trade is that of USA Today’s Kevin Allen, who holds that the return package from New York was watered down due to the length of time it took for the deal to get done.

Elsewhere, Olshansky has made a fleeting mention of the Blue Jackets as one team that could pursue Los Angeles Kings backup Jonathan Bernier.

Dallas

The Stars have yielded practically nothing in the way of trade talk in the weeks since general manager Joe Nieuwendyk proclaimed that Dallas will retain Brenden Morrow.

Detroit

Former Wings defenseman and current TSN analyst Aaron Ward recently tweeted that Detroit has withdrawn from the Shane Doan sweepstakes.

Meanwhile, there is the aforementioned word coming from other cities that the Red Wings might be in the mix to take Ryan from the Ducks or Bouwmeester from the Flames.

Edmonton

Less than two weeks ago, the Edmonton Journal was leading the way in entertaining rumors of the Oilers pursuing Mark Streit. But it appears Streit’s current employers, the New York Islanders, would just as soon keep him.

Journal beat writer Jonathan Willis has a slightly older blog post on Edmonton’s possible interest in Bouwmeester.

Although there has been little followup on that report, there is still reason to believe that the Flames will part with the veteran blueliner, as previously noted in the Calgary slide. Top reporters from both Alberta cities are speculating as much.

Regardless, the opinion is fairly rampant that the Oilers need to somehow shore up their blue-line brigade and can do so via trade.

Florida

Looking up the Panthers in the news continues to have a way of yielding little beyond anything that mentions a potential trade for Luongo, and vice versa.

Los Angeles

Reporters continue to run with the notion that Bernier is eager to seek a more promising opportunity than backing up Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick. Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun cites the Maple Leafs as a potential taker, while Jon Rosen of Fox Sports West mentions the Philadelphia Flyers.

Minnesota

Any and all trade talk has taken to the sidelines in favor of the remnants of the news of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter signing as free agents on July 4, and the more recent aftershock that was the signing of recent first-round draftee Matt Dumba.

Montreal

In the aftermath of Nashville winning the footrace waged by the Flyers over Predators captain Shea Weber, at least one online writer wonders if someone could issue a similar challenge to the Habs over PK Subban.

Nashville

Predators head coach Barry Trotz recently told The Tennessean’s John Glennon, “We’re not done adding pieces…There’s limited value out there in terms of free agency, but there are guys we’re looking at with the possibility of trade.”

No specific names have surfaced, whether they be prospective imports or exports, but that’s something to spawn discussion.

New Jersey

With a slight surplus on the Devils' blue line, Todd Cordell of Hockey Buzz is assessing each currently contracted player’s odds of staying or going.

N.Y. Islanders

Besides the aforementioned chatter about Streit and how he most likely will ultimately stay on Long Island, there is news coming from an imported blueliner, Lubomir Visnovsky. Reports hold that the draft-day acquisition from Anaheim submitted a grievance, feeling that the swap breached his no-trade clause.

N.Y. Rangers

Is the buzz going to stay calm around Broadway now that the Rangers have won the Nash race? Quite possibly.

For what it’s worth, near the bottom of his weekly Sunday notes column, the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont says, “Don’t be surprised to see the Blueshirts make a real play for Jumbo Joe Thornton,” citing the Shark and Nash’s productive history together overseas and on Team Canada.

Ottawa

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun continues to put forth the notion of the Senators trading for Bobby Ryan. And in spite of what was mentioned in the Dallas slide, Garrioch is tossing Stars captain Brendan Morrow into the rumor mill while he’s at it.

Philadelphia

The Flyers’ shortcoming in their bid for Weber has triggered a plethora of questions and ideas as to what they can and should do going forward. People have mentioned the likes of Ryan on offense and Phoenix’s Keith Yandle on defense as potential desirables.

One analyst on the west coast, Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area, even goes so far as to say that “his hometown of Philadelphia is probably Ryan’s likeliest destination at this point if he gets moved.”

Seeing as Philadelphia reportedly included Matt Read and Andrej Meszaros as part of the would-be return package to the Predators, one has to wonder if one or both of those two could be dangled again in the future.

Phoenix

Besides the ongoing wait to learn Doan’s destination, there is the previously noted speculation on Yandle. That, too, has been circulating in discussion for roughly a month, but it remains unresolved.

Pittsburgh

Stephanie Lewark of Rant Sports is among those wondering if one of the “runners-up” in the Nash derby, the Penguins in this case, will turn the page to Ryan. In the process, she reminds us of Ryan’s draft status back in 2005 and, in turn, how any hypothetical deal bringing him to Pittsburgh would embolden the Pens’ Cyclopean persona.

San Jose

With the Sharks being another one of the unsuccessful Nash suitors, Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area addresses the paradoxically simple yet complex question as to what San Jose can and should do next.

One thing Kurz does not envision is the acquisition of Ryan, believing that “Ducks GM Bob Murray would never trade him to a division rival.”

St. Louis

Not much has circulated around St. Louis in the way of trade news or propositions in the three weeks since BJ Crombeen was dealt to Tampa Bay. Around the time of that deal, there was talk about the Blues trying to lure Morrow out of Dallas, but again, that has picked up next to no traction since.

There is also Sportak’s mention of the Blues in his Calgary Sun column on Bouwmeester’s possible destinations if he leaves the Flames, but there has yet to be additional word beyond that.

Tampa Bay

As is the case with his previous employer, the import of Crombeen is really, for now, the last of the momentous trade talk for the Lightning.

Toronto

Terry Koshan has rising forward Matt Frattin as the most likely trade bait if the Maple Leafs wish to take Bernier from the Kings.

In other goalie news, the Leafs continue to be tossed in with Chicago and Florida as Luongo’s likeliest takers, yet Sportsnet’s Mike Brophy’s recent column proclaimed the Vancouver veteran is “apparently not interested in playing in Toronto.”

Vancouver

Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province has broken down the Canucks’ need to add depth up the middle. Still no telling exactly when, if and where Luongo is going to take off or if that prospective trade will bring a return package that would include an enticing center.

Regarding Luongo, general manager Mike Gillis himself recently told the Globe and Mail “there’s nothing new to report” and nothing new has come up in the week since he said those words.

Washington

This piece from CSN Washington’s Chuck Gormley may be nearly a month old, but the fundamental proposal it puts forth could get more traction in the mill now that Alexander Semin has signed with Carolina.

Winnipeg

A la the aforementioned speculation regarding the Canadiens and Subban, Chris Dubiel of Rant Sports has openly pondered if someone might spring to submit an enticing offer sheet to coveted Jets forward Evander Kane. As Dubiel notes, it has been more than a week since Winnipeg offered Kane a long-term deal, yet there is no indication that he has agreed to it, let alone signed it.

It is sheer speculation, but not wholly unfounded speculation. And Jets fans should not feel entirely secure until their team has officially secured Kane. Otherwise, there is that chance they may not be as lucky as the Predators were with Weber and end up settling for a de facto trade.

Other than that, the Jets haven’t generated any recent transactional headlines outside of a hefty contract extension for blueliner Tobias Enstrom this past Friday.