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Emily Kaplan, ESPNFeb 23, 2024, 07:15 AM ET
CloseEmily Kaplan is ESPN’s national NHL reporter.
We’re two weeks away from the NHL trade deadline, which means conversations are dialed up and trades can happen at any moment. Here’s the latest on what I’m hearing on discussions going on around the league.
THE GOALIE MARKET is simmering, though I still don’t think all of the goalie-needy teams are going to end up with goaltending insurance at the deadline. For example, the Oilers seem comfortable riding it out with Stuart Skinner, shifting their focus to impact forwards and defensemen. The Montreal Canadiens seem poised to move Jake Allen. I’ve heard the Nashville Predators could trade Juuse Saros. The time to strike on a Saros deal might be now, as top Preds prospect Yaroslav Askarov is tearing it up in the AHL (.920 save percentage, 2.12 GAA and 4 shutouts in 27 games).
A Jacob Markstrom-to-New Jersey deal got so close, I’m told Markstrom didn’t think he’d leave the area when the Flames were on a New York/New Jersey road trip earlier this month. It fell through, but I think the Devils are still aggressively looking at options, and Saros could be one of them. GM Tom Fitzgerald has full power from ownership to do anything he can to make the team better. Goaltending is the obvious need, even though 23-year-old Nico Daws has helped stabilize the situation lately. But an impact defenseman is also key as the Devils are vulnerable and inexperienced without top blueliner Dougie Hamilton.
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The goalie everyone is curious about is Marc-Andre Fleury. Right now, he’s not on the market. If there’s any realistic chance of the Wild making the playoffs at the trade deadline, Fleury isn’t going anywhere. Fleury and Wild GM Bill Guerin are extremely close, having won a Stanley Cup together as teammates in Pittsburgh. Guerin is going to do right by Fleury, and both of them want it to work out in Minnesota. But if the Wild are hopelessly out of the race — say, 12, 13…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39569129/goalie-market-penguins-capitals-nhl-trade-deadline-topics
Author : Emily Kaplan
Publish date : 2024-02-23 12:21:07
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