Cryptic comments from insiders: Pre-Olympic trade freezes announced soon?

Based on the timing of NHL insider Darren Dreger’s recent comments, it appears a handful of NHL trades will be announced once the Olympic break comes to an end. Deals reportedly discussed before or during the break should simply be made official. In other words, it could be a busy 24 to 48 hours once the NHL roster freeze is lifted.

More difficult noted in TSN’s First Up“I don’t have this very solidly, but there is a sense that there may be deals that have been more or less agreed upon, not finalized, but agreed upon in terms of the level of negotiation, prior to the start of the Olympic selection freeze.”

For the most part, this is little more than a word salad that doesn’t really offer anything concrete. At best, he says, trades are already so far along that the two parties working on them simply can’t announce them, while the NHL has locked everyone down with a freeze.

But who is Dreger talking about?

Taking a wild stab at some potentially close trades

Based on our previous reports in recent weeks, and building on current rumors surrounding sellers like the Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets, here are a handful of plausible trades that meet expectations.

Evander Kane from the Vancouver Canucks to the Colorado Avalanche: There are rumors that Colorado is a team ready to make a move. Some believe they have been searching the market for playoff strength. If so, then Kane lives up to expectations. The talks could have aligned before the freeze, with Vancouver open to bringing him into the middle of the crisis. As for returns, it’s not much.

Dougie Hamilton from the New Jersey Devils to the San Jose Sharks: The Devils are looking at a “hockey trade” to shake up their room, and Hamilton is a hot name in the rumor mill. The San Jose Sharks were interested some time ago, but Hamilton didn’t want to go there because the Sharks weren’t a good team. That’s not the case now, especially since Macklin Celebrini is a magnet for solid NHL players.

Nazem Kadri from the Calgary Flames to the Minnesota Wild: Nazem Kadri is reportedly open to a move. The Flames are restructuring. Meanwhile, the Wild are looking to bolster their center depth after trading Marco Rossi in the Quinn Hughes deal. There are likely other teams involved with Kadri, but this could be an interesting matchup.

Justin Faulk from the St. Louis Blues to the Boston Bruins: The Blues are in sales mode with high demands on their blueliners, but Boston is circling Faulk to upgrade their blueline. This could be one of those “almost perfect” deals after the Bruins failed to acquire Rasmus Andersson.

Logan Stanley from the Winnipeg Jets to the Detroit Red Wings: Winnipeg’s uneven season has them considering changes, and Stanley’s name is listed as a pending UFA. There are rumored matchups between Detroit and Winnipeg. This could be an appropriate depth move that was agreed upon before the freeze. Steve Yzerman has something up his sleeve. We just don’t know what it is.

Next: NHL Trade Watch: Rangers Retool, Predators Deadline Plans and Canucks’ Fire Sale