NHL Rumor Roundup: Three Defensemen Drawing Interest Around The League
Marcus Pettersson
Bob Frid-Imagn Images
We noted last Monday that Bowen Byram of the Buffalo Sabres and Rasmus Ristolainen of the Philadelphia Flyers had recently surfaced in the rumor mill. The two defensemen continue to be the subject of trade chatter among NHL pundits.
On Thursday, TSN's Darren Dreger noted that Byram had come up in recent trade rumors. However, he doesn't see Sabres GM Kevyn Adams trading the 23-year-old blueliner unless it's for a “can't-miss” return.
Dreger doesn't believe the Sabres are close to making a deal. While Adams could be willing to consider a bigger move, Dreger indicated he doesn't want to part with his young roster talent. He pointed out the Sabres GM has a good pool of prospects to draw on for trade bait.
As for Ristolainen, OnPattison.com's Anthony SanFilippo claimed the Finnish rearguard has drawn interest around the NHL. However, the Flyers haven't received a good enough offer to justify parting with him.
The Athletic's Kevin Kurz reports the Flyers aren't interested in moving Ristolainen simply to dump his contract. He's signed through 2026-27 with an average annual value of $5.1 million. Kurz also indicated they haven't set an asking price for him.
Ristolainen's value could rise closer to the March 7 trade deadline. Still, Kurz believes the type of return he'd fetch could depend on how much of his cap hit the Flyers are willing to retain.
Turning to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marcus Pettersson surfaced as a trade candidate after Lars Eller was shipped to the Washington Capitals last week.
Like Eller, Pettersson is slated to become a UFA next summer. The 28-year-old defenseman is in the final season of a five-year contract with a salary cap hit of $4.025 million. He also carries an eight-team no-trade list.
The Athletic's Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal recently wondered if Pettersson might be a good fit with the Vancouver Canucks. However, The Province's Patrick Johnston believes they should aim higher by pursuing Rasmus Andersson or MacKenzie Weegar of the Calgary Flames.
Considering Andersson and Weegar are under contract beyond this season and remain important to the Flames, the Canucks might have a better shot at landing Pettersson.
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