Trade news: Take one suitor for Chris Kreider off the list

Thirteen days and counting until the February 24th trade deadline for the New York Rangers.  A moderately sized shoe dropped today with a trade between the Minnesota Wild and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins had been mentioned as a destination for Chris Kreider, as loathsome a prospect as that would be for fans of the New York Rangers.  Take them off the list.  The Penguins sent pending UFA Alex Galchenyuk, a conditional first round draft pick  and stud defense prospect Calen Addison to the Wild for winger Jason Zucker.  Zucker will fill the gaping hole left by Jake Guentzel‘s injury, the spot that Kreider had been rumored to be a candidate for.

For the Wild, the key to the deal was the draft pick (lottery protected) and Addison.  Galchenyuk had been a disappointment in Pittsburgh and they needed to offload his salary.  Anything he does for the Wild will be a bonus.

It’s a good deal for both teams as Zucker is under contract for three more years and Addison was one of the best players for Canada at the recent WJC.  It also ends an uncomfortable situation in Minnesota for Zucker who had been dealt to Pittsburgh over the summer for Phil Kessel, only to see Kessel kibosh the deal.  Ironically, after nixing that deal Kessel was sent to Arizona for guess who? Alex Galchenyuk.

The Kreider effect

Presumably, Pittsburgh was one of the eight teams that had targeted Kreider, but some events today may have actually increased that number.  The Edmonton Oilers announced that Connor McDavid will miss two to three weeks with a quad injury.  Avalanche center Nazem Kadri also joined the injured list with a lower body injury that will keep him out of action “for some time.”

While it has been reported that Kreider will not accept a trade to a Canadian team, the fact that the Oilers may be looking for help up front could increase Kreider’s value elsewhere.  Kadri is the second leading goal scorer on Colorado and they may look to replace him as they are in a pitched battle for a  playoff spot in the West.  You can bet that Jeff Gorton will be waiting to see how the latest injuries shake up the trade marketplace.

Trade bait

TSN had couple interesting names that showed up on their latest Trade Bait List . Just a week ago the list had Kreider at number one and Alexandar Georgiev at number 17.  This week, Kreider remains at number one, but Georgiev isn’t on the list while Tony DeAngelo and Pavel Buchnevich both make an appearance for the first time.

DeAngelo is ranked number eight on the list and is moving up.  Buchnevich comes in at number 12.   What does it all mean?  Nothing more than the fact that the experts at TSN are hearing that certain players are in play.  And for what it’s worth, while Galchenyuk was on the list a week ago, Zucker was not.

Pittsburgh General Manager Jim Rutherford is not one to wait when it comes to pulling the trigger on deals.  The question is will his early action along with the deal made by Kyle Dubas of Toronto kick start the trading season or will it go down to the wire as usual.

No doubt there will be more to come.  Stay tuned.