NHL Trade Rumors: Reviewing Latest Reports Before 2020 Deadline Passes

The NHL trade deadline is upon us. At 3 p.m. ET on Monday, the market will close on the 2019-20 season. The weekend didn't bring a flurry of trade activity, but the final few hours of the trade window just might.

One of those players could be New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider. The Rangers have been trying to get an extension done with the 28-year old, but nothing has materialized. According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the two sides are a year apart on contract terms.

"The divide on the contract term, with the Rangers offering six years and Kreider asking for the seven years he will almost certainly command on the open market July 1, remained an immovable obstacle neither side was able or willing to hurdle in order to make a deal," Brooks wrote.

With Kreider in the final year of his contract, his time in New York could soon be at an end. According to Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Carolina Hurricanes have "kicked the tires" on a Kreider deal. The Athletic's Ryan S. Clark reported that the Colorado Avalanche have interest in Kreider but would prefer to have him for the long term.

Colorado, incidentally, acquired winger Vladislav Namestnikov from the Ottawa Senators on Monday morning, according to Sportsnet's Ryan McKenna. While that move doesn't necessarily take Colorado out of the market for Kreider, it probably eliminated any chance of the Avalanche settling for a short-term rental.

According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, Colorado is still in the market for a wing:

Kreider may not be the only member of the Rangers on the move on deadline day. According to Brett Cygalis of the New York Post, teams have shown interest in several other New York players:

"There has been interest shown in 25-year-old defenseman Brady Skjei, with four more years left on his deal at $5.25 million per. Same for 24-year-old winger Pavel Buchnevich, with one year at $3.25 million before reaching restricted free agency. Even veteran defenseman Marc Staal, with one more year at $5.7 million and a no-move clause he would have to waive, should garner some phone calls for playoff-bound teams in need of shoring up their blue line."

There's no clear picture of what New York would want for players like Buchnevich or Staal. The asking price for Kreider is high, though—either a first-round draft pick, a good prospect or some combination of a player, lower-tier prospect and a pick, according to McKenzie.

Namestnikov wasn't the only player shipped out by the Senators on Monday, with center Jean-Gabriel Pageau being traded to the New York Islanders:

According to TSN, Ottowa will receiver a conditional 2020 first-round pick, a 2020 second-round pick and a conditional 2022 third-round pick in return.

This is a sizeable haul for the Senators, and it isn't surprising. According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the Senators made it clear to teams that they were willing to pass on a trade while continuing to negotiate through the regular season.

"Yes, they've listened to trade offers, but it's fair to say the teams involved in the discussions know the club's priority is to keep him in Ottawa," Garrioch wrote.

It appears that New York's offer superseded that priority.

Hosting a fire sale doesn't appear to be a priority for Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin. Though Bergevin did send winger Ilya Kovalchuk to the Washington Capitals on Sunday, he isn't pricing his mid-level players to move.

"Lots of talk in recent weeks about Tomas Tatar, Jeff Petry and, to a lesser extent, Max Domi, TSN's John Lu said on TradeCentre. "Reports are out there that the asks are astronomical or the players are not available. So it's a very good chance that there will be scrutiny surrounding Marc Bergevin and one or more of those players today."

Don't expect and Bergevin to hand out any bargain-basement deals before the 3 p.m. deadline.