NHL Rumors: Trade Chatter Surrounding Nick Foligno, Taylor Hall and More

The 2021 NHL trade deadline is quickly approaching—it will arrive at 3 p.m. ET on Monday—and deals have started to hit the transaction wire.

The New Jersey Devils traded veteran forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac on Wednesday, while the Florida Panthers moved Brett Connolly, Riley Stillman and Henrik Borgstrom on Thursday. With those two trades, the New York Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks helped load up for the playoff chase. 

More moves are likely to come in over the weekend, as teams like New York and Chicago look to buy and teams like New Jersey and Florida look to sell. The Columbus Blue Jackets—a playoff team in each of the past four seasons—could be among the latter group this year.

Veteran wing and team captain Nick Foligno could be one of the players Columbus looks to move. We'll examine his situation and some of the other recent NHL trade-deadline buzz here.

Columbus Will Seek Foligno's Approval for a Trade

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

While the 33-year-old Foligno may represent one of Columbus' best trade assets, the team won't force a trade without his consent. According to The Athletic's Aaron Portzline, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen will consult his team captain first.

"We'll have a conversation if something does come up," Foligno said, per Portzline.

Foligno has a 10-team no-trade clause in his contract, so Kekalainen would have options if he wanted to push the issue. According to Portzline, multiple teams could be interested in dealing for Foligno as well.

"Colorado, Toronto, Minnesota and the New York Islanders are believed to be interested in Foligno, but there will likely be other suitors, too," Portzline wrote. "A trade to the Wild would allow Foligno to play with his brother, Marcus Foligno, who’s currently out of the lineup with an injury."

With Columbus in second-to-last place in the Central Division and with Foligno only under contract through the end of the season, a trade would make sense for the Blue Jackets. However, it seems that a trade will only happen if Foligno signs off on the deal.

Teams Interested in Hall, but Value Could Be Dwindling

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

Another wing who could be on the move is Taylor Hall of the Buffalo Sabres.

"Things have intensified with at least a couple of teams," TSN's Darren Dreger said on Insider Trading.

However, the Sabres may not be able to get an ideal trade package in return for Hall. According to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, New York's acquisition of Palmieri may have substantially hurt Hall's potential trade value.

"All the other buyers on the market now are close to the cap. One team executive I spoke with Thursday said if Hall was still sitting there Monday he could see a team get him for a second- or third-round pick plus send Buffalo a contract to make it work," LeBrun wrote.

The good news for Buffalo is that Hall appears willing to sign an extension if traded—which could add to his potential trade value.

"He's willing to consider signing an extension with an acquiring team, so this isn't necessarily a pure rental situation," Sportsnet's Chris Johnston tweeted.

If teams can and do view Hall as a long-term acquisition, the Sabres should be able to expect more in a pre-deadline trade. Right now, Hall is playing on a one-year deal.

Flames Getting Calls on David Rittich, Little Other Trade Interest

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

Like Columbus and Buffalo, the Calgary Flames should be on the seller's market ahead of the deadline. At 16-21, they're in second-to-last place in the North Division.

However, the Flames don't appear to be drawing much interest from the league's buyers heading into the weekend. The lone exception, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli, is 28-year-old goaltender David Rittich.

"The Flames are taking calls and have received interest on pending UFA goaltender David Rittich," Seravalli said on Insider Trading, "It's been a little bit more quiet for a guy like center Derek Ryan and some of the Flame's lower-priced pending UFAs."

Rittich could be viewed as expendable by Calgary, which has Jacob Markstrom as a starter. He could also be desirable for teams looking to add depth ahead of the postseason. Outside of Rittich, though, it doesn't appear that the Flames will be in a position to make major moves ahead of the deadline.

*Contract information via Spotrac.