NHL Trade Rumors: Latest Rumblings from League Before Holiday Roster Freeze

Office workers around the country aren’t the only ones trying to get their work in before the holidays.

The NHL goes on its holiday roster freeze from Dec. 19-27, when players cannot be traded. That means any general manager with an itchy trigger finger when it comes to the trade market needs to make those moves before the holiday freeze or wait for a little more than a week.

It should come as no surprise then that there are plenty of rumors circulating around the league. Here is a look at a few of them.

Chris Stewart 

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Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun passed along an update and a quote regarding the immediate future of Chris Stewart:

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Buffalo GM Tim Murray has been trying to move winger Chris Stewart but the decision by coach Ted Nolan to scratch him hasn't helped. The Bruins, Senators, Flames and Penguins are all interested in Stewart. 'The concern is he has really struggled ... really struggled,' said a league executive last week.

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There is plenty at play here, not the least of which is the decreased ice time for Stewart any time the Buffalo Sabres lace it up. In order to trade for a player, a team has to give up some form of assets, and those teams involved in potentially landing Stewart aren’t necessarily getting a chance to fairly evaluate him and what he would ultimately be worth.

That matters when multiple teams are potentially interested.

Stewart only has three goals and an assist on the year, but he is still not that far removed from his 2009-10 season with the Colorado Avalanche when he tallied 28 goals and 36 assists for 64 points.

Boston may be the most intriguing team on that list as a perennial Stanley Cup contender that is struggling on the offensive side this season. The Bruins are averaging a measly 2.5 goals per game on the season, which is 22nd in the league.

Perhaps the Bruins will be the team to take a chance on the struggling winger in an effort to breathe life into that attack.

Arizona Coyotes

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Garrioch, in the same piece, passed along the latest on the Arizona Coyotes:

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Lots of teams are calling Arizona (don't call me Phoenix) GM Don Maloney to see where he's at on the trade front. Whispers suggest the Coyotes are looking to cut payroll which means GMs are looking to see if they can get their hands on the club's better players.

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Garrioch mentions Shane Doan, Antoine Vermette, Mikkel Boedker, Keith Yandle and Zbynek Michalek as potential trade chips, although Doan will not be swapped as a legacy player. 

Norm Hall/Getty Images

Arizona is off to a disappointing 10-16-4 start on the still relatively young season and is a distant sixth place in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The playoffs are not a realistic possibility, so it makes some sense that the Coyotes are looking to trade some of their contributors.

In a perfect world, they will land some young assets or draft considerations and accelerate the rebuilding process. They need to find a match willing to give that up in a short-term effort to go for the Cup this season.

Ryan Johansen

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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca passed along the latest on Ryan Johansen of the Columbus Blue Jackets:

According to one GM, “everyone” has inquired about Johansen since his contract dispute with Columbus. “We’re being told he is not available.”

Columbus is a fascinating case study in the trade market. The franchise broke through last season and made the playoffs. It almost surprised the Pittsburgh Penguins when it got there, and expectations were even higher this season. However, injuries completely derailed the start of the year, and it may not have helped that Johansen also had that contract dispute right before the schedule started.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Rather than sell low, though, the Blue Jackets weathered the rough patch and are now playing their best hockey of the season with six consecutive wins. They are also gradually climbing back into the playoff discussion even though they still need to add a few more wins to that resume to fully be considered a postseason threat.

They are certainly on the right track.

Trading Johansen would halt any of that momentum, and Columbus simply isn’t going to do that. He leads the team with 18 assists and is tied with Nick Foligno with a team-high 27 points. Johansen is a critical part of the attack and needs to be on the roster if the Blue Jackets have any notions of playing postseason hockey in 2015. 

Don’t expect to see Johansen in a different uniform this season.

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