NHL Trade Rumors: Trade and Free Agency Talk for Each Team

The free-agent swap meet has pretty much ended, and it's fairly safe to say that there were some clear winners and losers. But all is not lost if your team has fallen under the "loser" column in the free-agent game.

After all, they do each have 82 regular season games to play, and the biggest free-agent splash doesn't always equate to real-time success in the NHL.

Conventional wisdom suggests the teams that contended last year will still be in the picture somewhat. In a parity-driven league, there is talent on every roster and the competitive balance will continue into the 2012-13 season.

The gap between the "haves" and "have nots" has shrunk to an almost negligible level, and it shouldn't be a surprise to see a few new teams punch their card for the playoff dance next April.

With Shane Doan the only real significant free-agent tempting the checkbooks of almost a half dozen general managers, there are still some players who are looking to change their zip codes.

Demanding a trade and/or sulking and pouting about one's current situation doesn't necessarily lead to a departure to a desired destination, or often times even a departure. There will always be willing buyers when an unhappy star is looking for a new place to play, but a good trade benefits both teams.

Most teams are starting to put line combinations on the dry erase board, and some are still looking to finalize their roster spots.

Missed opportunities in free agency could lead to desperation in the trading world. We've already seen some stars switch cities, and here are some other rumblings from all 30 NHL cities.

The puck drops on NHL training camp in almost a month, so there is still some time to tweak the roster and get it juuuust right. Enjoy now!

Anaheim Ducks

I get the impression that Anaheim is fine with telling Bobby Ryan to shut up and play. However, they know that they have a significant negotiating chip with their disgruntled winger.

Teams like Detroit, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are rich in talent and would love to add Ryan to their arsenal.

The Ducks want to be WOW-ed by an offer, but probably aren't keen on trading him to a team in the Western Conference.

According to Ryan, the Flyers are his team of choice. Unfortunately for him, the Flyers aren't ready to part with equal value, namely Sean Couturier.

Boston Bruins

The only thing the Bruins are possibly entertaining in the trade department is a salary and roster dump of Tim Thomas.

Their scoring seemed to short circuit in the playoffs last season, but Boston is pretty pleased with their roster.

They have the pieces to trade for a proven scorer like Bobby Ryan, but will they pull the trigger?

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres spent the offseason getting tougher and grittier.

They swapped Derek Roy for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy, losing some scoring but gaining some antagonism.

They openly covet Anaheim's Ryan, but probably don't have the pieces to get him in a trade. Buffalo wants and deserves a winner, and can do just fine without him.

Carolina Hurricanes

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford says his team aren't done upgrading their roster heading into next season.

Pulling off one of the blockbusters of the summer, Carolina now has two big Staals and free-agent Alexander Semin to lead their offense.

Rutherford would like to add a "gritty forward or a tough guy" to the Hurricane fold as protection for his gaggle of stars.

With no one really fitting that role available, Rutherford concedes that he may need to wait until after the season starts to fill that need.

Calgary Flames

The Flames' two biggest offseason moves were free-agent signings of Jiri Hudler and Dennis Wideman.

While the moves will certainly help the Flames offensively, the latest trade rumors around Calgary involve its high-priced defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.

With teams like Detroit anxious about filling defensive holes, the Flames could hold some leverage in a trade.

With no formal offers made, Calgary appears to be done shopping. It will be interesting to see what they ask for in return for Bouwmeester.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks are in need of help in goal, and Roberto Luongo seems to think Chicago could be a good fit.

The Canucks' incumbent keeper either has a bad memory or actually really likes the Hawks goal song, "Chelsea Dagger."

Adding to the fun was that the Blackhawks floated top 5 Vancouver public enemy Dave Bolland into the fray as a possible member of said trade.

It doesn't seem like a good fit for either side. In fact, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago said that "There are so many reasons this would be a bad idea it’s hard to pick the best one." Sorry Bobby Lou!

Colorado Avalanche

Add the Colorado Avalanche to the list of teams that could use the disenchanted Ducks winger.

Adrian Dater of the Denver Post thinks that Colorado could afford to swap out center Paul Stastny with the avalanche of talent up the middle (Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly).

Ryan, a natural left wing, fills a void the Avs have had since Peter Mueller left for Florida.

Columbus Blue Jackets

I think it's safe to say that the Blue Jackets are probably done on the trading front.

Former captain Rick Nash took out a full-page ad this past Friday, thanking the city and fans of Columbus for the support over his nine-year career in Ohio.

Other than that, the focus in Columbus is just moving forward with the pieces they got for Nash.

