The final week before Friday’s 3:00 p.m. ET trade deadline has arrived, and the rumor mill is in full sprint. With speculation ramping up across the league, it’s a good time to sift through some of the storylines gaining traction.
Former Bruins now turned St. Louis Blues executives Tim Taylor (and may I add my hometown boy) and Peter Chiarelli were both spotted at TD Garden for Boston’s matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets, an appearance sure to raise a few eyebrows with the deadline approaching. It’s one to keep an eye on as the week unfolds. Stay Tuned!
I get the sense the Blues were there to look at Mason Lohrei. “Nothing is imminent. Compiling a book just in case.”
Anthony Di Marco from Daily Faceoff: The Bruins are open to moving Mason Lohrei. while he has played well for the Bruins, is someone the Bruins feel like they can replace internally.
The pushback to Di Marco’s comments comes down to internal replacement reality. I watch as many Bruins prospects as anyone—not just in Providence, but across every league—and the idea that Boston can simply swap out Lohrei from within isn’t that straightforward. Frederic Brunet is the natural comparison; I’ve tracked him back to his QMJHL days, and while he can cover portions of Lohrei’s game, he doesn’t match the same offensive ceiling. That doesn’t mean Lohrei is untouchable—far from it—but any move involving him has to be the right deal, not just a convenient one.
Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Link): The Bruins are looking to bolster both ends of the ice, and one player I’m told Boston is willing to move is 21yr old forward Matthew Poitras.
I had a conversation with a Bruins scout and he put it plainly: the organization is high on Poitras. They sent him to Providence with specific developmental targets, and he has exceeded those expectations since arriving. Like Lohrei, that doesn’t make him untouchable, but it does elevate what Boston would expect in any deal involving him.
Elliott Friedman on 32 Thoughts: I had a long conversation with one of the teams that is a buyer. He thinks that some of these teams are gonna be stuck unable to unload players, he thinks there are too many sellers and not enough buyers.
If true, how quickly things change. Prior to the Olympic break it was considered a sellers market. That would favor the Bruins.
The Fourth Period: The Bruins, Kraken and Red Wings are among the teams believed to have some interest in Jake DeBrusk.
I could be wrong, but I don’t see the Bruins having any interest in bringing DeBrusk back and vice-versa.
Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet: There is a market brewing for Jake DeBrusk.
Of course, there is because the Canucks are sellers.
Chris Johnston on the Chris Johnston Show regarding your Bruins: I could see them buying again too, or doing a little bit of both. There’s been some rumblings about Andrew Peeke potentially going out, but I think they’d like to add another blueliner. I could see them in the forward market.
Di Marco of Daily Faceoff: Speaking with a source…I got the sense that Rasmus Ristolainen wasn’t someone the Bruins are especially high on, though they are “checking in on everyone”. It makes sense that the Bruins would at least do their due diligence.
I agree, they should do their due diligence. My hope is that it didn’t take very long to complete.
Scott Powers of The Athletic: Connor Murphy is the most likely player traded at the deadline; it wouldn’t be surprising if the organization tried to put him with a team that is a lock for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Putting this near the top because the Bruins have been linked to Murphy.
Darren Dreger on Leafs Guy: Can we just do a little fact checking please, Oliver Ekman-Larsson has trade protection. He doesn’t wanna go anywhere.
Fact checking?
Frank Seravalli on Coast to Coast: Two in particular I believe the Oilers have circled and that is Blues defenseman Justin Faulk and Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
I suppose Frank didn’t take Dreger’s advice.
Dreger on Sekeres And Price: It does feel like there’s enough interest around Evander Kane that it is plausible if not likely that something gets done this week.
Kypreos on Sportsnet: Colorado might be interested in Evander Kane.
Johnston on Insider Trading: It shouldn’t be a high cost with Evander Kane potentially having half his salary retained by the Canucks.
Kevin Kurz of The Athletic: What the Flyers aren’t interested in is simply unloading Rasmus Ristolainen for a minimal return, per a team source.
Darren Dreger on Leafs Guy regarding Evander Kane: Don’t be shocked if he gets traded between now and the weekend.
Thomas Drance of The Athletic regarding Kane: I’ll be curious to see if he’s more of a fallback option for teams like Dallas, Los Angeles, Tampa Bay and Colorado.
Seravalli on Frankly Hockey regarding Kane: I think Dallas was one of those teams, Tampa, that had expressed some interest of late.
Kypreos on Sportsnet: Momentum is certainly building around the possibility that the Flyers trade Rasmus Ristolainen.
Frank Seravalli on The Big Show regarding Mackenzie Weegar: Teams have done their diligence. I’d hesitate to say that at this point a trade is likely, but certainly being talked about.
Kypreos on Sportsnet regarding Weegar: The Red Wings come up here as a possible landing spot. The Ottawa Senators are also interested in a right-handed defenceman.
