Welcome to Pro Hockey Talk’s 2022 NHL Trade Deadline live blog. There’s already been a flurry of action in the past few days, but some names are still out there who could potentially be on the move before 3 p.m. ET today. Read on for news and analysis.
• Trade deadline a much-needed win for Canadiens
• Claude Giroux arrives in Florida: ‘Time to go to work’
• Penguins get Rickard Rakell, add more scoring depth
• Copp, Braun make Rangers more balanced after trade deadline
• With Fleury trade, Wild boldly aim to fix biggest weakness
• Jake DeBrusk extension with Bruins could still end with trade
8:50 a.m. ET - Well, that was quite a busy 48 hours. Claude Giroux is now a Panther; Hampus Lindholm is a Bruin for the next eight years; Mark Giordano is shoring up the Maple Leafs’ blue line;
There’s still more to come! While some big names are on the move, there are others that could be changing teams before today’s 3 p.m. ET deadline. Phil Kessel, Jakob Chychrun, Justin Braun, Rickard Rakell, Marc-Andre Fleury, Max Domi, Conor Garland, and Paul Stastny are a few players who may end the day wearing a different jersey. We’ll be here throughout the day to track the trades and provide analysis on news and rumors.
You can also follow the PHT trade tracker for every move this season.
9 a.m. ET - We have one deal and it’s a minor one. The Penguins have acquired Nathan Beaulieu from the Jets for a conditional 2022 seventh-round pick. The defenseman has a $1.25 million cap hit and has been on long-term injured reserve since March 9. According to the Penguins, he will remain on LTIR.
The conditions on the pick are if the Penguins win three playoff series and Beaulieu plays in at least 50% of their playoff games, the Jets get the seventh rounder.
9:05 a.m. ET - While the Coyotes are in seller mode, one piece who will be sticking around is Karel Vejmelka. The 25-year-old netminder from Czechia has been a bright spot in a down year for the franchise. In 36 games this season he has a .916 5-on-5 save percentage
It’s a three-year, $8.175 million extension. Vejmelka is now one of five Coyotes signed through the 2024-25 NHL season joining Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Dysin Mayo, and Jakob Chychrun.
Chychrun, of course, could be on the move today. His contract expires after the 2024-25 season and carries a $4.6 million salary cap hit. While there’s plenty of interest in the 23-year-old blue liner, unless a GM knocks Bill Armstrong’s socks off, this might end up being a summer trade.
9:10 a.m. ET - One of the moves made on Sunday that raised eyebrows was the Senators sending the Canucks a 2022 third-round pick for Travis Hamonic. The 31-year-old Hamonic is signed through next season with a $3 million cap hit.
Appearing on TSN TradeCentre this morning, Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion said he likes that Hamonic is a pass-first defenseman and that he skates well. He also has a good relationship with Senators assistant coach Jack Capuano dating back to their days with the Islanders.
Hamonic could be an option to pair with one of Ottawa’s young defensemen, like Jake Sanderson. Dorion added that this move could have been done in the summer, but he wanted to get a jump on shoring up his blue line ahead of free agency.
[2021-22 NHL TRADE TRACKER]
9:25 a.m. ET - Marc-Andre Fleury is one of the big names who could be dealt today. But there’s no certainty that the netminder, who is a pending UFA, will be on the move.
The Wild have reportedly inquired about Fleury, a player that GM Bill Guerin targeted two years ago before signing Cam Talbot. Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson want a first-round pick, but Guerin doesn’t want to give up that much. He’d settle on sending a second-rounder.
If they’re that close, and Fleury is believed to be OK with waiving his no-trade clause to facilitate a deal, then we may have something here.
It was surprise ton see Fleury start for the Blackhawks during their Sunday night loss to the Jets. Even if the goaltender hadn’t indicated he would be fine with a trade, asset management is important this time of year and it’s not odd to see players who could potentially leave sit out.
“They didn’t have to call me,” said Blackhawks coach Derek King about sitting players out. “I was probably thinking about sitting guys anyway myself, just the way they were playing. “But I thought, ‘OK, here we go, something’s going to happen,’ or I was going to have to take somebody out of the net after the first because something was going down. But you know, I haven’t even seen them down in our room. So maybe there is some stuff brewing, who knows. But that’s out of my control.”
10:10 a.m. ET - For teams looking to add to its goaltending depth, they can stop calling Pierre Dorion about Anton Forsberg. The Senators announced that they’ve extended the netminder wiith a three-year, $8.25 million deal.
In 31 games played this season the 29-year-old Forsberg has recorded a .921 5-on-5 save percentage, 4.48 goals saved above average and helped them to win 14 games. He’s taken a bulk of the starts with Matt Murray (20 games played) dealing with injuries this season.
The extension comes a little over a year after Ottawa claimed him on waivers from the Jets.
10:20 a.m. ET - Oh, how things can change. After requesting a trade earlier this season, Jake DeBrusk and the Bruins have worked out a two-year, $8 million extension. The 25-year-old forward has 15 goals and 26 points in 57 games this season.
Since Bruins GM Don Sweeney confirmed the news in late November, DeBrusk has been a key part of the team. Since Nov. 30, DeBrusk is tied for third on the team with 12 goals. He said he didn’t want to be a distraction when it got out, and he certainly wasn’t.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, despite the signing, the trade request has not been rescinded. This could be part potential sign-and-trade, part the Bruins worried about what DeBrusk’s qualifying offer would have been. He was a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer. He will now be an unrestricted free agent when his new deal expires.
Now, if a trade is still to come, DeBrusk’s next team now knows how to fit him within their salary cap picture.
10:35 a.m. ET - As we wait to see if the Maple Leafs will do anything else before the 3 p.m. ET deadline, a bit of good news for them this morning. Jack Campbell was on the ice before the main group practices. The netminder has not played since March 8 and has been out with a rib injury.
Erik Källgren has started the last three games (Petr Mrazek was waived on Sunday) and won two of those starts.
Campbell was ruled out for a minimum of two weeks.
Jack Campbell practising this morning ahead of main group. pic.twitter.com/9hmZJiTTlH
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) March 21, 2022
11:05 a.m. ET - A pair of deals are done as business begins to pick up around the league.
First, the Jets are sending the rights to unsigned NCAA player Nathan Smith, plus Bryan Little’s contract to the Coyotes for a fourth-round pick. Smith has chosen not to sign in Winnipeg and will become a UFA this summer. Little still has two years left on his contract that carries a $5.291 million cap hit.
Little has not played since Nov. 5, 2019 after needing surgery to repair a perforated eardrum. He has also been dealing with concussion issues.
This is a move by Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to give him some salary cap flexibility for next season now that he won’t have to place Little on LTIR.
The other move is Marcus Johansson reuniting with his old pals in Washington after the Capitals acquired the forward from the Kraken. Daniel Sprong, a 2022 fourth-rounder, and a 2023 sixth-rounder are heading to Seattle, which is also retaining 50% of Johansson’s contract.
The 31-year-old Johansson, who can be a UFA this summer, has six goals and 23 points in 51 games this season. He’ll bring depth up front as well as give head coach Peter Laviolette another option on the team’s power play.
11:20 a.m. ET - Marc-Andre Fleury is now a member of the Wild. The Blackhawks have sent a conditional second-round pick to Minnesota for the 37-year-old netminder. Chicago will also retain 50% of Fleury’s contract. More on the trade here.
[MORE: With Fleury trade, Wild boldly aim to fix biggest weakness]
12 p.m. ET - So who’s left out there that could be traded in the next few hours? The Ducks have already sent Hampus Lindholm to Boston. Is there a new destination in Rickard Rakell’s future? Staying on the wing, the Blue Jackets have been shopping pending UFA Max Domi and if he is dealt it would be his third team in three seasons. Pending UFA Andrew Copp is a hot commodity out of Winnipeg as the Jets look to refresh their roster before next season.
Artturi Lehkonen can be a restricted free agent and doesn’t appear to be in Kent Hughes’ plans in Montreal. The winger has 29 points this season and could bring in some assets for the new Canadiens’ brass to use to further build their ideal roster going forward.
While we wait to see what happens with Jakob Chychrun, Justin Braun could be an under-the-radar pickup for a team’s blue line. The 35-year-old has five goals and 16 points this season and can be a UFA in the off-season.
12:30 p.m. ET - What now for the Blackhawks? Brandon Hagel is gone. Marc-Andre Fleury is gone. GM Kyle Davidson has already signaled a rebuild is coming.The contract for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will expire after next season. Alex DeBrincat can be an RFA in 2023 and will be due a large pay raise.
If a rebuild is coming, how much will Kane, Toews and DeBrincat want to be a part of it? Kane and Toews will be 34 this year while DeBrincat turns 25 in December. Those three could bring in valuable assets to assist in Davidson’s vision for his roster.
Kane and Toews both have no-movement clauses so they can dictate their futures.
