NHL Rumors: Trade Chatter Surrounding Taylor Hall, Matt Bartkowski and More

The St. Louis Blues have joined the trading party, executing a trade early Saturday with the Edmonton Oilers for backup goalie Anders Nilsson. The Blues sent Nicklas Lundstrom and a 2016 fifth-round draft choice to Edmonton in exchange.

The deal comes on the heels of three trades made by the Chicago Blackhawks that saw the defending champions announce the acquisitions of Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise and two veteran defensemen in Tomas Fleischmann and Christian Ehrhoff over the past three days.

These trades indicate that Monday could be a busy trade deadline day. The 30 teams in the NHL have until 3 p.m. ET to complete all deals.

The Edmonton Oilers have continued to struggle this season despite the plethora of high draft picks that they have had in recent seasons.

General manager Peter Chiarelli is in the midst of his first season at the helm of the Oilers, and he is apparently willing to part with some of the Oilers' big-name talent. However, that does not include 2015 No. 1 draft pick Connor McDavid, who will likely be the Oilers' centerpiece/superstar for years to come.

Chiarielli was asked about the prospect of moving Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and the Edmonton general manager told Edmonton Sun reporter Rob Tychkowski that he would consider those possibilities and is open to such deals.

Chiarelli does not believe that deals of that size are likely at the trade deadline and would have a better chance of taking place after the season ends at the amateur draft. However, he is willing to listen.

“For me, major deals are less likely at this time,” he said. “There is more global planning that takes place postseason prior to the draft. Then you have the draft picks, which are alluring to teams. There’s just more activity that way."

A deal that involved Hall would clearly be a blockbuster, while trades for Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins would be just a degree or two smaller.

Derek Leung/Getty Images

The Vancouver Canucks are apparently willing to make a number of deadline deals as well. While top-of-the-food-chain players like Daniel and Henrik Sedin and goalie Ryan Miller are not likely to be involved, veteran insider Bob McKenzie has tweeted that Matt Bartkowski, Linden Vey, Chris Higgins and Brandon Prust are among the players the Canucks are willing to offer up in trades:

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VAN has let other 29 teams know they are open for business on: Vey, Bartkowski, Kenins, Cracknell, Higgins, Prust and Weber.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 24, 2016"

Vancouver general manager Jim Benning said that he didn't think his team was going to make the playoffs this season, and that's why he is apparently willing to make a number of deals that improve the team in the future.

Bartkowski may have the most value of the players McKenzie mentioned. He is a smooth-skating, 27-year-old defenseman who has scored five goals and 10 assists with the Canucks this season. He previously played with the Boston Bruins.

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Forward Loui Eriksson of the Bruins has been one of the most discussed names in recent weeks because he will be an unrestricted free agent. Darren Dreger of TSN tweeted that the team and Eriksson will continue to negotiate Saturday on a new contract.

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Eriksson contract discussions expected to continue tomorrow which suggests the Bruins are unlikely to trade him before exhausting ext talks.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 26, 2016"

If he does not sign a new deal before the deadline, the Bruins could make Eriksson available in a trade or decide to keep him for the stretch run, since they are inside the playoff structure.

Jonathan Drouin of the Tampa Bay Lightning remains in play, and general manager Steve Yzerman will make a deal prior to the deadline as long as the Lightning gets solid value in return for the 20-year-old, who was the third overall pick in the 2013 draft.

McKenzie has reported that 19 teams have legitimate interest in making a deal for Drouin, and that would give Yzerman a chance to fulfill his expectations for completing a trade.

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Teams, at times, with maybe > than cursory int: ANA, ARI, BOS, CAR, CHI, COL, MIN, MTL, NSH, NJD, NYI, NYR, OTT, PHI, SJ, STL, TOR, VAN, WPG

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 27, 2016"