Dave Pagnotta from The Fourth Period: The Senators, Red Wings and Bruins, among others, have poked around Mackenzie Weegar’s availability.
Pagnotta on Hello Hockey regarding Elias Pettersson: I think there’s a pathway with LA, but I just don’t know. The Kings aren’t gonna trade Quinton Byfield. You’re probably looking at Alex Laferriere, and then, 1st round pick and a prospect or something else.
Dreger on Insider Trading: I can tell you that Elias Pettersson’s agents are well aware of the trade discussions that are happening. But they’re not gonna include Pettersson, who has a no-move clause, until it gets to a point where there is a potential deal.
Pagnotta on Hello Hockey regarding Elias Pettersson: I think there’s a pathway with LA, but I just don’t know. The Kings aren’t gonna trade Quinton Byfield. You’re probably looking at Alex Laferriere, and then, 1st round pick and a prospect or something else.
Dreger on Early Trading: There was interest renewed just prior to the February 4th Olympic break, trade discussions involving Elias Pettersson. But there hasn’t been a formal offer made that would be worthwhile enough for the Canucks to go to his agent.
Kypreos on Sportsnet: Carolina has never stopped showing interest. Detroit and Los Angeles also have a need for a top-six centre and are seeing if a Pettersson deal can work for them.
Drance from The Athletic regarding Canucks: The club is open to listening on everybody, except practically Filip Hronek.
Rick Dhaliwal on Donnie and Dhali: I’ve got more and more people telling me that the Canucks are now open to moving Conor Garland, that wasn’t the case for weeks and weeks.
Drance from The Athletic: Teddy Blueger and David Kampf, a pair of reliable depth pivots that the Canucks will be shopping aggressively.
Didn’t you hear Thomas? It’s now a buyer’s market!
Dreger on Early Trading: More and more it seems likely that Nazem Kadri is going to get traded between now (Feb 25) and the deadline.
Kypreos on Sportsnet regarding Kadri: The Flames do not want to eat any of the remaining money and, for now, that’s the only thing keeping him in Calgary.
Seravalli on Frankly Hockey regarding Kadri: The Flames are probably in a little bit of a holding pattern until Vincent Trocheck moves.
Kypreos on Sportsnet regarding Sergei Bobrovsky: Lots of talk about pending UFA Sergei Bobrovsky. To my knowledge, so far, the Panthers have not discussed or explored this possibility. Their hope is that he comes back next season.
Kypreos on Kyper and Bourne about Bobrovsky: They have had contract talks, they want him back, but I don’t think they’re in the same ballpark.
Jeff Marek on DFO Rundown regarding Bobrovsky: Still fighting for a playoff spot, probably want a veteran goaltender to play with Askarov. Probably bonus if that goaltender is a Russian. Maybe a contract extension, they have a lot of cap space.
Pagnotta on Morning Cuppa Hockey regarding Bobrovsky: I’d be very surprised if he ends up moving, I guess it’s possible. They’re gonna try to re-up him for a couple of seasons.
Mike Futa on The Fan Hockey Show: The one thing I did hear about, and I don’t think Dallas can do anything because they definitely need him for a run, but I think Jason Robertson has massive heat going to the Red Wings if he goes to UFA.
Dreger on First Up: Is Ryan O’Reilly really in play? We’re probably not gonna know that for the next number of days, and if he’s in play, that gums things up a little bit among the suitors looking for a centerman.
I don’t know Dregs. Seems some think he is in play.
Kypreos on Sportsnet: The top centers most likely to be available at this deadline are Elias Pettersson, Nazem Kadri, Ryan O’Reilly, Vincent Trocheck and Brayden Schenn.
Johnston on First Up regarding Maple Leafs: They certainly don’t seem to have gotten to a point where they’re ready to throw the towel in on this season.
What about now? Johnston’s comment was from February 24.
Kypreos on Sportsnet: It seems like the Maple Leafs are in a holding pattern for the next three games as they will want to see how they fare against Florida, Tampa Bay and Ottawa before figuring out their strategy.
Well, they lost all three. Now?
Friedman on Saturday Headlines: The word around the Maple Leafs now is that they are widening their scope of what they’d consider, now I don’t think it’s anything like Matthews or Nylander or anything like that. They are talking a bit more about players with term.
Hold on to your horses!
This and That
The Canadian Hockey League announced that the CHL-USHL Top Prospects Game will be held December 1 and December 2 in Chicoutimi and Quebec City respectively. The Bruins should be in good position for the 2027 NHL draft, so this will be a must watch for fans.
A rumor out of Russia last week linked pending KHL free agent Vitali Pinchuk to an NHL move next season, with the Bruins reportedly atop his list of preferred destinations. I broke down the details in a recent piece.
Dom - Hockey 