Rumour Roundup: Senators’ Jakob Chychrun might be traded again, Predators taking calls on Jusse Saros, and Edmonton Oilers looking for impact forward
6 months ago
The rumour mill is heating up.
Could Jakob Chychrun be on the move for the second straight deadline? Is obtaining Juuse Saros now possible for goalie-starved teams? Let’s dig in.
Top six list for Jakob Chychrun’s new team
Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin released a list of six landing spots Tuesday that would suit Chychrun the best. And as you can imagine, the Edmonton Oilers were involved, with other teams in the Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and Toronto Maple Leafs listed.
It’s well noted that the Oilers need to upgrade the right side of their defence, namely Cody Ceci. Although Chychrun is a left-handed defenceman, he has experience playing the right side and would slot in nicely with Darnell Nurse.
In that article, it is suggested that Philip Broberg and a 2024 first-round pick may get it done, but the Oilers may need to replace Broberg with Dylan Holloway. Chychrun has a cap hit of $4.6 million for this season and the next, along with a 10-team no-trade list. To even out the money, it’s suggested that the Oilers could move Warren Foegele to balance money while bumping Ceci down to the third pairing.
While that’d work, it’d make a lot more sense to move Ceci to even the cap while hoping to retain Broberg as depth. Chychrun would be a great add, the Oilers would be wiser to look elsewhere for a right-shot defenceman.
The latest on Juuse Saros
The Nashville Predators have been taking calls on goaltender Juuse Saros, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported late last week on an edition of Insider Trading.
LeBrun said that the Nashville Predators’ main plan is to re-sign Juuse Saros, who is set to become a free agent after the 2024-25 season. However, in recent times, they’ve been listening to trade offers but would not make the trade for first-round picks. LeBrun used the Kings as an example and noted that a young, high-potential star such as Quinton Byfield may pique the Predators’ interest.
The 28-year-old Finnish goaltender is having the worst year of his career, as he has a .904 save percentage and a 2.94 goals-against average in 37 games. For context, he has a career .918 save percentage and a 2.62 goals-against average in 323 games played.
Despite Saros’ struggles in goal, the Predators are currently in the second Wild Card position in the Western Conference, but have two more games played than the Arizona Coyotes, who trail by just two points. The Predators also have the goalie of the future in the American Hockey League, as Yaroslav Askarov has a .922 save percentage and a 2.16 goals-against average.
With that being said, Stuart Skinner has been fantastic since the 2-9-1 start, so the Oilers don’t need to add a starting goaltender. Ideally, they’ll add a 1B, someone who could alleviate Skinner from playing so many games down the stretch.
Oilers doing due diligence on impact forwards
On Chris Johnston’s CJ Show, he speculated on a few names for forwards that could be available. Those three names were Jake Guentzel of the Pittsburgh Penguins, David Perron of the Detroit Red Wings, and Jordan Eberle of the Seattle Kraken.
Let’s take a look at each of these players.
Jake Guentzel
Guentzel is the best player of the bunch and also the only non-former Oiler. So far this season, he has 20 goals and 47 points in 44 games and is on pace for 87 points, which would be a career-high. Furthermore, he’s on pace for 37 goals, which would surpass last season’s total, but fall short of his career-high of 40 that he has hit twice.
The 29-year-old left winger will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end and has a cap hit of $6 million. Moreover, he has a modified no-trade clause, which includes a 12-team no-trade list.
As it stands, the Penguins currently have a 21-17-6 record with 48 points, five behind the Wild Card teams. On top of that, they’ll have to climb over four teams, including the Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lighting, or the Detroit Red Wings.
David Perron
Speaking of the Wings, former Oiler David Perron is helping the Wings push for a playoff spot for the first time since 2016.
This season, the 35-year-old winger has nine goals and 21 points in 40 games and is on pace for just 39 points. Over the past four seasons, Perron has put up 60 points, 58 points, 57 points, and 56 points, so only 39 points would be a significant drop-off.
Perron has played all over the Wings lineup, recently playing with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond on the first line, but has also played on the third line in a shutdown role and the second line. The 35-year-old has tons of playoff experience and won a cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, scoring seven goals and 16 points in 26 games.
He’s in the final year of his deal and has a cap hit of $4.75 million, which isn’t ideal for a player that is declining. Maybe it’s due to a lack of opportunity as the Wings have a lot of depth in their forward core, but I’d pass on Perron.
In fact, I’m not so sure that the Wings would even trade him. Through 46 games played, the Wings have a 24-17-5 record, and after a rough December, they’ve had a fantastic January, losing just one game in regulation and another one against the Oilers in overtime.
Jordan Eberle
Another former Oiler, now 33 years old, has seven goals and 23 points in 42 games, well off the pace from last season. His 2022-23 season, where he scored 20 goals and 63 points, was his best season since the 2014-15 season, where he had 24 goals and 63 points.
Unfortunately for Eberle, it was a slow start to the season, which saw him score a goal and three points in his first 12 games, before putting together a six-game point streak. In his last eight, he’s scored three goals and seven points, so he’s trending upwards.
Like Guentzel and Perron, Eberle is in the final year of his contract and has a cap hit of $5.5 million. He also has a modified no-trade clause that features a 16-team no-trade list, but there’s no way the Oilers are on it, right?
Like both the Penguins and the Red Wings, the Kraken are fighting for a playoff spot as they have a 19-18-9 record and 47 points. They sit just four points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand, so they certainly aren’t out of the race yet, meaning that the hopes of getting Eberle may need to wait until early March.
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