8 players who could use a change of scenery ahead of the deadline
Over the next week, pending unrestricted free agents - or "rentals" - will be swapped from Team A to Team B as buyers buy and sellers sell in advance of the NHL's March 3 trade deadline. There's a predictable progression to it all.
What's less predictable is the fate of non-rentals. Deals involving players under team control are often classified as "change of scenery" moves, as at least one player involved is being flipped after a period of diminished ice time or poor performance. Usually, this non-rental has failed to meet lofty expectations set by a high draft slot or strong start to a pro career.
The players discussed below could be traded within the next week, or in the offseason, or never. What connects all eight: It's time for a change and multiple teams should be trying to acquire the player.
(Note: We excluded Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun and Red Wings forward Jakub Vrana from this exercise because their respective situations have been well publicized.)
Brock Boeser, Canucks
Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images2022-23 stats: 10 goals, 27 assists in 50 games (16:55 average)
Contract status: $6.65M cap hit, signed through 2024-25
Boeser, who turned 26 on Saturday, has been through the wringer in Vancouver.
Off the ice, Boeser could only watch from afar as his father's health worsened over multiple years, ultimately leading to his death in 2022. On the ice, he's endured plenty of scoring slumps and injury rehabs, while two playoff series wins in the 2020 playoff bubble count as the lone marker of team success.
Despite producing at a 30-goal pace three times, Boeser's never reached the 30-goal mark in six seasons because he's exceeded 70 games only once. The right winger can truly wire the puck and has utility as a secondary trigger man on the power play. The longstanding conundrum: if Boeser isn't scoring goals, what is he doing to add value?
In order to move Boeser - whose agent has been trying to broker a trade for several months - Vancouver likely needs to retain salary. His hometown team, the Minnesota Wild, is a possible landing spot. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Wednesday the Flames have "kicked tires" on Boeser and the Capitals also appear to be interested.
Kasperi Kapanen, Penguins2022-23 stats: 7 goals, 13 assists in 43 games (12:02 average)
Contract status: $3.2M cap hit, signed through 2023-24
(Editor's note: Kapanen was claimed off waivers by the Blues on Saturday afternoon, a few hours after this article was published.)
The Penguins tossed Kapanen a bone in the form of a two-year, $6.4-million extension this past offseason. It was a bad bet then and looks worse now. Kapanen was placed on waivers Friday. On Saturday afternoon, he'll either be claimed by another team or sent to AHL Wilkes Barre/Scranton.
Kapanen's been wildly inconsistent this season, tallying pointless streaks of nine games and four games (twice) over just 43 total contests. The 26-year-old Finn possesses blazing speed, but his hockey sense appears decidedly below average. He's now firmly in the Andreas Athanasiou/Michael Grabner tier of ultra-quick forwards whose top trait is far and away their skating ability.
When not scratched by frustrated coach Mike Sullivan, Kapanen has largely played with Jeff Carter and Brock McGinn. In 164 five-on-five minutes together, the third-line trio has been outscored 8-6 and crushed in the expected goals battle (a pitiful 39.3% xGF). While Kapanen could certainly use a fresh start, the former 20-goal scorer's stock has never been lower.
Yet there may be a fit in Vancouver. The front office is searching for NHLers in their early-to-mid 20s and Canucks president Jim Rutherford and general manager Patrik Allvin, both formerly of the Penguins, know Kapanen well.
Filip Zadina, Red Wings
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images2022-23 stats: 2 goals, 2 assists in 14 games (12:51 average)
Contract status: $1.825M cap hit, signed through 2024-25
Zadina, 23, is a classic change-of-scenery candidate.
The Czechia native ticks all the boxes: He's a former high pick (sixth overall in 2018) who's failed to live up to expectations; his current GM isn't the GM who called his name on draft day; the AHL and NHL coaching staffs, as well as the Red Wings' development department, have invested a lot of time and energy into improving his game with limited results; he's battled injuries; his contract isn't prohibitive (money or term).
Surely, at least one team - maybe retooling franchises like the Blues, Capitals, or Islanders - is willing to take a flier on Zadina and his potential. Out of junior, the left winger profiled as a future NHL sniper after potting 44 goals in 57 games in his draft year. He's far from it right now, though still fairly young.
Jesse Puljujarvi, Oilers2022-23 stats: 5 goals, 9 assists in 56 games (12:26 average)
Contract status: $3M cap hit, pending RFA
Puljujarvi remains a polarizing figure more than 300 games into his career.
