NHL Rumors: Latest Trade Speculation from Around the League

While you settle down to Thanksgiving dinner with your friends and family, the front offices around the NHL will be taking a long, hard look at their rosters and deciding whether they are buyers or sellers this season.

At this point, there have been enough games that teams have a general idea about whether they have a chance at the Stanley Cup playoffs or not and will respond accordingly. 

With that in mind, here is a look at some of the latest trade speculation from around the NHL.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

The Fourth Period passed along an update on the Toronto Maple Leafs:

“Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis has been working the phone lines, but insists he isn't rushing into a move. The Leafs are believed to be dangling winger Joffrey Lupul, who continues to recover from a broken finger.”

It is worth mentioning that Joffrey Lupul has a limited no-trade clause and can list up to 16 teams that he won’t actually play for in a potential swap.

The Fourth Period also noted that center Nazem Kadri, defender Cody Franson and goalie James Reimer are also all potentially seen as trade targets.

Gary Wiepert/Associated Press

Expectations are always high for Toronto, and the up-and-down 11-8-2 start clearly has the team ready to at least evaluate things. Considering the fact that a center, defender and goalie are on that list, the team may be looking for upgrades across the positional board.

The defense has been more of an issue than the offense, as evidenced by the fact that the Maple Leafs are an impressive fourth in the league in goals per game but 22nd in goals against. Whether that means they will target defensive improvements remains to be seen, but expect some type of move from Toronto before the deadline.

Los Angeles Kings

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

The Fourth Period also passed along the latest on the Los Angeles Kings in a separate piece:

"

Kings GM Dean Lombardi would like to add a No.2 or No.3 defenseman, with just over $4 million in available salary cap space to play with.

The Kings had been taking calls on center Mike Richards, prior to receiving cap relief from Voynov being placed on the equivalent of long-term IR.

It's unclear if he's still in play, but two separate league executives told TFP the Kings will need to part with a "solid roster player" in order to acquire a top-tier defenseman.

"

Slava Voynov’s loss has certainly been felt on the defensive side, and the same report suggested that some of the Kings’ prospects—such as Nick Shore, Valentin Zykov and Adrian Kempe—could be potential trade chips.

The defending champs are 11-6-4 in the early going, but they are fresh off a 5-4 loss to the Dallas Stars. The defense struggled in that contest, and it was clear that there is a need for some more depth in the blue-line area. 

Packaging any youngsters in a trade may compromise some of the future, but the Kings are in win-now mode, especially after taking home the Stanley Cup last season.

Edmonton Oilers 

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Darren Dreger of TSN.ca provided an update on the Edmonton Oilers’ potential plans:

The Oilers are one of the worst teams in the entire league at this point and check in at 6-13-2. They were destroyed by the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-1, in their last game, and rebuilding mode seems to be the way to go for this team.

David Perron has 10 points on the season and is only 26 years old. He could be a valuable asset on the wing for a contender and still has a number of productive years ahead of him, which theoretically drives up his trade value.

Derek Leung/Getty Images

Dreger noted that the Oilers would want a top-notch center in return, which should come as no surprise considering they are 27th in the NHL in goals per game, 25th in power-play percentage and have looked lost offensively at times this season.

Ironically, Perron commented on the early struggles and what needs to happen, as reported by The Canadian Press on Sportsnet.ca:

"

Something has to change. When you are making those mistakes, something needs to happen. They are the same mistakes we were doing last year. We keep talking about how much better we are this year, but for me it is the same record now that we had last year. It is not better.

It is pretty frustrating. 

"

Landing a formidable center could quickly change those struggles that frustrated Perron. The only issue is, he may be on the way out to make it happen.

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