NHL Rumors: Latest Trade Buzz on Mathew Dumba, Sami Vatanen and More

The wildest NHL offseason flurry in recent memory is set to commence, as expansion and the upcoming draft have the league buzzing with trade rumors.

The NHL draft will begin on June 23, while the first major date of the expansion draft process will be June 17, when teams must submit their protection lists. Teams can either protect seven forwards and three defensemen or just eight skaters, both in addition to a goalie. Thus, some teams will be scrambling to target other clubs that are overloaded at certain positions.

All the while, the 2017 Stanley Cup Final is raging on in a tight series. Let us take a look at the latest buzz around the league during this high-stakes time. Complete expansion draft rules can be found at NHL.com, while important expansion dates are available on Sporting News.

Which Minnesota Defender Will Go?

Because of the fact the expansion draft rules force teams to sacrifice so much when protecting more than three defensemen, teams that are flush with quality defenders have some tough choices to make.

The Minnesota Wild are one of those squads. With excellent forwards like Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter and Zach Parise, among others, the Wild can't afford to only protect four offensive players. Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter look like locks to receive protection, meaning Minnesota will likely have to trade either Jonas Brodin or Mathew Dumba while exposing Marco Scandella on defense.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that the Minnesota Star Tribune's Michael Russo said on the Russo-Souhan podcast Wednesday that it is "100 percent in the works" that the Wild will move one of their key defenders. Per his sources, Russo believes one guy could be on the way out.

"I think they're trading Dumba," Russo said, around the 24-minute mark. "[Dumba] has the best asset potential. I think [the Wild] have really, internally, analyzed this and feel like they really like Brodin, and Dumba can get them the most on the trade market."

Dumba, 22, is a year younger than Brodin, and he is a restricted free agent after this season. An excellent skater, Dumba has much higher offensive upside than Brodin, but the latter is more responsible defensively, which might fit in better with Minnesota, with the Wild already possessing point producers Spurgeon and Suter on the back end.

With 50 points over the past two seasons as a full-time NHL player, Dumba would be attractive to several teams in need of offensive defensemen. A trade partner would also have to be able to then protect Dumba while providing a quality return to Minnesota.

The New Jersey Devils look like a perfect match. The team finished 28th in hockey, with a 2.20 goals-per-game average last season, and desperately need some offensive punch from the defense outside of promising 22-year-old Damon Severson.

Dumba would be a great addition to the rebuilding New Jersey, and the Devils have 10 draft picks in the first three rounds over the next two years. Packaging two of these picks with a mid-level prospect should be enough to make this a beneficial deal for both sides.

Sami Vatanen Drawing Heavy Interest

If Minnesota is looking for sympathy for its bind, it could receive some from the Anaheim Ducks.

The Ducks, who came within two wins of winning the Western Conference, are in a nearly identical situation with their expansion roster. Because of a slew of talented forwards, led by Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim will have to choose three defensemen, assuming it convinces Kevin Bieksa to waive his no-move clause.

Cam Fowler is coming off of another outstanding season, and Hampus Lindholm is quietly becoming an elite defender, so those two appear safe for protection. Josh Manson has emerged as a top-four guy in recent seasons, as the 6'3" defenseman is a terrific skater who provides physical play in the corners.

That makes Sami Vatanen the most logical player to be moved. His $4.875 million cap hit would allow Anaheim to re-sign Fowler, either this offseason or next, and a potential rising star in Brandon Montour plays a similar style with a cheaper immediate cost.

Rocky W. Widner/NHL/Getty Images

TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on the network's Insider Trading segment on Wednesday that Vatanen looks like the odd man out. Similar to Minnesota's seemingly available defensemen, Vatanen is apparently drawing plenty of intrigue around the league.

"I'm told teams are absolutely lining up in their interest for [Vatanen]," LeBrun said. "Among the teams I think have interest are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning [and] New Jersey. But honestly, there are more teams than that. If the Ducks move ahead on a trade for Sami Vatanen, I think it allows them to protect all the guys they really want to."

As a swift-skating defenseman averaging roughly 20 power-play points per season over the past three years, Vatanen should be a hot commodity. There is a slight catch that could affect his immediate value, though, as he will likely miss the start of the regular season because of injury, per Greg Beacham of the Associated Press:

That damper should only be a slight detraction from Vatanen's trade value, and Tampa Bay could be a nice match.

The Lightning need another defenseman to drive play outside of Victor Hedman, and they have some nice assets who could be parlayed into a deal. Because of its offensive depth already, a prospect like Taylor Raddysh, who lit it up with 109 points for the Erie Otters in the OHL this season, could be expendable.

Keep an eye on the Vatanen situation moving forward, though, as he is one of the top names expected to be traded this summer.

Philadelphia Contemplating Draft Trade?

While no cannot-miss generational prospect like Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid appears to be on tap for the 2017 draft, there is some serious value atop the board.

The Philadelphia Flyers made a shocking move from No. 13 to No. 2 overall at the draft lottery, and it appears they are at least considering flipping that good fortune for more picks or possibly an impact player, per LeBrun:

Centers Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick are the consensus top two prospects, which could be good news for a Flyers group that tied for 20th this season in goals per game. The Devils control the board with the No. 1 selection, but Philadelphia looks to have an easy choice of picking one of the two remaining aforementioned players.

Philadelphia would be right to adhere to LeBrun's two cents following the report. The team already possesses a quality core forward group of Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek that could be enhanced by adding either Hischier or Patrick to Travis Konecny for another young building block. 

The Flyers reached the playoffs a year ago, and adding another young offensive stud would give the team more immediate firepower and a stronger foundation moving forward.

However, anything can happen, especially with the transaction volatility that is expected ahead of the expansion draft. Philadelphia could come across a monster offer that could turn the draft upside down.

Statistics are courtesy of NHL.com. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.