Philadelphia and Scott Laughton still a Trade Deadline item?
Kevin Kurz of The Athletic:: So, if the Philadelphia Flyers have a quiet trade deadline, would anyone be surprised? No. For as sought after as Scott Laughton appears to be, Daniel Briere never has been in a hurry to make a move. The same goes for Rasmus Ristolainen. Now, the defenseman helped his value immensely this season. However, a deal would have to wow the Flyers and their braintrust. So far, that has not happened.
Social media has a way of making things worse sometimes and that happened last week when Laughton, Erik Johnson, and others did a portrait looking like “The Last Supper.” This set NHL Trade Deadline people buzzing that a move was coming. Even the players know. Let us be honest.
Laughton and Ristolainen are hardly viewed as spare parts or expendable. The value gained does not necessarily help in the short term. If teams will not overpay, why bother listening? This can be viewed as foolhardy, but Philadelphia may be on to something here. After all, why make a move for the sake of making a move?
Anyway, with hours to go until the NHL Trade Deadline, Briere knows that realistically his team likely will not make the playoffs but are in a better position in the long term. Maybe that was the plan all along.
NHL Rumors: Quick Trade Deadline Hits
Nick Robertson and Calle Järnkrok
James Mirtle of The Athletic: With the return of Calle Järnkrok this week, is Nick Robertson a trade chip once again? That remains up for debate. Now, reports and some buzz are getting attached to the forward’s name. Toronto currently has right around $101,000 in cap space. Things are very tight. Chris Tanev is expected back soon and Toronto seeks some players with bigger salaries too.
Also, that means more cost-cutting moves. Could Connor Dewar get put on waivers? Probably. If they can find a trade destination, that is even better. Nick Robertson, again, is the one player here that Toronto could garner a decent return on. Also, the $2.9 million that comes off the cap via a trade helps a fair deal. Things like waiving Ryan Reaves or trading another defenseman seem of little consequence.
Other options include placing Max Pacioretty on LTIR and trading a bigger named player. The former is more likely than the latter as that can gain Toronto time and space. Most figure Brad Treliving will go middle of the road with additions.
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