Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. There are 18 days remaining until the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET on March 8). Here's a look around the League at the latest deadline doings:
Carolina Hurricanes
What the Hurricanes do at the Deadline remains to be seen, but one thing is certain -- they won’t be going for a rental.
“Our first priority, if we’re giving up premium picks or top prospects, we want to make sure that we get a player for more than a few months,” Carolina general manager Don Waddell told The Athletic. “That’s why we stay in touch with a lot of teams and guys. For us to make that kind of deal right now, there’s just not a lot of [non-rentals] out there. Most players being shopped are unrestricted at the end of the year.
“As we go through the next couple of weeks and get closer to the Deadline, and that list is going to dwindle down, we’ll see.”
Waddell said the Hurricanes are also not looking for a goalie. Pyotr Kochetkov has produced (14-9-3, 2.46 goals-against average, .905 save percentage and two shutouts in 26 starts), and Frederik Andersen practiced with the Hurricanes on Thursday for the first time since he was diagnosed with a blood clotting issue in November.
“We think we’re fine,” Waddell said.
The Hurricanes (32-17-5) are second in the Metropolitan Division, four points behind the first-place New York Rangers.
San Jose Sharks
If Anthony Duclair is concerned about going somewhere else at the Trade Deadline, he’s not showing it.
“For me, it’s just another year. I just try to have fun with it now,” the Sharks forward told The Mercury News late last week. “I don’t get nervous or anything like that. I just try to enjoy the process and whatever happens, happens.”
Duclair is in the final year of a three-year contract he negotiated for himself with the Florida Panthers on July 15, 2021. He told The Mercury News that he and the Sharks have not talked about a new contract.
The 28-year-old had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 20 playoff games last season to help the Panthers reach the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
Calgary Flames
The Flames have already been active on the trade front, sending center Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks for left wing Andrei Kuzmenko on Jan. 31. Pending unrestricted free-agent defensemen Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin could also be dealt. But Calgary is trying to focus on qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“I mean, we know there’s a lot of speculation, but we try to kind of shut that noise out, try to leave it in the media,” Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau said Sunday.
“Whatever happens is going to happen. I think we stick as a team, and we know what we can do together. We had a good road trip, come back at home. It’s been hard but with the group we have, we have a lot of character and we’ve showed it this year. So, we have to come back and be better.”
The Flames (26-25-5) defeated the Winnipeg Jets 6-3 on Monday to end a three-game losing streak. They're three points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.
Pittsburgh Penguins
It remains to be seen if the Penguins trade forward Jake Guentzel, who is currently on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Whatever decisions general manager Kyle Dubas makes at the deadline, captain Sidney Crosby won’t be giving his two cents unless he’s asked for it.
“No. I’d have to feel pretty strongly about something in that case. But I typically don’t,” Crosby told The Athletic on Monday. “Unless it’s something -- it might not even be hockey related, it might be something off the ice or something personal -- I feel like whatever that something is, I definitely feel comfortable.
“But it’s not something I would typically do.”
Guentzel, who last played Wednesday against the Florida Panthers, has 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) in 50 games, second to Crosby with 55 points (31 goals, 24 assists) in 52 games.
Guentzel is in the final season of a five-year, $30 million contract ($6 million average annual value) he signed with the Penguins on Dec. 27, 2018.
