NHL Trades That Teams Should Be Considering ASAP | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Los Angles Kings’ Gabriel Vilardi scores against the Minnesota Wild (Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images).

It’s barely been a week since the puck
dropped on the 2022-23 NHL season, but the rumor mill is already churning out trade speculation. While it’s still early for such
conjecture, a handful of clubs appear to need some help.

The Boston Bruins might have to
consider moving one of their left-shot defensemen to free up salary-cap space when key players return from injuries.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Wild’s porous goaltending could force them
into the market for help if it doesn’t improve soon.

It could take some time for teams with
early-season roster problems to address them. Available players could prove costly in terms of the contract or the team’s asking price.

A number of teams have little or no cap space, which further complicates matters. According to Cap Friendly, 13 teams
are either pressed against the $82.5 million salary cap or have
placed players on long-term injury reserve to exceed it.
Six teams possess less than $550,000 in cap room, while three
others have less than $1.8 million available.

Nevertheless, these four NHL trade
scenarios should be under consideration as soon as possible.
Weigh in with your thoughts in the
comments section below.

Boston Bruins defenseman Mike Reilly (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The Boston Bruins have a logjam of
left-side defensemen, while the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks could
use some experienced depth on their blue line. The Bruins should thus consider sending Mike Reilly to the
Blackhawks.

The Hockey News‘ Mike
Stephens recently noted that Reilly was among several players to clear waivers
before the start of the season. He suggested the Chicago native could
be a good fit with the Blackhawks given his puck-moving skills and
affordable $3 million salary-cap hit through 2023-24.

According to Boston Hockey Now’s
Jimmy Murphy, the Bruins had been shopping Reilly before he went on waivers. The Bruins will need to clear cap
space when sidelined stars Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy return to
the lineup later this season. They’ll probably only want a draft pick
in return for Reilly.

The Blackhawks
could’ve claimed Reilly off waivers. However, it could still prove worthwhile for them to acquire him
from the Bruins.

Chicago could shop Reilly near the trade deadline for
draft picks. He could also perhaps be a decent
short-term fit to take some pressure off the Blackhawks’ developing young
defensemen.

The New York Rangers score against the Minnesota Wild’s Marc-Andre Fleury (David Berding/Getty Images)

Poor goaltending is among the reasons
why the Minnesota Wild are off to a shaky start this season. Their 6.67 goals-against
per game was the league’s worst as of Oct. 19.

This is a troubling development for
the Wild as they attempt to build on last season’s franchise-best
113-point performance.

The Wild brought back 37-year-old
Marc-Andre Fleury on a two-year contract and acquired Filip
Gustavsson from the Ottawa Senators in last summer’s Cam Talbot deal.
Given that duo’s difficulties thus far, general manager Bill Guerin should monitor the trade market for a potential upgrade between the
pipes.

With $3.3 million in cap space, Guerin
has some wiggle room to add an affordable netminder to back up Fleury
and perhaps challenge him for the starter’s job. He could also try to
move some salary in the deal to give himself more cap
flexibility as the season progresses. Gustavsson and his $787,500 cap hit could be part of the
deal or demoted in the minors.

Goalie options appear limited at this
stage in the season, but the San Jose Sharks’ James Reimer might be
worth watching. Sharks general manager Mike Grier could decide to peddle the
34-year-old pending free agent if his struggling club’s losses
continue to mount. Reimer lost his first three games but sported a
respectable .919 save percentage.

Montreal Canadiens winger Jonathan Drouin (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Leading up to last season’s trade
deadline, the rebuilding Montreal Canadiens shopped several veterans
on expiring contracts for draft picks and prospects. They could do
the same thing this season with Jonathan Drouin, as the 27-year-old
winger is slated to become an unrestricted free agent next July.

The Montreal Gazette‘s Stu
Cowan believes Drouin no longer fits into the Canadiens’ plans and speculated that general manager Kent Hughes could attempt to trade
him. However, his colleague Pat Hickey felt the oft-injured
winger needs more playing time to bolster his trade value both as a
potential playoff rental and as a free agent next summer.

Hughes could try moving Drouin by the
March 3 trade deadline for a draft pick and a prospect. However, it
might not be a bad idea to see if he can use the winger to acquire a
puck-moving defenseman on a longer contract to bolster his club’s punchless power play.

Finding such a defenseman won’t be easy
unless Drouin can stay healthy over the next few weeks and regain his
offensive form. With the Canadiens carrying only $1.8 million in cap
space, it might have to be a dollar-for-dollar swap. Still, it’s
something worth considering should the opportunity arise to give
this team more of a competitive edge.

Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun (Gavin Napier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Jakob Chychrun has been a regular
fixture in the NHL rumor mill for several months.

In late September, the
24-year-old Arizona Coyotes defenseman told reporters that he and
management agreed it would be best if he was traded. However, general
manager Bill Armstrong is seeking a return of future assets to use as part
of his roster rebuild.

The Ottawa Senators have been among the
clubs linked to Chychrun, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in mid-October that there currently isn’t a path for that deal to happen.
Nevertheless, The Hockey News‘ Adam Proteau included the Senators with
the Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild as possible trade destinations for Chychrun.

Chychrun is still
recovering from offseason wrist surgery and has no firm date for his
return, according to Friedman. However, Proteau noted that those three clubs could
benefit from the blueliner’s skills and size. He felt the Senators
have the cap room to absorb most of his $4.6 million cap hit as well
as the depth in young players and draft picks to tempt the Coyotes

The Senators must improve their defense to reach the playoffs this season. Armstrong understandably
wants a solid return for Chychrun, but he also can’t risk his trade request
becoming an unnecessary distraction for his players. Both sides
should be able to work out a deal to
their mutual benefit.

Stats (as of Oct. 19, 2022) via NHL.com with additional information via Hockey Reference. Salary info via Cap Friendly.