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The NHL trade deadline is three days away, and the action is picking up. Most teams are waiting until the last minute to make moves — hey, every dollar matters in this salary-cap world — but a pair of Wednesday trades should spur some action. You probably have questions about what the next three days have in store. I did, too. So I worked the phones, and here’s what I found out.
What is the biggest question still remaining ahead of the deadline?
Where do Claude Giroux and Marc-Andre Fleury end up? They have been the two biggest names this trade deadline cycle.
Let’s start with Giroux, the Flyers captain who has spent his entire 15-year career in Philadelphia. Talking to people around Giroux, you understand how challenging the last few weeks have been for him. I get the sense Giroux doesn’t want to leave. He has fallen in love with the city of Philadelphia, which he calls his second home, and takes pride in being a Flyer. But he’s 34 years old, he knows his chances to win a Stanley Cup are dwindling, and chasing the Cup with a contender this spring is too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Giroux put his focus on playing his 1,000th game in Philadelphia on Thursday night. Now that the emotional night is over, Giroux will shift focus to selecting his next destination. I have been told that the Florida Panthers are the front-runner, though there may have been some sort of snafu in talks this week — around the same time the Panthers were trading for Ben Chiarot. The Panthers, who are looking to make a splash, believe they can also make it work for Giroux, who would likely start as Aleksander Barkov’s top line wing. Florida kept Owen Tippett out of its AHL lineup on Thursday, a good sign he could be included in a deal. The Colorado Avalanche are also in on Giroux, and there could be at least one other team lurking in the wing.
As for Fleury? The Blackhawks gave the goaltender a handshake agreement this summer that he’d only get traded if he signs off on it….
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Source : espn
