NHL trade rumors: 5 players who could be on the move

January 31st, 2020

Last week we reviewed five players who are likely to be dealt at next month’s NHL trade deadline. Here are five more trade targets who could also be in new uniforms by Feb. 24.

1. Mikael Granlund (Predators)

Granlund was moved at last year’s deadline by the Wild, in exchange for Kevin Fiala. Minnesota has clearly won the deal, as the 23-year-old Fiala has 28 points through 45 games, while Granlund, 27, has 18 points through 43 contests. Granlund will become a free agent July 1, and Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports Predators general manager David Poile is shopping Granlund. No prime contenders for Granlund have emerged as of yet—his prohibitive cap hit of $5.75 million could make it hard for Nashville to move him.

2. Brenden Dillon (Sharks)

Dillon is “going to be dealt” by the deadline, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. The pending free agent blueliner carries a team-friendly cap hit of $3.27 million and leads San Jose in plus/minus (-2), so several clubs have been linked to him in recent days, including the Hurricanes and Bruins. Carolina is looking to fill the void left by the Dougie Hamilton injury, while Boston could use a hard-nosed defenseman. LeBrun expects the Sharks to land “a second-round pick and maybe a prospect” in exchange for the eight-year veteran.

Brenden Dillon lays the BOOM! pic.twitter.com/6hsps4F3Rp
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) May 19, 2019

3. Ilya Kovalchuk (Canadiens)

Kovalchuk, 36, appeared to be washed up. He scored just nine points in 17 games for the Kings this year, and L.A. decided to buy out his contract. The only team willing to give him another chance in the NHL was the Canadiens, and it’s paid off. The Russian sniper, on a mere one-year, $700,000 contract, has eight points through his first nine games with the Habs. As Montreal falls out of the playoff picture, it is sure to get calls about Kovalchuk’s availability.

4. Zach Bogosian (Sabres)

Things are not going well in Buffalo this year for Bogosian, who requested a trade back in December and received the healthy-scratch treatment several times. The physical 29-year-old defenseman is a pending free agent, so the Sabres would be smart to ship him out for even a small return at the deadline. TSN’s Darren Dreger has stated the Winnipeg Jets are “in the market for … top-four defensemen,” so perhaps Bogosian could land there.

You better believe that's Zach Bogosian with the dangles. pic.twitter.com/rI1z7q0SAT
— NHL (@NHL) January 13, 2020

5. Jason Zucker (Wild)

Zucker has played well on Minnesota’s top line, along with Eric Staal and Mats Zuccarello (28 points in 40 games) and still has three years left on his contract, but the Penguins are apparently in pursuit. He was almost sent to Pittsburgh over the summer, but Phil Kessel (eventually traded to Arizona) nixed the deal. Skornorth.com’s Declan Goff recently painted a feasible scenario, in which the Penguins send struggling center Alex Galchenyuk over as part of a compensation package for Zucker.