NHL Rumors: Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The 2022-23 regular season is more than halfway done and players will be evaluated. Now, with the trade deadline past, what trades almost happened?

Clubs are always working to improve their rosters for next season. Some teams are having difficulty creating enough cap space to make moves. Others are experiencing severe injuries to star players. Trade rumors/signings are over for now, but teams will be gearing up for the playoffs. In this Sunday edition of NHL Rumors, we will look at the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, and the San Jose Sharks.

Los Angeles Kings – Alex Turcotte

Rumor: Per David Pagnotta – thefourthperiod.com. L.A. Kings explored their options at the trade deadline, including trading Alex Turcotte.

The Kings weren’t especially active in the 2023 NHL trade deadline, but the one move that they did make was a shocker. The Kings traded longtime goaltender Jonathan Quick, a 2023 conditional 1st-round pick and a 2024 3rd-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goalie Joonas Korpisalo. Quick was not too thrilled about going from a playoff contender to a team in the cellar. He was subsequently traded the next day to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Even with a whirlwind of trades consummated by NHL teams, it is now being reported on other trades that didn’t make it to fruition. Pagnotta reported that while things never got very serious, the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks had inquired about Turcotte’s availability. The club landed Zack MacEwen from the Philadelphia Flyers for Brendan Lemieux and a draft pick, but ultimately nixed on making any other moves.

Turcotte has played 83 AHL games with Ontario gathering 18 goals and 35 assists. He has yet to score a point in 12 NHL games over the past two seasons.

Kings Made Good Offer For Chychrun

It was also reported that the Kings offered the Arizona Coyotes with a significant offer for Jakob Chychrun, but the Coyotes took too long to act on it and Los Angeles went with Vladislav Gavrikov instead.

The Kings, according to Pagnotta, offered the Coyotes two first-round draft picks and young defenceman Tobias Bjornfot in a deal for Chychrun. The Coyotes tried to see if they could land a better deal elsewhere and the Kings moved on Tuesday. Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong felt the deal he got from the Ottawa Senators was better concerning the possibility of a draft pick landing anywhere from #6-18. As far as Turcotte goes, look for the possibility of him moving during the offseason, along with many other prospects the Kings possess.

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Minnesota Wild – Matt Dumba/Alex Goligoski

Rumor: Per Shane Seney – nhltraderumors.me. The Wild rejected trading either Dumba or Goligoski while remaining very busy during the trade deadline.

NHL trade grades: Sabres fill a need with Jordan Greenway, Wild add Oskar Sundqvist

via @TheAthletic https://t.co/aeEjmlpvkF

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 3, 2023

The Wild traded Jordan Greenway to the Buffalo Sabres, acquired forward Oskar Sundqvist from the Detroit Red Wings, and landed defenseman John Klingberg from the Anaheim Ducks. That is a pretty good haul, and GM Bill Guerin mentioned, “I did not think we would get this busy,” he admitted when addressing the media after the deadline. “I think we got a lot accomplished today. I think we’re better today than we were yesterday.” 

Dumba is very familiar with NHL trade rumors, as he has been in the focus for a while. Dumba, 28, is in the final year of his contract and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Guerin stated that “We wouldn’t have done it. Matt is playing too well right now,” Guerin said. “He’s helping us too much. I think the last month, he’s been fantastic.” 

When Dumba was asked about the possibility of leaving Minnesota, he had this to say.

Matt Dumba asked about being here past deadline: He smiled. “Dodged another one. They can’t get me out of here. It feels good. It’s where I want to be.” #mnwild

— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) March 4, 2023

With the case of Goligoski, he attracted some interest before the deadline, but a deal never seemed to be close to materializing. Guerin said, “I had another team kind of kicking some tires on him,” he said. “In the end, it didn’t work out. We’re happy to have Goose.”

Now the Wild, who are contending for the top spot in the Central Division with 76 points, can concentrate on the upcoming postseason. Adding Klingberg has got to help their power play which ranks ninth with a 22.9 percent success ratio. Look out for the Wild, they are turning some heads.

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San Jose Sharks – James Reimer

Rumor: Per Curtis Pashelka – mercurynews.com. Reimer was disappointed that he wasn’t traded on deadline day. Sharks GM Mike Grier acknowledged that he did try to move the 34-year-old but the goalie market was limited.

What may have contributed to Reimer not being moved was his play. Reimer has struggled this season, posting a career-low .892 SV% in 32 games this season which likely played a role in the lack of interest in the pending unrestricted free agent. Reimer stated, “Obviously the goal is to win a Cup and it’s been the goal since I was three years old. So, it’s unfortunate it didn’t come to fruition. Obviously, that’s every guy’s dream in here.”

So, it appears that Reimer will play out his $2.25 million contract and see what the offseason presents. The Sharks are rebuilding and Reimer seems to want no part of playing on a bottom-dwelling team anymore. He does have decent career stats to help his cause. He has 464 games, with a 201-164-59 record. His .911 career save percentage with a 2.84 goals-against-average may attract some NHL team going forward.

That concludes this post-trade deadline NHL rumors article. Be sure to catch our next articles and thanks for reading!