According to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch, there was some discussion with Los Angeles about the availability of Kings backup Jonathan Bernier.

The Jackets would more than likely have to offer up at least next year's first-round pick (acquired from the Kings for Jeff Carter).

Dallas Stars

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun mentions Stars captain Brendan Morrow as someone who might be on the move. The signings of Jaromir Jagr, Ray Whitney and trade for Derrick Roy mean that Morrow might not be a top-six forward in Big D anymore.

This idea is only speculation, though, and Dallas would be wise to hold on to Morrow despite his heavy price tag and injury concerns.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings don't have any solid leads floating around out there, which leaves us to speculate on Ken Holland's next move. He is obviously keeping his cards held close to the vest after a very public recruitment of Ryan Suter.

The Wings have been linked with names like Bobby Ryan, Keith Yandle and Jay Bouwmeester.

Hockeytown fans wouldn't be surprised to see Holland stand pat versus overpaying for someone that Detroit might not even need to get to the playoffs for the 22nd straight year.

Edmonton Oilers

Most of the noise made in Edmonton centered on first-round draft pick Nail Yakupov. The Russian sniper is added to a stable of young guns who are looking to bring the Oilers back to the playoffs.

Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun reports that FLames defenseman Jay Bouwmeester might be a good fit into the young Oilers' lineup. That's probably a reach considering the rivalry between the two Alberta clubs.

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers seem to be mentioned as a possible candidate for Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo's services. The problem is, Florida doesn't need him.

Canucks GM Mike Gillis wants what he considers equal value for Luongo and was quoted as saying he is a top-15 goaltender.

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"When I do the calculation, there are 15 legitimate No. 1 goalies in the world and [Luongo] is one of them. Contrary to what people may think or describe, there's a tremendous amount of interest in players who are high-end players in this league. And finding a fit is occasionally more challenging, but there's definitely fits to be found."

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Luongo's desire to move back to south beach may not be shared by Panthers boss Dale Tallon, who currently has a cheaper and equally serviceable pair of netminders.

Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings are in the enviable position of having what everyone wants. The Stanley Cup of course, goes without saying, but a pretty complete roster top to bottom and a surplus in the goaltending department makes the Kings reluctant sellers.

Johnathan Bernier is courted by teams looking to fill a void between the pipes, but the Kings may not have any interest in moving him. Despite Bernier's request for a trade, L.A. general manager Dean Lombardi controls all the leverage.

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild did the lion's share of the work this summer during free agency, improving their roster exponentially with their take. Backup goalie Josh Harding was speculated to be on the move with his expiring contract, but the Wild locked him in for another three years.

Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review had an interesting tweet regarding a Wild-Penguins swap. I'm not sure of the origin of the story, but stay tuned.

Montreal Canadiens

The big news in Montreal these days is the contract negotiations with restricted free agent, P.K. Subban.

Other news reported that Yanick Weber wanted to be traded, but later said he was misquoted. Imagine that, a hockey story getting blown out of proportion in Montreal?!

No big news on the Habs trade front at this time. New GM, new coach, new optimism.

Nashville Predators

The Predators' offseason nearly went from bad to disaster until they matched Shea Weber's monstrous offer sheet from Philadelphia.

The Predators still have a small dump truck of salary to spend and could make some free agent noise or take on an unfriendly cap contract in a trade to reach the salary floor.

GM David Poile seems to be set on letting the youngsters on the Preds' roster earn their stripes for the coming season, but wouldn't rule out a trade for a top-four defenseman.

New Jersey Devils

Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record reports that Devils GM Lou Lamoreillo could look to fill the hole left by Zach Parise by dangling one of the Devils surplus defensemen in a trade.

He doesn't specify where or who, but don't sleep on Jersey Lou getting something done. The Devils have been one of the better teams in the league when it comes to building and rebuilding a contender.

New York Islanders

With the deal for Lubo Visnovsky being appealed, the Islanders could lose out on a veteran presence on their young blueline.

Visnovksky apparently never waived his no-trade clause for the deal, and the Islanders aren't on his approved list.

It would be one thing if the grievance was filed immediately, but waiting a month before filing shows that Visnovsky doesn't want to play on Long Island.

If he gets his deal overturned, the Islanders will need to go shopping again for a veteran defenseman.

New York Rangers

With the Rick Nash deal signed and stamped, the Rangers look poised to be the favorites in the Eastern Conference again this year.

The Blueshirts have expressed an interest in adding free-agent Shane Doan to the fold. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported that, if GM Glen Sather can offer Doan a four year deal, he could be a Ranger.

