Edmonton linked to Pavel Buchnevich, Jake Guentzel finished in Pittsburgh, Saros stays & much more: TLN Rumour Recap

The NHL trade deadline is just around the corner and the party has already started, thanks to a late-night deal between the Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames. With Chris Tanev off the board the market has been set on defencemen, so you can expect to see a flurry of activity before March 8.

Without further ado, here’s the very latest trade chatter:

The St Louis Blues are on the outside looking in at the playoff picture in the West and the current vibe around the team is that GM Doug Armstrong is considering shuffling his deck a little. Pavel Buchnevich has been listed as a prime trade candidate by several insiders and of late, he’s been heavily linked to the Edmonton Oilers.

Oilers GM Ken Holland is no stranger to big trades and this deal could look awfully similar to when Holland acquired Mattias Ekholm from the Nashville Predators as the package would likely include a first-round pick, one NHL roster player, one mid-level prospect, and a conditional draft pick. Buchnevich is signed through next season at $5.8 million against the cap and could immediately jump into the Oilers’ top six. The 6-foot-3 Russian winger has scored 24 goals and added 24 assists in 57 games. His modified no-trade clause protects him from 12 teams but it’s safe to assume playing alongside Connor McDavid probably makes the approval list.

Warren Foegele is a prime trade candidate out of Edmonton, strictly for cap purposes, and expect to see Armstrong and the Blues ask for Dylan Holloway if Buchnevich is on the table. Also, expect to see the Oilers try and move one of Brett Kulak or Cody Ceci ahead of the deadline as they could save some much-needed cap space by calling up top prospect Philip Broberg.

Kyle Dubas has put Jake Guentzel on the trade market and with the Penguins’ sniper currently on the injured reserve and not coming back until after the deadline, Guentzel seems to have played his last game in Pittsburgh. Where to next?

According to Frank Seravalli, the market is going to include the Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Detroit Red Wings and even the Arizona Coyotes. Seravalli sees the Penguins being able to land a top prospect and at least one first-round pick. This will likely end up being a four-piece combo heading back to Dubas and the Penguins.

The Penguins enter Thursday’s action seven points back of the Lightning for the final wildcard spot, however, they do have five games in hand. Don’t count out Sidney Crosby just yet.

The Nashville Predators have caught fire after the all-star break and are starting to play some really good hockey. They have won six in a row and now sit with a five-point lead on the selling Calgary Flames ahead of the trade deadline. With Nashville being in a playoff spot, don’t expect to see Juuse Saros traded before the deadline, according to Frank Seravalli via Daily Faceoff.

GM Barry Trotz believes in this group and while he’s also keeping an eye on the future and top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, Saros is too valuable to this current team to take the winds out of their sails. The trade return would have been huge as there was some speculation brewing that it could have involved two first-round picks, a top prospect, and a young NHL roster player. With Saros signed through next season at just $5 million and without any trade protection, look for Trotz to circle back on trade talks during the summer.

With Chris Tanev dealt, all eyes in Calgary point to Noah Hanifin being next. While the Tampa Bay Lightning make sense, they may not have the trade assets to pull off a deal, so could a three-way deal be in store? If the Lightning don’t end up with Hanifin, there’s a lot of chatter about one of the Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, or New Jersey Devils.

Jacob Markstrom could also be moved by the Flames ahead of March 8 as he’s already waived his no-movement clause to accept a trade to the Devils, however, talks fell through over finances. The Devils are struggling and may miss the playoffs, could the LA Kings swoop in?

The Maple Leafs continue to search for a right-handed defenceman as Brad Treliving is dangling his 2024 first-round pick, in search of a righty with at least 1.5 seasons left on their contract. There’s been a lot of chatter recently about Adam Larsson from the Seattle Kraken being a prime target. The Montreal Canadiens are likely going to move both Tanner Pearson and Jake Allen ahead of the deadline, and you have to imagine if someone asked about Josh Anderson, they’d be open to moving off his expensive contract. For now, David Savard isn’t going anywhere unless GM Kent Hughes is blown out of the water.

The Dallas Stars shouldn’t be finished as GM Jim Nill pulled off some tidy business landing Tanev from the Flames and having him as only a $1.12 million cap hit. The Stars still have about $2 million in deadline cap space and could move their 2024 first-round pick for another veteran up front.

The Canucks love Jake Guentzel, there’s no doubt about that, could a potential Pens/Canucks deal involve Conor Garland heading to Pittsburgh. Garland was linked to the Maple Leafs for several seasons while Dubas was in Toronto. The Arizona Coyotes are trying to move out some bodies for more draft picks as the organization is still very much in draft-and-development mode while their future in the desert hangs in the balance.

The Minnesota Wild are not trading Marc-Andre Fleury as they’re currently six points out of a playoff spot and feel they can make a run at sneaking into the final wildcard spot.