NHL Rumors: Latest Buzz and Analysis on Top Trade Candidates

While the NHL's free-agency period begins Wednesday, plenty of teams are looking to the trade market to help make a splash next season. 

With numerous big-name talents on the block, there will be many transactions on the horizon, as the league will be seeing many faces in new places come 2015-16.

Here's a look at some of the latest trade rumors surrounding the next potential movers.

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T.J. Oshie

The Pittsburgh Penguins are pursuing the St. Louis Blues right winger, according to ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun.

Pittsburgh is looking for another first-line forward, wrote LeBrun, who can play with Sidney Crosby in order to help the Penguins improve from a late-season slump that dropped them to eighth in the Eastern Conference and led to a first-round playoff exit against the New York Rangers. 

Last season, Oshie stayed consistent to his career numbers with 19 goals and 36 assists for 55 points. In the four seasons in which he has played 70 games or more, Oshie has recorded no less than 18 goals but no more than 21. 

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong spoke with Jeremy P. Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the possibility of trading Oshie:

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We're talking to different levels than we've talked in the last couple of years. There are certain guys that you go into the season saying, 'I don't see a scenario where I'll trade this player.' But that obviously changes when you don't meet your ultimate goals or for us come close to meeting our ultimate goals. (But) because you're entertaining change doesn't mean there will be change.

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The Blues have recorded 100 or more points in three of the past four seasons but have never made it past the Western Conference semifinals. The past two years, St. Louis has lost in the first round of the postseason as the higher seed. 

Great regular seasons do not mean much if there is no advancement in the playoffs. The Blues management could be at wit's end in terms of lack of trophies. This past season's loss in the first round to the Minnesota Wild could be the spark needed to rehaul the Blues roster. 

Oshie brings an offensively finesse game with not much physicality. Putting him on a line with one of the best players in the league in Crosby or even putting him on a third line for depth purposes will help the Penguins restore that dangerous offense that dominated the league. The Penguins led the league in goals from 2011-2013 and were fifth in 2013-14 but dropped to 19th last season.

Bryan Bickell

The Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc reports that the Boston Bruins are interested in Chicago Blackhawks left winger Bryan Bickell. 

Boston has been busy of late, trading away Milan Lucic to the Los Angeles Kings and the rights to Carl Soderberg to the Colorado Avalanche. They also had three consecutive selections in this season's draft, but their picks have left those in the hockey world with a less than bright outlook, according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Mark Lazerus:

After trading defenseman Dougie Hamilton to the Calgary Flames, the Bruins announced they had sent goaltender Martin Jones to the San Jose Sharks for a 2016 first-round pick and prospect Sean Kuraly, as new general manager Don Sweeney will attempt to rebuild Boston despite salary-cap issues.

They'll try to team up with another team with cap issues, the Blackhawks, to help add depth to their roster. Bickell is in no way a headlining offensive threat, but he had one of the most well-rounded seasons of his career last year when he recorded 14 goals and 14 assists for 28 points. Bickell will be entering the third of his four-year, $16 million deal, according to Spotrac. 

TSN's Darren Dreger (h/t Rotoworld) reported on June 23 that the Arizona Coyotes were expressing interest in Bickell and had plenty of money to spend. The Coyotes were $18.6 million under the cap floor, but there have been no further talks since the initial report.

Bickell would fit into Boston's style well. He is a gritty winger who can bring plenty of playoff experience to the Bruins. He scored the tying goal with 1:16 remaining in Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final against the Bruins before Dave Bolland's winner 17 seconds later.

The Bruins have just two left wingers listed on their roster in Brad Marchand and Daniel Paille. Marchand is the team's best option at left wing after scoring 24 goals in 77 games last season. Paille recorded just six in 71. 

Bickell is capable of playing that hard-nosed Eastern Conference hockey the Bruins are known for, and with the departure of Lucic, they are certainly lacking that toughness now in the forward position. If the Bruins stay dormant for the rest of the offseason, which seems unlikely, Bickell would be playing second-line hockey with plenty of offensive pressure placed on his shoulders.

Stats courtesy of NHL.com.