5 potential trades that could happen this offseason
The initial free agent frenzy has come and gone, and with most of the top-end talent now off the market, NHL general managers may turn their attention to the trade market in order to improve their teams or dump some salary in light of recent contract signings.
Related: theScore's free agent tracker.
Here's a look at five deals that could go down prior to training camp in September.
Evander Kane
As crazy as it may seem, Kane's name is reportedly "out there" on the trade market; the Winnipeg Jets, however, would most certainly be seeking a high return for the 22-year-old, 30-goal scorer who is locked into a fairly team-friendly $5.25-million a year contract through 2017-18.
One team that never seems to shy away from crazy is the Philadelphia Flyers, who may be looking for help at left wing after trading Scott Hartnell to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Flyers would likely be happy to part with Luke Schenn, but would definitely have to sweeten the pot with one of their young forwards (such as Brayden Schenn, Matt Read or Sean Couturier) or prospects such as Scott Laughton or Samuel Morin.
Vincent Lecavalier
The Flyers are also believed to be shopping Lecavalier, one year after signing him to a five-year, $22.5-million contract.
The market for centres has largely dried up after the signing of David Legwand by the Ottawa Senators Friday; interestingly, his former club - the Nashville Predators - may be a good landing spot for Lecavalier.
Even after signing Olli Jokinen to a one-year, $2.5-million contract, the Predators remain well under the salary cap and could be looking for another option at center to play alongside James Neal. Ideally, the return would be minimal, and Philadelphia will likely have to retain some salary in order to facilitate any deal involving the 34-year-old.
Patrick Sharp
According to Capgeek, the Chicago Blackhawks find themselves more than $2-million over the salary cap, and it appears as though Patrick Sharp may be dangled as a potential trade chip to lighten that load.
Further complicating the situation is the impending contract extensions of franchise forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, both of whom are excepted to bank $11-12-million a year on their new deals.
The 32-year-old is coming off a 34-goal, 44-assist season, with a contract worth $5.9-million through to the end of the 2016-17 NHL season.
The recent signing of Brad Richards at center pushed Chicago into the precarious cap position, and his former team may be a good fit for Sharp; the New York Rangers' forward core has taken a hit in free agency with the losses of Brian Boyle and Benoit Pouliot, and the addition of Sharp would serve to keep the reigning Eastern Conference champions afloat.
James Reimer
The Reimer saga appears on track to be a drawn out affair after the Maple Leafs goaltender recent filed for salary arbitration, but the most logical conclusion would be a trade, particularly one that sends him out of Toronto and back to Manitoba.
If the Jets have any aspirations of becoming a competitive team in the Western Conference, they simply can't to hand the crease back to Ondrej Pavelec and his career .906 save percentage.
As such, the acquisition of Winnipeg native Reimer - who boasts a more respectable .914 career save percentage - would serve as a marked upgrade, and the price tag would likely be limited to draft picks.
Johnny Boychuk
Much like the Blackhawks, the Boston Bruins find themselves in cap trouble, sitting $1.6-million under the limit with five restricted free agents to sign, including Reilly Smith, Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski.
General manager Peter Chiarelli highlighted the blue line as an area of depth, and the 30-year-old Boychuk - who is coming off the best offensive season of his career - and the one year left on his fairly reasonable $3.36-million contract appears to be a prime trade candidate.
The destination? Edmonton. Boychuk is a native of the so-called "City of Champions" and spends his summers back in Alberta. The Oilers could certainly use some help on the blue line, and such a move would reunite him with another former Bruin in Andrew Ference.
The Bruins would also be well served by dumping Chris Kelly. Toss in a prospect like Alexander Khokhlachev or Ryan Spooner, and the Bruins might just be able to pry Jordan Eberle out of Edmonton.