NHL Rumors: Red Wings and Lightning working on a deal? Trade bait Sharks, and more
Anthony Scultore
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The Steve Yzerman and Tampa Bay Lightning connection may be coming into play soon. Detroit’s GM may be a trade partner in Tampa’s desire to move money.
NHL Rumors: Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning trade partners
Tampa locked up one of their two big RFA’s when they signed Mikhail Sergachev to a three year deal ($4.8M AAV). That put the Lightning over the cap with RFA Anthony Cirelli still left unsigned.
After the signing, GM Julien BriseBois said he is confident he will get it done with Cirelli. “There’s significant will on our end to make that happen,” he told The Athletic. “I know I have to move players to make that happen, and I’m confident I’ll be able to move the players to create cap space.”
Enter the Detroit Red Wings and their ample cap space. Could Yzerman pull a deal similar to the one he made with the Rangers for Marc Staal? In order to get Detroit to take the full cap hit, NY had to add a 2nd round pick in 2021. It’s extremely likely that Yzerman may get something similar to take on Tyler Johnson or Alex Killorn in a deal.
RELATED: Lightning likely to make trade soon
Trade bait Sharks
In a recent mailbag, Kevin Kurz of The Athlethic was asked who the San Jose Sharks would move if they are out of contention. One player asked about that he shot down immediately was Tomas Hertl. “I don’t see them under any circumstances moving Hertl,” he wrote.
As for whom he thinks the Sharks would trade he had a few names. “The most likely guys to get dealt would be the pending unrestricted free agents like Dubnyk, Stefan Noesen, Matt Nieto, Marcus Sorensen or maybe even Patrick Marleau again.”
Early speculation on the 2021 #1 NHL draft pick
Prospects expert, Corey Pronman has a few potential candidates for the top pick in next year’s NHL draft. Here they are:
- Aatu Raty (C, Karpat-Liiga)
- Owen Power (D, Michigan-NCAA)
- Luke Hughes (D, U.S. NTDP-USHL)
- William Eklund (C, Djurgarden-SHL)
- Simon Edvinsson (D, Frolunda-J20 Sweden)
At the moment is looks like Raty has the edge with Pronman noting his playmaking skills and skating. Power is a close second with many feeling he should go number one next season.