NHL Trade Rumors: Phil Kessel, Patrick Sharp and Ryan O'Reilly

The NHL's offseason is only in its infancy just hours after the Chicago Blackhawks hoisted the Stanley Cup on Monday, June 15. But trade talks around the league are heating up with some big-name players possibly on the block.

No one is safe, either. Moves are coming from all parts of the standings, from Toronto, which, after a disastrous season, left the Maple Leafs reeling, to the Colorado Avalanche, who experienced a letdown after a successful 2013-14 season, to the champion Blackhawks, who will be forced to enter the market due to salary-cap issues.

Phil Kessel

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Rumors of Phil Kessel's exit from Toronto have led to talk of the sniper being involved in a high-profile potential move. The Maple Leafs had a historically bad season. With 68 points, they finished with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference and tied for their second-worst mark since 1990.

Kessel's relationship with the team appears to have gone downhill, especially after his multiple run-ins with the media this past season. It seemed that every week the winger was fighting with a different reporter. CBC's Matt Galloway posted the infamous video of one of Kessel's confrontations with the Toronto media:

Fresh off signing an eight-year, $64 million deal, Kessel has seven years left on his contract. Sportsnet reported (via NHL.com) the Maple Leafs "could be seeking draft picks and prospects for the 27-year-old right wing."

He does have a limited no-trade clause, and according to Bob McKenzie of TSN, Kessel has a list of eight teams he would go to:

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Kessel's limited NTC is believed to include eight teams he can be traded to. Prior to the trade deadline, TSN reported those eight teams were believed to be: Boston; Chicago; Los Angeles; Minnesota; Montreal; New York Rangers; Philadelphia; and Pittsburgh.

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The Maple Leafs are looking to turn things around after bringing in long-time Detroit Red Wings and Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock, but it remains unseen if he even has a plan for the diminutive forward.

Kessel is in the prime of his career and has scored 30 or more goals in five of the past seven seasons. Even in Toronto's nightmare campaign, the right winger recorded 25 goals and 36 assists.

In terms of best fit, Kessel will be a hot commodity for teams that will need a first-line winger, such as the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders; however, none of those teams are on his reported list of acceptable trade destinations.

Patrick Sharp

Dave Sandford/Getty Images

As this is being written, left winger Patrick Sharp still might be picking some of the confetti off, but the Chicago Blackhawks are going to be making moves very soon. And Sharp just might be one of the players on the block.

It's not because of performance; it's because of money. With salary-cap problems looming, the Blackhawks have 14 players under contract who are due $64 million in 2015-16, with next year's cap expected to be at around $71 million, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Lazerus reported this puts Sharp and Blackhawks management in a tough spot:

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That leaves Sharp ($5.9 million), Bryan Bickell ($4 million) and Kris Versteeg ($2.2 million) as the likeliest to be dealt. Multiple sources say teams have been circling around Sharp since last spring, and he's almost certain to be traded to clear up cap space. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals are among the interested teams.

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Sharp scored 16 goals and added 27 assists in 68 games this season with an additional 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) coming in the playoffs.

At 33 years old, Sharp is an established star who would not need much of an acclimation period in order to get settled with a new team. This makes the Washington Capitals a perfect destination for Sharp, who would be playing on Washington's first line next to Alexander Ovechkin.

Ryan O'Reilly

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

This is not the first time Ryan O'Reilly's name has appeared on the trade block. According to McKenzie (via Brandon Schlager of Perform Media, h/t Sporting News), the Avs made it known the young center was available earlier this season during December and January, but a deal never came to fruition.

O'Reilly's two-year deal is up in July 2016, and despite Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic expressing a desire to re-sign him to ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun back in February, there is a good chance he is on his way out, according to McKenzie, who discussed the matter on Vancouver's TSN 1040 on Tuesday (h/t TodaysSlapShot.com):

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I think the Avs are starting to take some talk on him, but again, I think it's more to gauge the marketplace than a firm commitment that they're absolutely trading him. I think it's more likely O'Reilly will be traded at some point here than – yeah, more likely than not likely he'll be traded. But at the same time, it will depend on what the deal is and the financial negotiations that go on with any contract. So like I said – if I were a betting man, I'd say Ryan O'Reilly is more likely to be traded, but it's not a 100 percent slam dunk that it will happen before the draft or at all.

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It was a process for O'Reilly to pen his two-year deal last season, and since he has proved that he is capable of being a top-line center with fantastic backchecking ability, he will be looking for a big payday. Don't expect for both sides to come to an agreement.

After a 2013-14 season in which he scored 28 goals and 36 assists, O'Reilly came back with 55 points last season.

According to LeBrun (via Schlager, h/t Sporting News), the Buffalo Sabres were extremely high on O'Reilly and made their interest known over the winter. If the Sabres do select Jack Eichel during this year's NHL draft, O'Reilly would be a solid influence on how the youngster should play quality two-way hockey.