NHL Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on Senators' Plans, Jesse Puljujarvi, Troy Stecher

Teams across the NHL have had a little under a month to gauge their rosters for the 2019-20 regular season, and some are less pleased than others.

Injuries have forced the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes' hands at forward, with names such as Jesse Puljujarvi and Josh Ho-Sang being named specifically as trade targets for Carolina.

In contrast, the Vancouver Canucks are deep at defense and happy with it despite Troy Stecher being in a contract year. 

Below is a closer look at rumors circulating around those three situations.

Senators Seeking Forward Depth 

Earlier this week, Ottawa lost forwards Colin White (hip flexor) for three to five weeks and Artem Anisimov (lower body) for up to two weeks. Both players were placed on injured reserve. As a result, the Senators are "trying hard to add a forward," according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Ottawa already filled open roster spots by recalling Logan Brown, who was drafted 11th overall in 2016 and was playing for the AHL's Belleville Senators, along with J.C. Beaudin.

Neither player has significant NHL experience, with Brown having played in seven games and Beaudin making his debut Wednesday night:

Prior to the injuries, Anisimov and White hadn't made much of an impact. 

Anisimov, sent to the Senators from the Blackhawks in a July trade, had one goal and no assists through five games. White, who was selected by Ottawa 21st overall in 2015, had one goal and one assist through eight games. 

Ottawa might want to add help at forward regardless of their absence, though White had a career-best season in 2018 with 14 goals alongside 27 assists.

The 2-6-1 Senators have struggled out of the gate and rank 26th in the NHL by averaging 2.44 goals per game.

Hurricanes Have Inquired About Jesse Puljujarvi

Carolina is 6-3-1 through the first 10 games of the season, but the Hurricanes aren't satisfied with their top nine—especially after losing Jordan Martinook for six-to-eight weeks on Oct. 10 due to surgery for a core muscle injury.

Since losing the winger, Carolina is 2-4 and riding a three-game skid, though the 27-year-old hadn't scored and contributed just one assist through four games.

According to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the Canes have circled forwards Jesse Puljujarvi and Josh Ho-Sang as a result:

"The Hurricanes are making inquiries. ... One of them is Josh Ho-Sang in the New York Islanders organization. Talk about a guy who needs a change of scenery. The Hurricanes are looking at whether or not Ho-Sang would be a good fit. They're not the only team, of course. Jesse Puljujarvi, speaking of change of scenery, is another player, I've been told, the Hurricanes have kicked tires on to see what the price would be and whether he'd be a good fit.

"The Hurricanes haven't just looked at Ho-Sang and Puljujarvi, but at some point in time, the Hurricanes, who are off to a good start, feel they need to add one more top end forward in their lineup."

Puljujarvi is clearly unhappy with his current situation as he continues to hold out from the Edmonton Oilers. In the meantime, the 2016 fourth overall pick is playing in his native Finland's SM-liiga.

In June, TSN's Darren Dreger reported Puljujarvi wanted out of Edmonton. That was confirmed by the 21-year-old's agent, Markus Lehto:

Puljujarvi's trade value has only increased after scoring nine goals and recording six assists through 14 games for Karpat in Finland, per the league's official site.

As for Ho-Sang, Dreger reported Wednesday that Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello "is working" on moving the 23-year-old.

The Canadian was taken by New York in the first round (28th overall) of the 2014 draft. Since then, beginning in the 2016-17 season, he has scored seven goals while assisting on 17 across 53 games.

The Hurricanes' leading scorer through 10 games is Erik Haula with seven and Dougie Hamilton behind him at five. There is a drop-off after that, which explains the Hurricanes' interest in bolstering their attack.

Canucks Happy With Troy Stecher For Now

It doesn't look like Vancouver defenseman Troy Stecher is going anywhere, at least in the immediate future.

TSN's Pierre LeBrun illuminated the situation surrounding the 25-year-old on Tuesday: 

"Stecher has been a top-four defenseman the last couple of years. But then you bring in (Tyler) Myers and you have a healthy (Chris) Tanev and suddenly Stecher is on the third D pairing. But I can tell you this, the Canucks are finally happy to have depth. I mean, this is why they built this team the way they did. They haven’t had depth in a long time, particularly on the defense. And it’s a team that’s been hit hard by injuries on the blue line the last couple of years.

"So right now that’s the plan is to keep a guy like Stecher for that reason. Because he’s a good player. They have depth, and they know it’s a long year. Now, it is a contract year for Troy Stecher, so at some point, I’m sure there are teams that are going to circle around the situation and reach out to the Canucks. But right now, the Canucks are happy to have him on their team."

TSN's Bob McKenzie described the "low rumbles" surrounding Stecher:

The 25-year-old signed a two-year, $4.65 million contract with the Canucks in July 2018, which is set to expire about this season. He is scheduled to become a restricted free agent after that. 

Stecher has spent his entire NHL career in Vancouver. His most productive season came in 2016-17, his debut campaign, when he registered three goals and 21 assists through 71 games. He nearly matched that last season with two goals and 21 assists through 78 games. Through nine games this season, he has one goal and one assist.