Ottawa Senators

You can add the Ottawa Senators' hat to the ring for teams interested in Bobby Ryan.

It is believed the Senators actually put together a better offer than New York for Rick Nash. Ottawa, however, wasn't on Nash's wish list according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

The Sens could put together a similar offer for Ryan and could get a slight Eastern Conference discount if the Ducks are willing to move him.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers seem to be Bobby Ryan's first pick if he could decide where he wants to move. Unfortunately, Ducks GM Bob Murray, has an asking price for Ryan which may be too steep for the Flyers.

Parting with some of the talented youngsters that keyed last year's team may not be something that Flyers GM Paul Holmgren feels great about either.

Elliott Olshansky of Sports World Report feels like the Flyers have enough pieces to move, especially since they were legitimate players in the Rick Nash sweepstakes.

Phoenix Coyotes

Count Phoenix out of the trade market for now. With ownership again in question, the Coyotes could again be facing relocation questions for 2013-14.

Shane Doan is their priority on a personnel standpoint, but he could opt out of signing there if he feels like the franchise could move.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins are another one of the teams who seemed to have missed out on some big names this offseason.

They got some value in return by trading Jordan Staal, but have yet to make a real splash to their roster. The best deal they made so far was to add Tomas Vokoun to help lighten the burden on Marc-Andre Fleury.

Vokoun's best years may be behind him, but he's a terrific option for 25-30 games next year.

The Penguins have made an offer to free-agent Shane Doan and were mentioned in Bobby Ryan trade talks as well. Doan's decision has to be coming soon, which will also heat up the Ryan talks.

San Jose Sharks

Sharks fans and front office personnel laughed off a Joe Thornton trade to New York, while Rangers fans were equally unreceptive to the idea.

The Sharks strengthened their defense by acquiring Brad Stuart, but could look to add to their blue line via free agency according to Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area. No legitimate trade talks in San Jose.

St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues were the surprise of the 2011-12 regular season, leapfrogging Detroit and Chicago to conquer the NHL Central Division.

The Blues will adjust very little to a solid young core of players as they look to build on last year's success. An early playoff exit will keep Ken Hitchcock and his boys hungry for more.

Randy Sportak's article in the Calgary Sun mentions that the Blues could be suitors for Jay Bouwmeester, but I can't believe that would be a good fit.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning spent this offseason adding defensive pieces to put in front of their goalie of the future, Anders Lindback.

Traded from Nashville, Lindback will look to shine outside of the shadow of perennial Vezina candidate Pekka Rinne. Lightning GM Steve Yzerman is hoping for the same, as the Tampa club looks to get back to the playoffs.

Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times reports the Lightning are more than likely done dealing for the summer.

Toronto Maple Leafs

It's hard to figure out if Brian Burke is just running his mouth to try and drive the asking price of Jonathan Bernier down, or if he really believes what he's been peddling.

With varying degrees of interest regarding Bernier, the Leafs will put together some sort of offer for the unhappy Los Angeles backup before the summer ends.

According to Andy Strickland of TrueHockey.com, Kings GM Dean Lombardi is looking for a specific player and a pick from Toronto.

Meanwhile, Doug McIntyre of ESPN lists his three fixes as 1) Finding a legitimate No. 1 goalie, 2) Adding another shutdown defenseman (listing Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri as trade bait), 3) Finding a decent center.

Vancouver Canucks

Ironically, I think that all of Roberto Luongo's trade destinations have been covered by every other slide that didn't mention Bobby Ryan.

According to Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province, the Canucks were inquiring about getting 6'6" 220-pound center Nick Bjugstad and a draft pick from Florida, but the Panthers don't seem to be keen on that swap.

The Canucks are also reportedly one of the final three teams (not counting Phoenix) that could get Shane Doan's signature this summer.

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals seemed to make their big trade splash, landing gifted center Mike Ribeiro from the Dallas Stars.

Other than that, the Capitals have made a few free-agent signings and secured defenseman Mike Green's signature for another three years.

New coach Adam Oates will look to jump-start the offensively talented Capitals in the now highly competitive Southeast Division.

Winnipeg Jets

The Winnipeg Jets enjoyed their first season in Manitoba despite missing the playoffs. Heck, the Thrashers were used to missing the playoffs anyway.

They have spent most of the offseason locking up their roster with new contracts and bringing in veteran center Olli Jokinen and winger Alexei Ponikarovsky.

Defenseman Tobias Enstrom just signed a big extension, and the Jets are negotiating a deal to lock up power forward Evander Kane to a long-term deal. Nothing on the trade front to report in Winnipeg.