The Daily: Stanley Cup Dented, NHL Trade Winds Swirling

Those NHL trade winds are beginning to pick up. No longer a dirt devil or tumbleweed in the desert, there was finally real movement in the NHL on Monday. Fans used Twitter to mock and condescend because–that’s what Twitter is for, right? The Vegas Golden Knights and Marc-Andre Fleury can’t escape the trade chatter, and the Tampa Bay Lightning gave the Stanley Cup a pretty good dent.

Someday, Vegas, that parade will come rolling down the strip. You’ll be delirious, probably half (or entirely) in the bag, and it will be one of the greatest days in Vegas history. It’s coming. I promise.

Vegas Hockey Now: The question is–will Marc-Andre Fleury be a part of that parade? After stirring the NHL trade market by dumping Duncan Keith on the Edmonton Oilers, Chicago reportedly is “in play” for Fleury.

What are the chances the Golden Knights make these five offseason moves.

SinBin Vegas: Building on VHN’s analysis, the Seattle expansion draft is a major opportunity for GM Kelly McCrimmon and the Golden Knights. We like this piece by SinBin–here are some additional NHL trade targets who could be exposed. 

NHL Trade Chatter, News & National Hockey Now network…

ESPN: Oh, that poor, poor Stanley Cup. For you newbies, the Cup has been left on a frozen lake for days, lost for months (it became an old woman’s planter), dropped in a swimming pool, broken numerous times (and that’s just in Pittsburgh), and the Tampa Bay Lightning added their signature on Monday–a hell of a dent. 

TSN Video: The Tampa Bay Lightning can’t stay together, can they? Daren Dreger also says Steven Stamkos could be on the trade block, too.

Sportsnet: Fans were not kind to the Edmonton Oilers for acquiring Duncan Keith. However, here’s actual trade analysis from Mark Spector, who compares Keith to Don Henley. I like it.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Who will go to Seattle? Will the Penguins pull off the Fleury trade? We examine the probabilities of eight Penguins offseason moves. 

Boston: Sources told Jimmy Murphy, who writes our weekly “Off the Record” column, that the Boston Bruins would “go hard after Barclay Goodrow.”

Detroit: The Red Wings have about $27 million in salary-cap space. This could be the summer they take a giant leap forward. It sounds like Detroit is waiting in the wings on gritty winger Zach Hyman. 

Washington: Nearly 15 years have passed, and the bromance between Alex Ovechkin and Nick Backstrom, which culminated on Vegas ice, has changed that franchise. 

San Jose: Some cool history here–How close were the San Jose Sharks from not making that (in)famous Pat Fallon pick in their inaugural draft? How close were they on Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Niedermayer?