Trade Recap / Deadline Day Rumors

NHL teams usually hold off until deadline day before making their moves but this year has been an exception. Usually the day before the deadline there is a large list of players that are rumored to be on the move. This season there was a large list of players and they did move, just not on deadline day. This article is going to be broken down into two parts. The first part is going to be a recap of the big name trades that have happened recently and how they are going to affect fantasy hockey. The second half is going to be players that might be on the move before today’s 3PM EST trade deadline.

Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Douglas Murray (PIT) – The reason all teams seem to be making their deals prior to today’s deadline might be because of the Pittsburgh Penguins getting an early jump on the competition. The Penguins wasted no time going out and getting key pieces that they believe will lead them to a Stanley Cup this season. I have already written pieces on both Jarome Iginla and Brenden Morrow, so check out those articles if you haven’t already. As for Douglas Murray, Pittsburgh acquired him on March 25th for a 2013 second-round pick and a 2014 conditional second-round pick. He is a big physical defenseman who loves to throw the body around. He will be great in the playoffs because of how physical he is, but he is not fantasy relevant.

Jordan Leopold and Jay Bouwmeester (STL) – Leopold was traded from Buffalo to St. Louis on Saturday for a 2013 second-round pick and a 2013 conditional fifth round pick. Bouwmeester was acquired two days later from Calgary for a conditional first-round pick in 2013 and defenseman Marc Cundari and goalie Reto Berra. These two veteran defenseman will likely be paired with Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo which gives the Blues a stacked top-4 on the blueline. All four of them are good in their own zone but also excel in the offensive zone, making the St. Louis D-corp one of the top offensive bluelines in the NHL. Leopold is 32-years-old and is the least offensive of the four. That being said he has had 30 points in a season twice in his career and is a threat to score 20 points every year. He has eight points in 24 games this year. As for Bouwmeester he is 29 and is a lock for around 30 points a season and is as durable as they come. He has played in all 82 games for the last seven consecutive seasons. He may not be as skilled as he once was, but you can count on him being out there every night.

Robyn Regehr (LA) – Regehr was sent to Los Angeles for 2014 and 2015 second-round picks. He spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Calgary Flames before moving to the Sabres last season. He is not the most talented offensively but he is a rock in his own end. Los Angeles Kings’ head coach Darryl Sutter is familiar with Regehr, he coached him in Calgary between 2002 and 2006. He is not going to provide you much in terms of fantasy value, but this is a great move for the Kings who get a reliable veteran with 41 games of playoff experience on the back-end.

Marc-Andre Bergeron (CAR) – Carolina only had to give up a 2013 seventh round pick and Adam Hall (who they claimed off of waivers earlier in the year from Tampa Bay) to get Bergeron. He has historically helped teams on the power-play with his heavy shot and great offensive instincts. The Hurricanes are a team desperately in need of power-play help right now because they sit 26th in the league with a power-play that is clicking at just 13.8%. He recorded one assist in 21:31 in his first game in Carolina on Tuesday.

Derek Roy (VAN) – The long-time Buffalo Sabres center did not even make it a full season in Dallas. He was moved to the Canucks today for prospect Kevin Connauton and a 2013 second-round pick. Roy fills a void at center that the Canucks have been searching to fill since losing Ryan Kesler to a broken right foot. Roy is a great playmaker who has played at high level in the NHL for many years. He has broken the 60-point mark five times in his first eight seasons in the NHL. He has been a solid producer of assists in Dallas this season and should continue at the same pace in Vancouver (4 goals, 18 assists in 30 games this year)

Jaromir Jagr (BOS) – The 41-year-old Jagr is the 10th leading scorer in NHL history and was traded today from the Stars to the Bruins in exchange for Lane Macdermid, Cody Payne and a conditional second-round pick. His best years are obviously behind him but the Czech can still score. He recorded 19 goals and 35 assists in 73 games last season and has 14 goals and 12 assists in 34 games this season. It has yet to be determined where Jagr will slot in on the Bruins roster but you know he is going to see significant power-play time every night. That alone makes him worthwhile in fantasy, not to mention he has 679 career goals and 1000 career assists.

Ryane Clowe (NYR) – New York traded a second, a third and a conditional second round pick to San Jose for Clowe. This is a strange trade to say the least. The Rangers rank dead last in the NHL with 2.26 goals/per game and they trade for Clowe who has less goals than Martin Brodeur this season. I am not saying that he is a bad player, but numbers do not lie (he does have 11 assists in 28 games despite not scoring yet). The Rangers are likely adding him to try and provide a spark to the lineup. Clowe is also a good playoff performer having posted 45 points in 68 career playoff games. Currently the Rangers are in ninth just two points out of the playoffs.

Players that could still be on the move before the deadline

Roberto Luongo (VAN) has nine years at $6.33 million remaining on his contract which will likely make him difficult to trade. However there are a lot of teams that could be interested in trading for him before the deadline.
Miikka Kiprusoff (CGY) originally said he would not report if he was traded because he and his wife just had another child in Calgary. However the Maple Leafs have been talking to his representatives and him over the last few days, so he could be heading East.
Jonathan Bernier (LA) will be an RFA at the end of the season. Los Angeles should be content with what they have in Jonathan Quick making it a possibility that Bernier gets traded today. He is just 24-years-old and is having a strong season as the Kings backup.
Jamie McBain (CAR) surfaced in trade talks recently. With the Hurricanes adding Marc-Andre Bergeron on Tuesday, McBain is even more likely to be dealt today. The 25-year-old has one year left on his deal at $1.8 million.
Marian Gaborik (NYR) is unlikely to be traded just because of this one bad year. He is very skilled and a lot of teams would be interested in acquiring him, but the asking price is likely too high. He has one more year on his contract at $7.5 million.
Mason Raymond (VAN) is a pending UFA at the end of the season. The Canucks may be eager to try and get something in return for this depth forward before his contract expires.
Mike Ribeiro (WSH) is having a strong season in his first year in Washington (11 goals, 24 assists in 35 games). If Ribeiro and the Capitals can not agree to terms on an extension the pending UFA could be on the move today.
Mark Streit (NYI) is also a pending UFA at the end of the season. The 35-year-old defenseman is the captain of an Islanders team who is currently in the playoffs, so he might not be moved, but I’m sure they will entertain offers for him.
Ryan Whitney (EDM) has been in-and-out of the Oilers lineup this season making the pending UFA a very likely candidate to be moved today.
Jason Pominville (BUF) was asked to submit a list of eight teams he would not like to be traded to. This would suggest that the Sabres will definitely entertain the idea of shipping their captain out of town. He has two years at $5.3 million left on his current deal.
Nathan Horton (BOS) is unlikely to be traded but his contract is up at the end of the year, he is struggling and Jaromir Jagr could easily replace Horton in the Bruins top-6. He is probably staying in the black-and-yellow, but the possibility is there.
Derek Morris (PHX) would have to waive his no-trade clause in order to be dealt, but there has been some interest in the 34-year-old defenseman. He has one more year on his deal at $2.75 million.
Ales Hemsky (EDM) will either be dealt because the Oilers do not think they are going to make the playoffs, or he is kept because they do. With one year left on his deal, I say the Oilers hold onto him this year and explore the option of trading him in the offseason or next year.

EDITORS NOTE: We will update Twitter and the Website as soon as any trades are confirmed. I will be monitoring our Twitter all day so feel free to Tweet any Deadline questions you might have and I will answer them as quickly as possible.