NHL Trade Deadline 2015: Hottest Rumors Surrounding Top Names on the Block

Many of the best available players ahead of the 2015 NHL trade deadline have already been moved, but with the market rapidly shrinking, some teams are holding their assets in order to maximize value.

Buyers are often willing to pay a loftier price on deadline day in order to load up for a playoff push. Some of the league's worst teams are banking on that, which figures to make for an extremely busy and interesting deadline Monday.

As teams continue to position themselves to make some moves prior to the deadline, here is a look at some of the hottest rumors surrounding the top players on the trading block across the NHL.

Chris Stewart

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Perhaps no team in the NHL will look to sell more aggressively in the coming days than the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres are currently 30th in the NHL in points, and if they manage to maintain that position once the season reaches its conclusion, they will guarantee themselves either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel in the NHL draft.

Buffalo is likely to do everything in its power to move its unrestricted free agents, and one can only assume that winger Chris Stewart will generate the most interest among them.

Stewart isn't enjoying a great season by any means with just 10 goals and 13 assists in 59 games, but there is a lot to like about him.

He is big and physical at 6'2" and 231 pounds. He is still relatively young at just 27 years of age. He even has a 28-goal campaign to his credit, as he accomplished that feat with the Colorado Avalanche in 2009-10.

One team that has often been linked to Stewart is the Boston Bruins. According to The Fourth Period, Boston is still very much in the market for the power forward.

The biggest sticking point thus far, however, has been the Sabres' insistence on receiving a second-round pick as well as a prospect in exchange for Stewart, per ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun.

That has led to a stalemate, as Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli doesn't want to sell the farm in order to trade for a rental like Stewart, who they would likely lose via free agency after the season, according to Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com.

Per Haggerty, Chiarelli had this to say on the matter:

"

There are a number of trades I could have made (already this season), but as a manager you look at what's for the betterment of the organization short term, medium term and long term. You have to weigh the balances. Every other manager could say that too. I'm not going to just make a costly trade for the sake of making a trade.

"

With Chiarelli making his stance clear, TSN's Bob McKenzie is reporting that Buffalo may have to add to the deal in order to get the type of return it desires, per Ty Anderson of HockeyBuzz.com:

Ultimately, there has been so much smoke between the Sabres and Bruins related to Stewart that it seems almost inevitable that the two sides will eventually reach an agreement.

Boston needs some help up front, so it may have no other choice than to meet Buffalo's asking price as the deadline closes in.

Tyler Bozak

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are clearly on the road to bottoming out, and one key move that could help in terms of getting there faster is trading center Tyler Bozak.

The 28-year-old pivot hasn't lived up to expectations as a top-line guy, and with three years, each carrying a $4.2 million cap hit, remaining on his contract, according to Spotrac, parting ways with him would accelerate the rebuilding process.

Bozak may not be having a great year, but with 16 goals and 37 points in 60 games, he could serve as a solid secondary scorer for a team looking to make a playoff push.

Per The Fourth Period, the New York Rangers have shown interest in him along with the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers.

The latter two teams would presumably be looking toward the future by acquiring Bozak since neither will qualify for the postseason, but the Rangers are a team that could use him now and moving forward.

New York has a couple serviceable centers in Derick Brassard and Derek Stepan, and adding Bozak to the mix would give the Blueshirts some impressive depth down the middle.

According to Neil Greenberg of The Washington Post, though, McKenzie believes it could be tough for the Rangers and Leafs to consummate a deal:

One can only assume that New York won't want to give up much since it will be helping Toronto in the salary-cap department. Also, it's conceivable that the Rangers will ask the Maple Leafs to pay part of Bozak's salary.

Since Toronto isn't exactly dealing from a position of strength, the Rangers or any other team that might want to acquire Bozak can largely dictate the terms.

Due to the flexibility that trading Bozak would create, though, look for the Maple Leafs to kowtow in order to make something happen.

Jeff Petry

The Edmonton Oilers are in line to land one of the top picks in the NHL draft once again this season, which means they also promise to be major sellers ahead of the deadline.

While Edmonton doesn't have many upcoming unrestricted free agents on its roster, defenseman Jeff Petry leads the way. The 27-year-old rearguard has 15 points and a minus-25 rating this season, yet there should be suitors for him due to the lack of top talent on the market.

According to Mark Spector of Sportsnet, the Pittsburgh Penguins are among the teams pursuing the American blueliner:

As pointed out by Haggerty, the Oilers would like to get at least a second-round pick in return for their top available asset:

The Penguins have a second-round pick, but they are without a first, third or fourth this season, per ESPN.com. That means they could conceivably make a deal, but it would force them to essentially sit out the 2015 draft until its latter stages.

Pittsburgh has a great chance to win the Stanley Cup this season, as always, which means punting the draft could ultimately be worth it.

Petry is a strong, two-way defenseman who would be a good fit on the back end for the Penguins, but that can be said for most teams that are searching for a defenseman.

Since there is such a shortage of quality players at Petry's position on the market, the Oilers should come away with a surprisingly strong return.

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