NHL Rumors: Blues had interest in Zdeno Chara, and Ducks still in on Jack Eichel?
Anthony Scultore
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Veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara is taking his time to decide if he wants to play next season. At 44 years of age, 82 games is a grind and after 23 seasons he could call it quits.
That isn’t stopping teams from calling him to find out if he does decide to play, would he come to their town.
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NHL Rumors: Blues had interest in Chara
The St. Louis Blues are still in the market to add a veteran defender to their lineup. In a report by Jeremy Rutherford, he notes that they had interest in adding the 6-9′ Chara.
With Suter off the board, the Blues apparently haven’t given up on the idea of adding a veteran defenseman — someone in the mold perhaps of retired Blues Jay Bouwmeester and Carl Gunnarsson. For the second straight summer, they’ve expressed interest in Zdeno Chara, according to a league source.
The Athletic
Andy Strickland who has close ties with the Blues followed up on Rutherford’s news.
“Told the Blues are not an option for future Hall of Fame Dman Zdeno Chara,” he tweeted. “His focus, if he plays, will be to stay in the East to remain close to his family.”
After the Caps were eliminated, Chara was pressed about his future. “I think it’s not always a decision I can make myself,” he explained. “Sometimes there are things in life you have to realize, and I have to have a conversation with my wife and children and see where we want to be in the next few days or weeks. After those conversations, I’m going to probably let the emotions settle in and see where I’m at.”
Ducks still in on Jack Eichel?
Jack Eichel trade talk is expected to drag on into the season. While they have slowed down since it was reported that Rangers President and GM, Chris Drury may not be interested, they haven’t died.
One team many believed were suitors, primarily through media reports, may actually be in on the 24 year-old Eichel. Eric Stephens who covers the Ducks for the Athletic said this in a recent mailbag post:
The Ducks, while not publicly talking about their interest in him, haven’t put the kibosh on the persistent rumors that they’re among the teams closely monitoring the situation between Eichel and Buffalo. While Adams is under pressure to get a massive trade return for his star, he does have some leverage in that Eichel is signed long-term and his full no-move clause doesn’t kick in until next summer.
So while the Ducks could be interested, it remains to be seen if they would part with future star Trevor Zegras. It’s also possible that Buffalo would consider Anaheim’s 3rd overall pick in this past draft; center Mason McTavish. However; Buffalo would also want Jamie Drysdale and more to complete a deal.
The Daily Goal Horn recently published its 5 top young stars ready to make their marks this season. Trevor Zegras was one of them.
