NHL Rumors: Latest Trade Talk for 2015 Draft Picks and Prospects

With the NHL draft just hours away from its start on Friday, June 26, some of the most highly touted prospects the game has seen will soon find out their official landing spots.

Some teams will deal their picks in order to help fill needs more quickly than trying to develop draft choices.

The Arizona Coyotes are creating the biggest buzz, as they are just missing out on the two can't-miss talents of Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel at the No. 3 pick. And while there has been much debate about whether they would choose Dylan Strome or Noah Hanifin, the Coyotes might not be picking third at all. 

Coyotes general manager Don Maloney has been receiving offers, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet: "There’s been so many different things kind of pushed my way of late I can honestly sit here and say I don't know (what I’ll do). There’s one team really aggressively trying to get No. 3, and we’d trade down a bit. I’ve had two offers outright for that pick."

According to Sports Illustrated's Allan Muir, the Boston Bruins "are rumored to be in discussion." The Bruins have a brand-new general manager, Don Sweeney, who is trying to rebuild the Eastern Conference side back up to its normally powerful state.

Muir explained that because the Bruins signed 22-year-old goalie prospect Zane McIntyre, they have a surplus at the position. Tuukka Rask is set to be the starter for at least five more seasons, as he just completed the third season of an eight-year deal.

The Bruins have another goalie, Malcolm Subban, who is Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K.'s younger brother. According to Muir, he "has developed nicely over the past two seasons with AHL Providence. The 21-year-old is also viewed as a future starting netminder."

The Coyotes need goaltending. Last season, starter Mike Smith was 14-42-5. Those 42 losses were the most among NHL goalies. But he faced a lot of rubber with 1,955 shots coming his way, fourth-most in the league. 

Muir said the Bruins would have to throw in their draft pick at No. 14 overall this year, a future pick and a current player:

"

They’d have no problem moving the 14th selection and with pressing cap issues would be willing to include a veteran with a heavy hit, possibly Milan Lucic or Loui Eriksson. The Coyotes have only 11 veterans under contract for next season and need to spend some money to get up to the cap floor, so either of those salaries would address that problem and add a top-six presence to an offense that ranked 29th this season.

"

That 29th-ranked offense averaged 2.01 goals per game last season, which could make the possibility of drafting a pure scorer such as Dylan Strome an attractive option instead of pursuing a deal.

If the Coyotes want help in front of their goalie, then defenseman Hanifin is the choice for them. Last season, Arizona's best-rated defenseman who appeared in 25 games or more in the regular season was Brandon Gormley at minus-seven.

The Bruins finished ninth in Eastern Conference last year, two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot. While the Bruins were just a win away from the postseason, the Coyotes were not. They went 24-50-8, worst in the Western Conference and their second-worst season since the old Winnipeg Jets moved to Arizona in 1996. 

Stats courtesy of NHL.com.