In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Toronto Maple Leafs are making a list of centers and checking it twice ahead of the trade deadline. Is Brayden Schenn on that list, and are the St. Louis Blues really open to trading their captain? Meanwhile, speculation is that the New York Islanders are open to trading Noah Dobson. Why? And is there a potential deal with the Vancouver Canucks on the table? Finally, Brock Nelson has ranked at the top of trade bait boards, but are the Islanders trying to lock him up?
Maple Leafs Looking at Centers; Brayden Schenn on Their Radar?
TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the St. Louis Blues might be open to the idea of trading center Brayden Schenn. The NHL insider notes that the return must be mammoth and suggested the Toronto Maple Leafs might be interested. Who Toronto would trade and how they’d make the money work isn’t quite clear.
Related: 5 Maple Leafs Forwards Who Could Lose Their Spot Amidst Injury & Trade Additions
Dreger explained:
“Some believe there’s potential of Brayden Schenn being traded by the St. Louis Blues. He is their captain, he does have a full no-trade clause. It is a complicated process. We also know Doug Armstrong, the general manager, very well, and how aggressive he can be, and the Blues are underachieving right now. So yes, the top contenders, looking at the market, looking for a center are interested, and that would include the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
He added that it’s too soon to say where this will go, but the Blues are testing or gauging the market to see what that level of interest is. A decision would have to be made shortly.
Meanwhile, Elliotte Friedman noted on his recent 32 Thoughts Podcast that the Maple Leafs are working through a “wish list” of centers ahead of the deadline. Friedman says they’re saying:
“…here’s this person that we kind of like, what would it take? Here’s this person we kind of like, what would it take? And I think it’s a combination of a, how much do they like the player and b, what’s it going to cost to get that player? So I think they’re working through that.”
Kevin Weekes reported the Maple Leafs were one of four teams kicking tires on Dylan Cozens. It’s not known if Toronto has what the Buffalo Sabres want in return.
It’s hard to know what GM Lou Lamoriello has up his sleeve and what he’s working on, but RG.org writes in a recent column that the Islanders might be open to trading defenseman Noah Dobson. They write:
“Dobson is in the final year of a three-year extension that pays him $4 million a season. He is still a restricted-free agent when his contract expires. However, as it has been reported by The Hockey News’ Stefen Rosner, the Islanders have an interest in Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson, so the young defenseman could be part of the package to get him.”
The Islanders have been looking for a scoring help for some time and speculation is that Dobson is the kind of piece that will get them what they’re looking for.
The column also notes that the Islanders have offered Brock Nelson a three-year contract extension. It’s not clear if he’s taking the deal, but should he, it will remove one of the bigger names off the trade bait board. Nelson currently ranks No. 1 on TSN’s trade bait board following the J.T. Miller trade that sent the forward to the New York Rangers.
Kyle Palmieri is also on the board and could be another player on the move out of New York.
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