With a little under two weeks to go until the 2011 NHL trade deadline, the moves have already begun. The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs seem to be among the sellers, although only one of them will actually admit to it, and as the deadline gets closer, we're sure to see a lot more moves and a lot more teams.
NHL Trade Rumors Kick Start 2011 Deadline
For now, let’s recap the moves that have happened already at this deadline.
- On February 9th, the Maple Leafs traded Francois Beauchemin to Anaheim for Joffrey Lupul, swift-skating prospect Jake Gardiner and a conditional 2013 draft pick.
- The next day, Mike Fisher packed his bags after an 11-year stay in Ottawa. The Sens sent him to the Nashville Predators for a first-round pick in the upcoming June draft and a conditional pick in 2013.
- On Valentine's Day, the Philadelphia Flyers traded two draft picks, a first-rounder and a third-rounder in 2011, to the Maple Leafs for Kris Versteeg.
- Late on February 15th, the Senators traded forward Chris Kelly to the Boston Bruins for a second-round pick in the upcoming draft.
Now we sit a week and a half away from the deadline, and the rumors are only swirling faster and faster. The loudest ones come out of Toronto, where GM Brian Burke told sports radio in Boston that the Leafs are in discussions with the Bruins on the trade front. That, no doubt, makes B’s fans salivate.
SB Nation’s Pension Plan Puppets summed up that conversation, but don’t think that the Leafs will be trading their first round pick. Then again, Burke now has two first-rounders thanks to that Versteeg trade with the Flyers.
Brian Burke was on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston yesterday in anticipation of the Maple Leafs’ 4-3 win over the Bruins. This is the appearance that spawned the dueling rumours that Toronto was talking trade with Boston (true) and that Tomas Kaberle had waived his no trade clause to go to Boston (not quite true).
Some reports said late Tuesday that Kaberle had waived his no-trade clause to go to Boston, but those reports have since been knocked down, most recently by Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com.
Follow this StoryStream for all the rumors news surrounding the 2011 trade deadline in the NHL. The deadline is Monday, February 28 at 3 p.m. Eastern and we’ll have full coverage between now and then here at SBNation.com and all around our network of 34 hockey blogs.
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