Eric Duhatschek, the analyst for The Athletic, just listed five moves he wishes to see before the deadline.
He states that team's GMs will definitely be cautious as buyers, since the most recent failure of the buyers mode that occurred in Florida :
Bo Horvat or Ryan O'Reilly to the Canes.
Without surprise, he lists the Hurricanes as buyers at the deadline and wants them to make a run for either Bo Horvat or Ryan O'Reilly. Both are UFA's at the end of the current season. Jordan Staal's present deal with a $6M AAV comes to an end and will give them more wiggle room to re-sign either, so it wouldn't necessarily mean that they'd be rentals. The Hurricanes have plenty of young centermen and have plenty of high picks in the upcoming draft to make an interesting package.
Alexis Lafrenière to the Canucks.
Lafrenière was a healthy scratch in the Rangers' last game and it's definitely easy to draw a connection with his former agent, who's now the Canucks AGM. He lists the Canucks as a great place for Lafrenière to grow his confidence back whilst Boudreau remains in place as head coach. According to him, it wasn't too long ago that Miller was in rumors sending him back to the Big Apple. That's definitely a trade that would set the pace for years to come in Vancouver.
Jakob Chychrun to LA for Quinton Byfield.
The analyst believes trading a young and big forward like Byfield is a risk, especially with Tage Thompson's most recent outburst. He thinks that Chychrun is a sure deal and that he'd be the push needed in LA to take it to the next step. Since coming back from an injury he's been a standout, registering 17 points in only 18 games. It's not news that he's on the market since he's asked out of Arizona already.
With the quality of players whose contracts are expiring, it's setting up the table for quite an exciting trade deadline and free agency market.
Who will be the biggest name to move?
SOURCE: The Athletic
POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 31 | 861 ANSWERS Analyst lists 3 blockbuster trades he wants for 2023 and the Canucks are heavily involved Which trade would you rather see? | ||
Horvat/O'Reilly to Carolina | 70 | 8.1 % |
Miller/Lafreni�re | 747 | 86.8 % |
Chychrun/Byfield | 44 | 5.1 % |
List of polls |