NHL Rumors: Latest Buzz on Aaron Dell Trade, Mitch Marner Interest, and More

Mere days removed from the official start of NHL free agency Monday, the trade market—hottest around the time of the draft—is starting to slow down.

Meanwhile, intel on which restricted and unrestricted free agents could land where is beginning to advance from a slow leak to a steady flow.

That doesn't mean more trades aren't in our hockey-loving future, though ones on the scale of P.K. Subban's move from the Nashville Predators to the New Jersey Devils may be few and far between.

Let's survey the trade and free-agency landscape in the NHL and take a look at some players who have been making headlines—and the teams hoping to land them.

Sharks Looking to Deal Goaltender Aaron Dell

John Locher/Associated Press

The teams that advanced furthest in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs enjoyed one obvious commonality: incredible goaltending.

Unfortunately for the San Jose Sharks, their in-net play was streaky at best. And it could mean backup goalie Aaron Dell is headed for open waters.

That's the latest from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, who reported that Aaron Dell is among a number of goalies who could be on the move this summer.

"San Jose would like to move Aaron Dell, who has a $1.9 million cap hit and $1.6 million in cash," he wrote. "It's believed the Sharks tried to make it part of the Patrick Marleau trade, which complicated things for an extra 12 hours or so."

San Jose needs to clear cap space, and Dell didn't make a strong case for himself this season.

Starter Martin Jones' play wasn't anything to write home about, either, but Dell allowed 70 goals for a goals-against average of 3.17 in 25 games.

Islanders Among Many Teams Interested in Maple Leafs Winger Mitch Marner

The Toronto Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner is one of the biggest names being bandied about this summer.

The unrestricted free agent received a qualifying offer from the Leafs on Tuesday, the team reported via its social channels:

However, there's a high possibility the 22-year-old elects to take advantage of his RFA interview window, which doesn't happen all that often. In fact, the last player on record to have used it was Shea Weber in 2012.

As Sportsnet's Chris Johnston pointed out, Marner is "simply trying to use every piece of leverage at his disposal to get the best deal possible, not hasten an exit from his hometown team."

Still, a restricted free agent this special is going to learn every inch of the landscape before agreeing to any deals with the Maple Leafs.

And he has a cast of suitors lining up, including the New York Islanders, as Darren Dreger reported on TSN 1050:

Marner scored 94 points last season and has led the Maple Leafs in scoring the past two seasons. It's hard to imagine Toronto not matching any offer sheet he would get, but it's also hard to say which teams are willing to throw their hats into the ring.

Dallas and Tampa Bay Most Likely Landing Spots for Sharks Captain Joe Pavelski in Free Agency 

It's looking like the Sharks will be without their captain to open the season this fall. 

Joe Pavelski is hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent, and the 34-year-old is most likely looking for a short-term deal on a contender, as The Hockey News' Matt Larkin reported. 

Plenty of teams, including the Minnesota Wild, have shown interest in adding the forward to their rosters. But according to Friedman, the Dallas Stars and the Tampa Bay Lightning are looking like the front-runners: "Pavelski declined visits in a couple of places where he thought the teams weren't close enough to winning. All eyes are on Dallas and Tampa Bay, although Chicago may try to convince him to visit."

Indeed, Pavelski visited with the Stars on Wednesday, per The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. Dallas' exit to the eventual champion St. Louis Blues in the playoffs was due in large part to its lack of scoring firepower. 

Perhaps the star forward will soon become a Stars forward.