“This trade immediately puts us in a better position at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, giving us a pick that will land early in the draft,” said Davidson following the Fleury trade. “We are in a better position today at the upcoming Draft than we were yesterday.”
12:50 p.m. ET- The Rangers have added to their blue line picking up Justin Braun from the Flyers for a 2023 third-round pick.
Braun, 35, adds a right-hand shot to their defense corps and some offense with five goals and 16 points this season. He’s been one of Philadelphia’s ice time leaders and had been a trusted piece of their penalty kill.
A pending UFA, Braun has played 100 playoff games in his 12-year NHL career. His role was improved in Philadelphia this season with the injury to Ryan Ellis.
1:15 p.m. ET -
🤨 👀 that body looks strangely familiar https://t.co/USUY3pnxR1
— Blake Coleman (@BColes25) March 21, 2022
1:20 p.m. ET - Claude Giroux met the Florida media for the first time since Saturday’s trade to the Panthers. After playing 1,000 NHL games with the Flyers, he’s moved on to chase a Stanley Cup with a contending team out of the Atlantic Division.
Giroux can’t stop saying “excited.”
— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) March 21, 2022
“I keep repeating myself,” he smiled. pic.twitter.com/rhwsZK0bnt
“That’s the reason I’m here. I’m here to win,” Giroux said. I’m here to help the team win. That’s the reason this trade happened. I think this team has a chance to go far in the playoffs. … It’s time to go to work.”
1:30 p.m. ET - Pending RFA Alexandar Georgiev has made it known he wants to be a No. 1 elsewhere. But that’s looking to be more like a trade for the summertime as the Rangers want to keep him as a backup to Igor Shesterkin.
Georgiev has had a bumpy 2021-22 season, but has won his last two starts, including a 44-save shutout of the Hurricanes on Sunday night. The market for No. 1 goalies and backups isn’t to GM Chris Drury’s liking at the moment. And any Georgiev trade would likely require New York to either get another goalie in return or make a separate deal to find an adequate backup for Shesterkin.
1:40 p.m. ET - Interesting note via the NHL: There have been 1,177 players dealt on deadline day since 1980. Only 26 have gone on to win the Stanley Cup later that season -- the last being Barclay Goodrow in 2020.
2 p.m. ET - The Blues are adding Nick Leddy to their blue line in a trade with the Red Wings. The 31-year-old has a goal and 16 points in 55 games this season while averaging 21:33 of ice time.
Oskar Sundqvist and Jake Walman are part of the package going back to Detroit.
Meanwhile, Artturi Lehkonen Lehkonen’s next few months just got a little more exciting with the news that he’s one his way to the Avalanche for prospect Justin Barron and a 2024 second-round pick.
The 26-year-old forward is a pending RFA this summer. He’ll fit in nicely down the Avs’ Cup-contending lineup. It’ll be interesting to see what happens this summer as he seeks out a bigger deal.
2:05 p.m. ET - Harri Säteri was signed by the Maple Leafs but will not play for them as the Finnish netminder was claimed on waivers by the Coyotes. Since Säteri played in Europe this season, he had to clear waivers in order to join Toronto. Now he’ll change flight plans and head to Arizona.
Do the Maple Leafs look for a goalie on the market now? They waived struggling Petr Mrazek in Sunday and Jack Campbell remains out. It’s been Erik Källgren of late. Will GM Kyle Dubas stay pat until Campbell gets 100% healthy?
2:45 p.m. ET - Expecting a Phil Kessel trade? Well, a pretty good source says otherwise.
Doesn’t look like #81 is being moved 🤔#missingout
— Amanda Kessel (@AmandaKessel28) March 21, 2022
2:55 p.m. ET - The Rangers have added to their secondary scoring by bringing aboard Andrew Copp from the Jets.
Copp, 27, is a pending UFA and has 13 goals and 35 points in 56 games this season. He can play on the wing or down the middle, some versatility that should make head coach Gerard Gallant happy. He has a 52.07 shots for percentage and 51.3 expected goals for percentage, per Natural Stat Trick.
Chris Drury also sent a 2023 fourth-round pick to the Canucks for forward Tyler Motte. An extension couldn’t be worked out between Motte and Vancouver, so the pending UFA is off to the Big Apple.
3 p.m. ET - The deadline has passed! But this is your annual reminder that trade could be announced after 3 p.m. ET as teams wait in line to confirm the details with NHL Central Registry. We’ll end the live blog here but be sure to follow PHT for any breaking trades the rest of the day. To see every deal made, check out the PHT trade tracker here.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.