NHL Trade Rumors: 5 names to watch

Might the Canadiens trade Max Pacioretty? Does it make sense for the Maple Leafs to trade James van Riemsdyk? Here are five NHL trade rumors to keep an eye on. 

Once the month of November ends, the NHL trade market tends to pick up. That is especially true this year, with several huge rumors making  the rounds. Even though there’s a very weak free agent market in 2017, the expansion draft should create some interesting drama and might force some trades.

The Montreal Canadiens are doing fine, but could they consider trading their slumping captain Max Pacioretty? James van Riemsdyk is a very talented forward, but is his time up with the Toronto Maple Leafs? Where’s Dougie Hamiltion allegedly heading this week? Which young forward are the Arizona Coyotes considering trading? Where will Peter Holland end up?

5. The Dougie Hamilton Quandary

It seems like every week, Calgary Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton finds himself in a new trade rumor. This week, once again, Hamilton is in the news. But for an entirely different reason. Flames president of hockey operations isn’t going to tolerate your trade rumors anymore.

“We haven’t offered [Hamilton] to anyone. We don’t intend to move him. Now, if you got the right offer, okay. If someone offers us 20 first-round picks are we making that deal? Probably. Wayne Gretzky got traded. But the difference between listening and listening attentively and shopping, those are different things.”

To be fair, the Canadiens were just “listening” to offers for P.K. Subban, and look what happened there. However, it’s safe to say if a team wants Hamilton, they’ll have to give up quite the fortune. Very few teams are in that position. However, one of them is the Toronto Maple Leafs (who Burke mentioned earlier in his rant). They need some defensemen who can move the puck. Hamilton is far from perfect, but his skill set seems like it would be a perfect fit for the Maple Leafs.