NHL Trade Rumors: Dustin Penner and Stars Who Will Be Moved Soon

The NHL rumor mill is working as hard as ever with the holidays coming up and the freeze put on roster moves for the Christmas break.

While the GMs and teams will be putting their wheeling and dealing hats away for a week, that will not stop the rumors that are already out from reaching every ear that will listen.

Three of those players rumored to be on the move are on this list, and it looks like they will all be moved sooner rather than later.

Dustin Penner

While Dustin Penner was a versatile forward who put up stellar offensive numbers in his time with the Edmonton Oilers, he has been a shell of that player during his time in Los Angles with the Kings.

The Kings need more help than what they’re getting from Penner and his seven points in 22 games, and there may be interest from a team like the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Penner was at his best when he was playing with bigger forwards who could alleviate some of the pressure physically and allow Penner to skate freely.

Derick Brassard

Along those same lines, the player the Kings may ask for in return for Penner would be young center Derick Brassard.

While the Blue Jackets have been rumored about shopping the center for months, I don’t see why they would want to move the best prospect in their organization.

Brassard isn’t the biggest player, so his team must surround him with players that try to make their own plays. That’s what Columbus has failed to grasp. Maybe he can get that in Los Angeles.

Tuomo Ruutu

The Carolina Hurricanes are the worst team in the Eastern Conference right now and quite possibly the worst team in hockey.

With no clear direction, the GM and ownership group need to go back to the drawing board and develop a new plan of attack. That would include trading Tuomo Ruutu.

I would expect the Hurricanes to trade all of the unrestricted free-agents-to-be before the deadline this season in order to prepare for the future. That’s what they should do, at least.

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