Hockey Trade Rumors

The NHL trade market is going to shake loose sooner or later depending on when teams fall out of the race. Slow starts are going to turn into reality and it won’t be long before general manager’s decide to send players packing. We saw a couple of small deals with Winnipeg sending Alexei Ponikarovsky to New Jersey and Eric Tangradi going to the Jets from the Penguins last week. We’re going to see some bigger ones before the April 3 deadline.

Here’s five top targets:

1. Corey Perry, RW, Anaheim: The Ducks are rolling along quite nicely and he is a unrestricted free agent. Teams are going to call, but if the Ducks continue at their current pace, it’s going to take a huge deal to get him.

2. Jarome Iginla, RW, Calgary: The Flames have to sit down with Iginla and decide what direction they want to take. If he’s going to sign an extension, they should get it done at a reasonable price and move on. Many believe Iginla should accept a trade and allow the Flames to rebuild.

3. Daniel Alfredsson, RW, Ottawa: This will be interesting to watch. If the Senators fall out of the race, does GM Bryan Murray give the 40-year-old the option to try to go win the Stanley Cup? The Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins are both going to be looking for a scoring winger.

4. Stephen Weiss, C, Florida: His name has come up lately because of his status as a UFA. If the Panthers don’t get back into the playoff race, Weiss is going to be targeted by teams looking for a rental. The two sides have a lot of work to get done to make a deal

5. Mark Streit, D, N.Y. Islanders: Teams are going to be looking for a puck-moving defenceman and a lot of teams like Streit. He had success in Montreal, he has been a winner in the past and he understands playing with pressure. Look for a lot of teams to try to get Streit.