Francois Beauchemin and Kris Versteeg: Who's Interested?

The original article was written for Sportshaze.com. Here: http://smurl.name/b4h5

On Beauchemin:

Brian Burke has informed all the general managers in the NHL that defenseman Francois Beauchemin is available. Many teams are showing interest in the 32-year-old defender.

Here is the latest:

Yesterday I reported that the Los Angeles Kings and the Phoenix Coyotes were interested in the services of Beauchemin and today it seems like the San Jose Sharks are also interested according to The Fourth Period.

It's believed the Sharks are willing to deal young forward Devin Setoguchi. Setoguchi scored 65 points in the 2008-2009 season but has struggled since to repeat. Last year he put up a total of 36 points and this year is on pace to score just above 24 points.

My Thoughts: Brian Burke should be extremely careful when dealing Beauchemin. He leads the Maple leafs in ice time per game amongst defensemen with 23:57. Meanwhile, Setoguchi is not the type of player the Leafs need as he is a goal scorer who needs to be fed the puck. I could see this deal going through as a salary dump if the Leafs also get a second or third round pick in return.

Once again, according to The Fourth Period, the Columbus Blue Jackets have inquired about Francois Beauchemin as they have been looking to add a defensemen to their group for a long time now.

My Thoughts: The Blue Jackets have a number of players the Leafs could be interested in. Derrick Brassard and Antoine Vermette are just a couple of names the Leafs would ask for in return for Beauchemin as Burke inquired about those two in the offseason.

A certain western conference team has made a “solid” offer for Beauchemin.

On Versteeg:

Yesterday on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, Hotstove panelist and ESPN writer Pierre LeBrun, reported that the Leafs had received a “hard” offer for forward Kris Versteeg and that they are seriously considering it. He noted that Brian Burke is contacting other teams to notify them of this offer.

After the Leafs/Sens game, Ken Beckett of HockeyBuzz tweeted on the Versteeg situation saying he heard the New Jersey Devils and the Dallas Stars are showing interest in the 24-year-old forward.

Also worth noting is the fact that a media outlet reported earlier this week that the New Jersey Devils and the Toronto Maple Leafs struck a deal sending Kris Versteeg to Jersey for 6'2" centre Travis Zajac. Obviously that report was false, but speculation would suggest that the Leafs and Devils could be working on a deal similar to this involving the same players.

My Thoughts: Personally, I do not want to see Kris Versteeg dealt. He is finding his game in Toronto now putting up 23 points in his last 27 games though a minus-12. Versteeg is only 24 years old and hasn’t even reached his prime yet.

I do not see the Leafs dealing Versteeg unless a valuable young player comes in return like Travis Zajac or Mike Ribeiro from Dallas. The Stars could be looking to move out some salary as they have been given the green light to start contract negotiations with Brad Richards and need some money to fit within their budget. Anything less than Zajac from New Jersey would not be worth it and same goes for Dallas with Ribeiro.

Let's make this clear: Brian Burke was never shopping Kris Versteeg. An offer came in from a team and it's believed to be a very good one. That’s why this deal is seriously being considered. 

That is the latest right now in terms of trade rumors in Toronto. We could see a deal struck as early as tomorrow morning, but that’s mere speculation according to the rumors.

Follow me on Twitter for quick hits on these developing stories: @SH_Leafs.