NHL Trade Rumors: Top Reports Following 2017 Stanley Cup Final

With the Pittsburgh Penguins being crowned Stanley Cup champions for the second consecutive year, the focus across the NHL has shifted toward shaping rosters for the 2017-18 season.

There promises to be even more upheaval than usual this offseason because of the presence of an expansion draft for the Vegas Golden Knights, plus the NHL draft is on the horizon, and there is always plenty of wheeling and dealing leading up to it.

As the offseason's biggest events approach, here is a look at some of the biggest trade rumors making the rounds.

Blackhawks Moving a Core Player?

The Chicago Blackhawks have won three Stanley Cups since 2010, but that has forced them to make some difficult decisions in order to remain compliant with the salary cap.

In the name of keeping the likes of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Marian Hossa in the fold, it has been necessary to let many key depth players leave over the past few years.

According to a new report, however, Chicago may be on the verge of trading one of those core players this offseason.

Jay Zawaski of 670 The Score recently tweeted about the rumor, and while he didn't say which player may be on the move, he did indicate that it won't be Toews:

In addition to the aforementioned players, forwards Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov, defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson and goalie Corey Crawford all have cap hits of at least $4 million, per NHL Numbers.

That makes them all candidates to be moved in the name of cap relief moving forward.

Vegas' addition to the league could help the Blackhawks since the Golden Knights are starting from scratch and can afford to take on big contracts under the right circumstances.

Plus, after losing in the first round of the playoffs, the Blackhawks could use a shake-up in order to return to their Cup-winning ways.

Antti Raanta

The expansion draft will force teams into making some difficult decisions, and the New York Rangers may have one of the toughest.

Since each team can protect only one goalie, New York will almost certainly have to expose backup Antti Raanta unless it agrees to trade him beforehand.

Per Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets have inquired about Raanta's availability. However, the Blueshirts have yet to bite.

The Rangers have a potential future Hall of Famer between the pipes in Henrik Lundqvist, but he is 35 and was outperformed by Raanta in 2016-17.

Lundqvist went 31-20-4 with a 2.74 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. The 28-year-old Raanta was 16-8-2 with a 2.26 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.

Trading Lundqvist could be difficult because of his big contract, and it would likely be unpopular among fans.

By keeping the Swede, however, the odds of managing to retain Raanta as well appear to be quite low.

The one thing that could save the Rangers is if they expose a player to the expansion draft who entices the Golden Knights even more than Raanta.

Saving that, New York may be forced into trading Raanta to ensure it gets something of value back for a rising star.

David Clarkson

The NHL's salary cap is a game of chess in many ways, and because of his situation, Columbus Blue Jackets forward David Clarkson is a valuable piece.

Clarkson spent last season on long-term injured reserve, and according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Post Dispatch, he is unlikely to ever play again because of a back injury.

That means Clarkson's cap hit of $5.25 million through 2019-20 will not count against the salary cap of the team that holds his rights.

The Jackets own the right wing, but according to David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, they may be closing in on a trade with the Golden Knights.

Such a deal would make sense for both sides. For Columbus, dealing Clarkson would mean ownership wouldn't have to pay a player who can't play.

For Vegas, one can only assume it would also get a draft pick or prospect out of the trade without having to give up much of anything. Everything would be contingent upon the Golden Knights ownership's willingness to pay Clarkson.

For a brand-new team like Vegas, it may well be worth sinking money into Clarkson if it means getting a building block who could help the team in the future as well.