He's a north-south winger with tremendous size (6-foot-4, 201 pounds), and he's hard on the forecheck and posts excellent underlying numbers. However, Puljujarvi has struggled to produce offense this year while playing 364 of his 648 five-on-five minutes with Connor McDavid or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Overall, Puljujarvi's ice time is down four minutes from last season, and Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft hasn't been afraid to remove him from the lineup. Would the hockey world - from Woodcroft to the average fan - look at him differently if he was a fourth-round pick instead of the No. 4 pick in 2016? Probably.
There's a template for redemption. Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin, a somewhat similar player, has flourished after a change of scenery. Perhaps Puljujarvi, 24, blossoms into Nichushkin lite one day.
The Hurricanes are reportedly interested in Puljujarvi. Meanwhile, the Canucks (searching for NHLers in their early-to-mid 20s), Coyotes (looking to fill the lineup with NHLers, period), and Lightning (strong development track record) come to mind as other potential suitors.
Denis Gurianov, Stars
Glenn James / Getty Images2022-23 stats: 2 goals, 7 assists in 42 games (12:12 average)
Contract status: $2.9M cap hit, pending RFA
Stars fans have asked themselves the same question for at least two seasons: Is this the year Gurianov breaks out as an impact top-six winger?
Spoiler alert: Gurianov, goalless in his past 21 games, has yet to break out despite now playing under three different head coaches.
The 25-year-old, who checks in at 6-foot-3, has world-class speed and a heavy shot and has unleashed these weapons several times since breaking into the league in 2018. At his best, he's an intoxicating talent. At his worst, he's frustratingly inconsistent - so much potential, not enough execution.
For the contending Stars, Gurianov could be a nice trade chip. Dallas could package him with a second-round pick for a rental. In that scenario: the Stars remove Gurianov's cap hit, Gurianov gets a fresh start, and the other team receives an NHL player (albeit a flawed one) and a relatively high pick for its trouble.
Cal Foote, Lightning2022-23 stats: 1 goal, 2 assists in 25 games (14:12 average)
Contract status: $850,000 cap hit, pending RFA
It's never a good sign when a late-round pick signed out of college immediately leapfrogs you on the depth chart.
That's what happened to Foote, the No. 14 pick in 2017, who was replaced in the lineup by Nick Perbix early in the season and no longer appears to be part of the long-term Lightning core.
Foote's a physical blue-liner with 129 games of NHL experience (116 regular season, 13 playoffs). He's right handed, so always in demand. His salary is low on his expiring deal and will stay that way given how little he's played in 2022-23. So, yes, there are a few things to like about the son of longtime NHLer Adam Foote.
The older Foote, by the way, is an assistant coach for the Canucks. Perhaps Vancouver is the right landing spot. Really, any rebuilding or retooling club - from the Flyers and Blackhawks to the Panthers and Blues - should be considering Foote. He's worth a shot.
Dante Fabbro, Predators
Icon Sportswire / Getty Images2022-23 stats: 1 goal, 7 assists in 53 games (16:03 average)
Contract status: $2.4M cap hit, pending RFA
Fabbro, a righty with puck skills, hasn't developed into the difference-maker Nashville envisioned when the Boston University defenseman turned pro in 2019. This season, coach John Hynes has slashed Fabbro's ice time by three minutes, and he's producing at only a 12-point pace over 82 games.
Fabbro, 24, could be on the move any day now, especially with the Predators currently on the outside of the Western Conference playoff race. Fabbro will be one of the easier players to flip since the club's cap sheet is filled with undesirable contracts.
Similar to Foote, Fabbro's young enough to persuade teams into thinking there's untapped potential. Sportsnet's Jeff Marek linked Fabbro to the Sharks, partly because David Quinn coached Fabbro in college.
John Gibson, Ducks2022-23 stats: .900 save percentage, .513 quality-start rate in 40 games
Contract status: $6.4M cap hit, signed through 2026-27
Gibson's the outlier of this group - and not just because he's a goalie. He's also the oldest by three years, his contract runs longest by two years, he wasn't a first-round pick, and at one point he was considered a legitimate star.
Still, Gibson, a career Duck, might need a change of scenery more than anybody in the entire league. He's been peppered with rubber the past few years, and he leads all goalies in 2022-23 in total shots faced, slot shots faced, and inner slot shots faced. The 29-year-old must be at his wit's end.
Further, Gibson's prime (which arguably has already passed) doesn't align with the Ducks' timeline to contend. Flipping him now would give the promising tandem of Anthony Stolarz and Lukas Dostal extra runway. It's not like Anaheim's primed to challenge for a playoff spot next year, either.
Gibson's contract is pricey and long - not ideal for trade purposes. But, whether it's the Kings or Sabres, there are teams that need stability between the pipes and could easily stomach the drawbacks.
John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email (john.matisz@thescore.com).
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