Big fish disappearing from NHL rental market; helpful pieces still available
The biggest fish in the NHL trade market are disappearing fast.
Kevin Shattenkirk is gone, dealt to Washington on Monday night; Martin Hanzal went from hopelessness in the desert to hockey country in Minnesota; Ben Bishop joined fellow American goaltender Jonathan Quick in Los Angeles; and hulking six-foot-six centre Brian Boyle is off the market too, dealt to Toronto as the Lightning reload.
“If there was one guy we were going to pursue that could make our team better it was him,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said of Shattenkirk.
MacLellan described the landscape ahead of the Wednesday trade deadline as a “pure rental market” and while the glitziest names are almost all gone, a few helpful players on expiring contracts still remain: