An unprecedented number of teams may elect to deal away their franchise players this offseason.
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- Buzz around Taylor Hall's future in New Jersey continues to build. It's been well documented that the Devils have a plan in place to trade Hall if he doesn't want to sign an extension. The Devils refuse to let what happened to the Islanders with John Tavares happen to themselves.
- Hall isn't eligible to sign an extension until July 1st, so we might not know which way this is going until later in the summer. But there are rumblings that the current state of the franchise might not be helping in Hall's eagerness to sign up long term, especially considering Hall has already been through one failed rebuild in Edmonton.
- In Dallas, there are rumblings about Jamie Benn's future as the centrepiece of the Stars franchise. Ever since the team's upper management publicly eviscerated Benn and teammate Tyler Seguin, the trade speculation has only grown louder. Reports suggest the franchise has been unsatisfied with Benn's play, and has some level of regret in extending him with that 8 year mega-contract in 2016. Seguin's future is in question to a lesser extent, since he was also described as underperforming in the Stars executives' diatribe.
- Before they started putting some wins together, it appeared Blues were ready to completely dismantle the core of their roster. Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Pietrangelo, Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko were all potentially available. Surely, their success has dampened trade speculation, right? Maybe in some cases, but certainly not with Tarasenko, whose relationship with the team has been strained for years. The Hurricanes have been linked to Tarasenko, while Bruins have been linked to Schenn and the Leafs to Pietrangelo and Parayko. What happens next could depend on how the Blues fare in the postseason.
- Smoke continues to billow in Winnipeg, where reports have suggested the future of Patrik Laine very much hangs in the balance. At best, it sounds like the Jets want to hand Laine a short term extension. At worst, he's dealt this offseason. Rumblings this past week have suggested the Jets would have been prepared to deal Laine this summer if they had managed to acquire and sign Mark Stone at the deadline.
- Finally, the Los Angeles Kings could be ready to deal away several foundational players this offseason. Jonathan Quick's name has been linked to the Blue Jackets in trade talks, and with Sergei Bobrovsky headed out the door July 1st it makes sense that they'll circle back. Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli could be moved as part of the Kings ongoing efforts to reshape their roster.
- It's been a long time since this many NHL teams wanted to make franchise-defining trades such as these. This has the makings of a very busy and pivotal NHL offseason.
- NHL offseason trade speculation has just begun to build with the trade deadline now behind us. Stay up to date by following NHL Rumour Report on Facebook and Twitter!