Originally published by NHLRumors.com
No Urgency From Ottawa To Trade Jacob Chychrun
TSN Hockey Analyst Darren Dreger joined SportsCenter with Jay Onrait and was asked about the possibility of the Ottawa Senators moving Jacob Chychrun at the deadline.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Jay Onrait: “Let’s start with the Ottawa Senators. They’re so intriguing. They played a lot better lately, but they have a handful of players on our Trade Bait Board. Let’s start with Jake Chychrun. Where do things stand with him?”
NHL Rumors: Ottawa Senators Could Move Several Pieces at the Deadline
Darren Dreger: ” Well, there’s a lot of speculation that’s been ongoing, but my position on this remains the same and that, you know, I think it’s unlikely at this point that the Ottawa Senators entertain a trade.
Now, if somebody steps up with something that they can’t walk away from that makes so much sense and ticks all the boxes, of course, Staois is going to make that play. But is there enough time for that to materialize between now and March 8th?
Keep in mind he’s got the Ottawa routes. He’s a big part of that team. They bring Shane Pinto back off suspension, and there’s a lot more balance in that lineup than there was for the first number of games of the regular season.
So yes, again, if somebody steps up, could Jake Chychrun be traded by the Sens? He could. It feels more of an offseason move just based on the fact that there really is no urgency to get it done.”
Los Angeles Kings Could Be A Player at the Deadline
TSN Hockey Analyst Darren Dreger joined SportsCenter with Jay Onrait and was asked about the possibility of the Los Angeles Kings making a big splash at the deadline based on the money that could potentially be freed up.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
NHL Rumors: New Jersey Devils, and the Los Angeles Kings
Onrait: “The LA Kings, another intriguing team. They’re right in the thick of the playoff race. They might be without their top point-getter for a while, Adrian Kempe. He is injured in that loss to Edmonton on Monday.
It’s hard to figure out what Rob Blake‘s doing here because you know the goaltending situation has deteriorated over the course of the season. Does he need to make another move there? Has it changed Blake’s approach to the deadline with this Kempe injury?”
Dreger: “Yeah, it could. We’re not going to know that until Wednesday. And that’s because Adrian Kempe left the LA Kings Road trip, and he has gone back to Los Angeles scheduled for an MRI on Wednesday. As you can see, he’s favoring the left arm here, right? Yeah.
NHL Rumors: The heat is on Los Angeles Kings GM Rob Blake
So, the belief is it’s a wrist injury. If it’s significant that it takes him out of the regular season or until the end of the regular season, well, then that frees up the cap space, and Rob Blake perhaps gets active on the trade market. But if it’s shorter term, like Arvidsson or Carl Grundstrom, those guys were week to week, but the expectation is that they’ll be back before the end of the regular season.
I’m not gonna get too complicated, but if you’re using long-term injury space for any level of relief, then those players come back, you have to have the space to put those players back in the lineup.”