Several teams have already begun dealing ahead of the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline, not waiting for other clubs to grab the player they want. Jason Zucker has been in Pittsburgh for a few weeks now after a trade from the Minnesota Wild. The Washington Capitals added Brenden Dillon to their defence corps, and last night added Ilya Kovalchuk up front.
The Montreal Canadiens announced their intentions to sell this year with the Kovalchuk deal, and there are still a few rentals left on the roster, as well as some players signed longer term who have been the subject of rumours over the past month. Tomas Tatar and Jeff Petry are the ones to watch out for from a Habs perspective, with some wild rumours flying on some long-tenured players as well.
It is a seller’s market this year, with most division races expected to go down to the wire. There are more teams hoping to sneak in the door than there are clubs willing to assist, and that could see some big returns for key players — or very few deals at all if the sellers get a bit too greedy in their demands.
Top players available (via TSN as of 10:30 PM EST on Sunday)
Chris Kreider (NYR)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (OTT)
Sami Vatanen (NJD)
Tyson Barrie (TOR)
Vladislav Namestnikov (OTT)
Andreas Athanasiou (DET)
Erik Gustafsson (DET)
Dustin Byfuglien (WPG)
Patrick Marleau (SJS)
Jesper Fast (NYR)
Joe Thornton (SJS)
Erik Haula (CAR)
Mike Hoffman (FLA)
Derek Grant (ANA)
Wayne Simmonds (NJD)
Robin Lehner (CHI)
Brandon Saad (CHI)
Tyson Jost (COL)
Tyler Ennis (OTT)
Jimmy Vesey (BUF)
Tweets from https://twitter.com/HabsEOTP/lists/trade-breakers
