SAROS AVAILABLE, MARKSTROM CHATTER, GUENTZEL TALK, PETTERSSON CONTRACT & MORE

MONTREAL, QC — Getting restless? Starting to feel that itch? That must mean we are 15 days away from the NHL trade deadline.

The burst of energy we got right before the All-Star festivities when Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan were dealt has faded fast. Trade talk league-wide has been a rollercoaster ride recently. As I make the rounds across the NHL, chatter seemed to slow down last week, pick up over the weekend, and then dip again. Depending on whom you speak with, some teams remain active, while others are waiting by their phones.

We’re in wait and see mode but it would be nice if two teams can reignite things with a big move, wouldn’t it?

The New Jersey Devils are expected to circle back with the Calgary Flames and jump back into those Jacob Markstrom discussions. Terms of a trade were initially agreed upon by both General Managers, I’m told, but something broke down at the last minute – I suspect Flames ownership was not interested in paying part of Markstrom’s contract to have him play elsewhere.

As we first reported at the start of the month, Markstrom is willing to sign off on a trade to the Devils. It’s now up to Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald and Flames GM Craig Conroy to agree on revised terms.

Separate sources confirmed the Devils would send forward Alexander Holtz back in a trade with between $2 million and $3 million of Markstrom’s of annual cap hit retained. Markstrom is being paid $8 million in actual salary this season, and $6 million in each of the next two seasons, which includes a $2.5 million lump sum bonus payment each year. In order to make this move work, the two teams are going to have to figure out how to even out the dollars in some fashion.

According to another source, Devils netminder Vitek Vanecek was not going back to Calgary in the initial trade. The Flames plan on moving forward with Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar between the pipes if Markstrom is moved.

With the expectation that the Devils and Flames revisit talks and try to make things work ahead of the deadline, Fitzgerald has been evaluating other options. Anaheim’s John Gibson and Columbus’ Elvis Merzlikins have been discussed, but I’m curious about Nashville’s Juuse Saros.

Saros has one more year left on his contract and comes with a $5 million salary cap hit. The Predators have been adamant they are not “shopping” him, but GM Barry Trotz has vocalized his willingness to listen.

Semantics.

Two separate sources told me this week that Saros is very much in play and if the Predators do not trade him ahead of the March 8 deadline there is a very strong possibility he is dealt in the off-season, likely around the NHL Draft.

Saros cannot sign an extension until July 1, like every other player who is in the second-last year of his contract, but that doesn’t mean his agent and the Predators cannot communicate or even negotiate. I’m told Saros wants big money on his next contract – he wants the Ilya Sorokin deal (eight years, $8.25 million AAV) and the Predators, for now, do not want to give it to him. Hence his unofficially official availability.

Yaroslav Askarov has been lights out in the AHL this season. He is ready to make the jump to the NHL and the only reason he hasn’t is because Saros currently owns the crease in Nashville. That is going to change in the not-too-distant future. Whether a deal happens ahead of the deadline or not remains to be seen, but we’ve slotted Saros into our Top 5 on the Trade Watch List.

NEW NO.1

Noah Hanifin took over top spot on the Trade Watch List after Lindholm was traded. We’ve been waiting to see what happens in Pittsburgh with Penguins star Jake Guentzel, who is currently out a few more weeks with an injury.

The Penguins are eight points back of a playoff spot and while they have some games in hand of Tampa Bay and Detroit, the two wildcard teams in the East, their chances of making the post-season are dwindling. With eight games remaining until Deadline Day, starting tonight at home against the Montreal Canadiens, the Penguins cannot afford to take another step back.

Guentzel is a prized possession. Several teams would love to get their hands on him, including the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes, to name a few. He is on track to return to the lineup shortly after the deadline, so acquiring him will still give a team an in-season boost.

Penguins GM Kyle Dubas has been holding out as long as he can and unless the Penguins win at least six of their next eight games, his hands might be tied. He told reporters on Wednesday his team needs to get younger. Reilly Smith is out there. I believe Rickard Rakell is also available.

Dubas is going to try to retool on the fly, and unless the Penguins hit gold, they will eventually enter a new rebuild phase. It might not start for another two or three years, but Guentzel wants to chase another championship. If he signs an eight-year extension with the Pens, does he want to spend five of those seasons going through a rebuild? I don’t get the sense he does.

If the Penguins falter over the next two weeks, Guentzel could really spice up the deadline. The puck is on their stick.

NO PRESSURE FOR PETEY

The Vancouver Canucks and centre Elias Pettersson are comfortable waiting for the end of the season to address the superstar’s contractual status.

The 25-year-old is on pace for a second-consecutive 100+ point season and is due for a nice raise. In fact, if he wants to commit to an eight-year extension tomorrow, he can.

According to a well-placed source tied to the club, the Canucks tabled Pettersson a long-term deal, believed to be eight years, worth $12 million per season at the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign. That offer has not been rejected; it’s there for the taking. Pettersson simply wants to take his time, see how the season plays out and revisit his future in the summer.

This isn’t about money; Pettersson is focused on winning. That’s why he shut down talks last off-season – he wanted to fully prepare for this year and help the Canucks bring a championship to Vancouver. His patience, so far, is paying off.

The Canucks aren’t feeling any heat, either. They control his rights, as Pettersson can become a restricted free agent July 1 (with arbitration rights), but they aren’t applying any significant pressure. The deal is there for him when he’s ready for it. Right now, his priorities are elsewhere and that’s winning.

HERE AND THERE

• One name making the rounds lately out of Ottawa is Josh Norris. The Senators are not shopping him, but teams have been calling and the Sens are listening. Norris is in the second year of an eight-year, $63.6 million contract and if he’s dealt, I imagine it would be part of a large talent-for-talent hockey trade.

• As the Detroit Red Wings explore the market and look to add non-rental pieces to their roster, young forward Jonatan Berggren remains an asset they are dangling as bait. The 23-year-old is having an outstanding year in the AHL, with 38 points in 37 games to date, and performed well in a brief sting with the big club. But word is he recently rejected a contract extension pitched by the Red Wings and wants a shot at a full-time NHL gig, something he clearly isn’t getting right now in Detroit. Around five teams, including Calgary and Montreal, have expressed interest.

• Tough blow for Viktor Arvidsson and the Los Angeles Kings. Arvidsson provided such a needed spark to the Kings lineup, something they do not have elsewhere on the roster. He is reportedly out week-to-week and if that takes him to the end of the regular-season, it could free up $4.25M in cap space for GM Rob Blake to play with and potentially add up front by the deadline.

• Outside of Saros and Tyson Barrie, some other names making the rounds out of Nashville include Cody Glass, Tommy Novak and Alexandre Carrier.

• The New York Rangers, winners of eight straight, have mobilized their scouts recently as they look to add. One scout was scheduled to catch the Philadelphia Flyers and Blackhawks in Chicago last night, but pulled an audible and took in the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in over the Canadiens in Montreal instead.