NHL Trade Rumors: Johansen, Greening, Lehner Injury News

NHL Trade Rumors: Wednesday Round-Up

Finally reaching the quarter-mark of the 2015-16 season, and NHL trade rumors continue to circulate. On Tuesday night’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, a couple familiar names are once again being bantered about as new developments emerge.

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The latest names in NHL trade rumors are Columbus’ Ryan Johansen and Ottawa’s Colin Greening.  Also, an injury update on Buffalo Sabres netminder Robin Lehner.

Ryan Johansen

Nov 20, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets center Ryan Johansen (19) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Nashville Predators in the first period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen is still kicking tires with other General Managers in hopes of making a deal. It’s still unclear as to what degree he’s looking to change the culture in the Blue Jackets dressing room, but latest rumors suggest he’s listening to all Ryan Johansen offers.

TSN analysts announced that at least one GM called Johansen “softly in play”, suggesting Columbus would be willing to move him. Obviously the asking price is high, which at this point could be beyond what other teams are willing to pay. However, if the asking price dips, or a team is willing to pay up, then perhaps Ryan Johansen could be on the move.

Which teams might be interested that could afford the salary and trade asking price?

Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, St.Louis Blues

Colin Greening

Mar 29, 2015; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators left wing Colin Greening (14) is unable to reach the puck as Florida Panthers defenseman Brian Campbell (51) defends in the second period at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Even though he’s been on the roster with the big club in 2015-16, his $2.65 million dollar cap hit is far too rich for a Senators team that could use one more impact top-six forward. They’ve actively been trying to move Greening for the last one 1/2 to two years, with no success.  It’s also worth making note that Greening carries a modified no-trade clause.

New developments announced by TSN analysts on Tuesday night, with news that GM Bryan Murray would be willing to part ways with a prospect to move Greening’s contract. Colin hasn’t played well enough over the past couple seasons for his lucrative cap hit, but if he were a $900,000 dollar player, he’d likely have several suitors.

The Senators best hope is that a less talented cap friendly team might be willing to accept the contract to add another skilled body into their farm system. The question now becomes, which prospect will help get a Colin Greening deal done?

Potential Prospects:

Cole Schneider, Fredrik Claesson, Nick Paul, Matt O’Connor, Mikael Wikstrand, Filip Chlapik

Robin Lehner Injury Update

Oct 8, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner (40) during the game against the Ottawa Senators at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

After being injured at the beginning of the season, Robin Lehner was given a recovery timetable of 6-10 weeks. TSN announced that Lehner has suffered a setback in his recovery and will require the maximum from the original date set. It’s been six weeks now, and Lehner is expected to need four more weeks before he’ll see NHL action again.

Sabres fans barely got a peek at their new goaltender in 2015-16, and certainly not a big enough window to make fair judgement. Lehner had several doubters among Sabres fans heading into the year, but if you read between the lines, you see that GM Tim Murray still fully expects Robin to be the starting goaltender. Opting against trading for a goalie shows they were willing to roll the dice with what they had, until Lehner returns.

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Luckily for Buffalo, Linus Ullmark has emerged into a quality goaltender in his short-stint so far. If Lehner can regain his old form from his later days in Binghampton, the Sabres could have a nice tandem featuring a couple of 1a goalies. The hope is that Robin Lehner can still grow into that quality number one, and given his age in comparison to goaltender development, there’s still a small one to two-year window for that to happen.