SUNDAY BEST: MULTIPLE PIECES AVAILABLE IN ANAHEIM

TORONTO, ON — Winless in their last six games, the schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Anaheim Ducks. With the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche coming up on the schedule, the Ducks will be hard pressed to gain any ground in the standings and the team’s they’re chasing have, for the most part, had their number this season.

Ducks GM Bob Murray has been searching for more fire power since the off-season, but I’m not sure an impact ‘hockey trade’ is out there this season and cosmetic changes might be the next course of action.

That’s reinforced by the Ducks’ ongoing talks with the Vancouver Canucks for Jake Virtanen.

These two clubs have bene engaged in consistent trade negotiations for over a week, but the Ducks have been linked to Virtanen for some time. Murray and Canucks GM Jim Benning are trying to expand on the deal to make next season’s finances work, as Virtanen is set to make a $3.4 million salary even though his cap hit is $2.55 million.

As TFP’s Irfaan Gaffar reported Saturday afternoon, both Virtanen and Ducks forward Danton Heinen were put on notice well before the news leaked that a trade could be on the horizon for both players. If things fall through with Vancouver, Murray will have to shift his focus elsewhere and it’s clear he has been dangling Heinen around the league.

Heinen joins forwards Adam Henrique, Jacob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell as pieces the Ducks are willing to take trade calls on. All four players are having less than impressive statistical seasons, and Henrique, who cleared waivers last week and scored last night in his first game back in the lineup, and Silfverberg are locked up for three more seasons. Rakell has one-year remaining on his deal.

Henrique ($5.825M cap hit) owns a 10-team no-trade list, but I’m told he is willing to be dealt to some of the teams on that list. Silfverberg ($5.25M cap hit) also has no-trade protection with a 12-team no-trade list.

Rakell, who signed a six-year, $22.8 million deal in Oct. 2016, might be the most attractive asset up for grabs, even though he’s having for the worst offensive season of his pro career.

He is coming off back-to-back 40+ point seasons (in less than 70 games) and had two 30+ goal seasons before that. At just 27, a change of scenery might reignite Rakell’s offensive game that has almost disappeared in Anaheim with the rest of his teammates. And his cap hit, a shade under $3.8 million, makes him an appealing reclamation project for a team in need of a second-line boost.

The Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers are among the teams that have interest in a player like Rakell, if they can make the money work.

One other Ducks player I’m intrigued about is defenceman Hampus Lindholm.

The 27-year-old has one-year left on his contract after this season and does not own any no-trade protection. He leads the Ducks in even-strength Time On Ice per game and is undoubtedly a valuable piece to their puzzle, but for a team in the middle of a retool, he’s arguably their most tradable asset if Murray opts to got that route – and teams will line up for his services.

With Jacob Larsson gaining more experience, Josh Mahura getting a taste of the NHL, and Jamie Drysdale in the system, albeit a right defenceman, taking calls on Lindholm could be an option in the weeks leading up to the April 12 trade deadline.

TEAMS COVET SNIPER FORSBERG

When news spread that the Nashville Predators were willing to listen to just about everybody on their roster, many were surprised that list included left wing Filip Forsberg.

Forsberg, 26, is in the fifth year of a six-year, $36 million contract and teams looking for a top-line scoring threat were intrigued at the possibility of acquiring him. But the price is going to be high, and for good reason.

During this week’s “Dirty Data” segment, NHL Analyst Aaron Ward and NHL Data Analyst Shane Kelly discussed Forsberg’s value and echoed the surprise of many that Forsberg isn’t an untouchable in Nashville.

“To me, the best guy in this group is Filip Forsberg,” Kelly said. “He drives possession like almost nobody in the league, he wins the expected goals battle every year and he’s just solid in all three phases of the game. You’re not going to find a better plug-and-play guy on the open market, and frankly, bar maybe Tampa, I don’t think there’s anybody in the league who wouldn’t put him on their first line.”

Forsberg has averaged 27.5 goals per season since becoming an NHL regular in the 2014-15 season and may indeed be the best scorer to hit the trade market in recent years.

Teams will be lining up for Forsberg – the Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames and New York Islanders will all inquire if they haven’t already done so – and I’m curious what the Predators will want in return. Does GM David Poile require a young, proven NHL talent in a deal, or will he go the futures package route?

And perhaps more importantly, if a trade takes place after the season, will Poile be the one doing the negotiations? Whispers are slowly getting louder that Poile will seek a new General Manager to run the ship while he remains with the club in his President of Hockey Operations role.