NHL Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on Taylor Hall, Tyler Johnson, More Targets

Free agency in the NHL officially opens Friday, but teams are already working overtime on trades that could shake up the offseason.

Here are some updates on four stars who could have new homes within the next few days.

Taylor Hall

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

No team is probably working the phones harder than the Arizona Coyotes.

TSN's Darren Dreger reported Monday the Coyotes are reaching out to other teams about trading the rights to Taylor Hall. Because Hall is an unrestricted free agent, Arizona's leverage is dwindling by the hour.

It's not a foregone conclusion that Hall will leave the Coyotes to sign with another team, but it seems a pretty safe bet. Arizona missed the playoffs, and the franchise might be headed toward a transitional period. The Coyotes also forfeited their 2020 second-round pick and 2021 first-rounder following violations of the NHL's combine testing policy.

Sportsnet's Chris Johnston reported Hall might be willing to sign a short-term deal over pursuing the biggest contract possible. That would be a sensible strategy since he could hit the market again at a time when the NHL's finances have rebounded a bit more from the COVID-19 pandemic.

If that's his priority, then the odds of a return to Arizona fall even further.

Tyler Johnson

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

The Tampa Bay Lightning don't have long to savor their Stanley Cup triumph before they have to face the realities of the NHL's salary cap.

Kevin Shattenkirk is an unrestricted free agent, while Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev are restricted free agents. In order to free up some money, trading Tyler Johnson would be a natural move.

Johnson counts for $5 million annually over the next four seasons and has a no-trade clause in his contract.

According to Dreger, the 30-year-old is willing to work with Tampa Bay to facilitate a move:

Johnson scored 29 goals and assisted on 43 more in 2014-15. Since then, his point total has never eclipsed 50. He had 14 goals and 17 assists in 65 games during the 2019-20 regular season before adding four goals and three assists in the playoffs.

Because of the depth they have in their forward lines, Johnson is largely surplus to requirements for the Lightning. He'd be a better fit on a contending team that's looking to add to its attacking options.

Marc-Andre Fleury

Marc-Andre Fleury's days with the Vegas Golden Knights are probably numbered. Trading the 35-year-old goaltender will be easier said than done, however.

TSN's Frank Seravalli reported Tuesday that Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon "continues to exhaust all efforts and opportunities" to move Fleury on. Vegas is unable to make any progress because trade suitors want to see the team include more assets to accommodate the deal.

Fleury is due to earn $7 million over each of the next two seasons. Per Seravalli, opposing GMs are asking for first- and second-round picks in order to take on even a portion of that money.

NHL Network's Brian Lawton reported the same thing Wednesday:

Fleury is coming off a down year. He saved 90.5 percent of his shots—his lowest rate since 2009-10—and his 2.77 goals-against average was his worst since joining the Golden Knights in 2017. Then the Golden Knights demoted Fleury for the playoffs. He only started four games as Robin Lehner became the regular No. 1 option.

Lehner just signed a five-year extension, erasing any doubt about whether he'll be the starting goaltender in 2020-21. Surely the Golden Knights won't pay Fleury $7 million to be the backup?

Of course, that only serves to undercut what limited trade leverage Vegas has. Teams might be content to wait McCrimmon out and see whether he eventually proves willing to throw in another draft pick to get Fleury off the books.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Alex Gallardo/Associated Press

For far different reasons, the Coyotes' luck in trading Hall might be similar to how well any negotiations are progressing over Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Ekman-Larsson is signed through the 2026-27 season with an annual cap hit of $8.3 million. Arizona isn't working against a ticking clock in the same way it is with Hall.

The problem is that Ekman-Larsson apparently has a limited set of preferred destinations. Johnston and Elliotte Friedman reported the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins are the only teams on the list:

"Attempts to get the Coyotes captain to expand the list of destinations he'd waive a no-movement clause for have proven unsuccessful. Ekman-Larsson feels he signed with Arizona in good faith and if the Coyotes want to move on, he's earned the right to use his NMC.

"So, barring a last-minute change of heart, it's either going to be Vancouver or Boston."

Kevin Epp, Ekman-Larsson's agent, isn't making the process easier as he set a Friday deadline for the Coyotes to trade the 29-year-old.

"We think the best option for a trade is before free agency," Epp said to Dreger. "If no deal by Friday, Oliver is staying in Arizona."

That might just be posturing to speed things up because that's an artificial deadline. The Coyotes can continue speaking with teams after Friday. 

But thanks to his contract, the ball is completely in Ekman-Larsson's court.