Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. There are eight days remaining until the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET on March 7). Here's a look around the League at the latest deadline doings:
Calgary Flames
Nazem Kadri wants to shut down the speculation he has heard that he might be willing to be moved by the Deadline, given the youth movement the Flames are on.
The 34-year-old center signed a seven-year, $49 million contract ($7 million average annual) value with Calgary on Aug. 19, 2022, and has a no-movement clause that runs through the end of the 2025-26 season. He has been buoyed by the push of the young Flames for a Stanley Cup Playoff berth and wants to be part of that.
“Hey listen, I know there's some people probably out there that want to lose and get a high (NHL Draft) pick,” Kadri told Sportsnet on Wednesday. “But if you're truly a guy that wants to lose, then I'll show you a loser. I wouldn't want to be around those kinds of people.
“There's also a bunch of people that believe in us, and we respect that.”
Management’s confidence in its surprising team is warranted, based on its play this season. Calgary enters the game at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, SNP, SNW) trailing the Vancouver Canucks by one point for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference.
Kadri is tied with forward Jonathan Huberdeau for the Flames lead in scoring with 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) in 57 games. His abrasive style of play that features both hustle and muscle would be coveted by a number of contending teams looking for a top-six forward.
St. Louis Blues
Brayden Schenn doesn’t want to leave St. Louis, the team he helped win the Stanley Cup in 2019.
At the same time, he admits hearing his name in recent trade rumors heading up to the deadline. Having been traded twice before -- from the Los Angeles Kings to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011, then from the Flyers to the Blues in 2017 -- he has learned to brace himself for anything to happen.
“Honestly, it’s like the times I’ve gotten traded, I didn’t expect to get traded,” the Blues captain told NHL.com's Tom Gulitti on Thursday. “So you really never know. I’ve always said I love it here in St. Louis. It’s a great organization, a great place to play.
“I definitely know it’s a business and that just comes with the flows of kind of where we’re positioned, five points out of the playoffs. But it’s the trade deadline, so some people make rumors and, obviously, when the Toronto media gets a hold of it, which is probably a lot bigger than the rest of the League, you just take it a day at a time and just focus on your game and play.”
To Schenn’s point: the Blues (27-26-6) are five points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild card in the West entering their game at the Washington Capitals on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, MNMT). It will be the 1,000th NHL game for the 33-year-old, in the fifth year of an eight-year, $52 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value) he signed on Oct. 4, 2019.
For Schenn, who has 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) in 59 games, it’s the time of the hockey season that scuttlebutt should be expected. The focus, he said, needs to be on building momentum from St. Louis' 3-0-1 mark in its past four games.
“It’s the reality of the business,” he said. “Everyone knows the date, and everyone knows what comes with the trade deadline. Obviously, a lot of times when you’re thinking about it, for sure, but at the end of the day, you just have to come to the rink and prepare and win hockey games.”
Colorado Avalanche
Colorado’s search on the market for goal-scoring depth to augment its Big Four of center Nathan MacKinnon (90 points), forward Martin Necas (67), defenseman Cale Makar (66) and forward Artturi Lehkonen (35) may not be as urgent as it once was after forward Valeri Nichushkin returned to the lineup Wednesday.
In fact, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar was quick to praise Nichushkin and his contributions after a 5-1 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Ball Arena. The 29-year-old, who had not played since Dec. 31 because of a lower-body injury, had 17:46 of ice time and recorded five shots in his 22 shifts.
“He had a huge impact on the game. That’s what he does,” Bednar said. “He makes so much stuff happen on both sides of the puck.”
Nichushkin had 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in 18 games prior to his injury and adds much-needed punch to a second line that includes Casey Mittelstadt and Jonathan Drouin.
Concerns over a lack of secondary scoring magnified when Colorado came out of the 4 Nations Face-Off with consecutive losses at the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues, with the Avalanche held to one goal in each game.
