NHL Trade Buzz: Oilers won't deal first-round draft pick for rental

Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. There are three days remaining until the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET; April 12). Here's a look around the League at the latest deadline doings:

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers hope to upgrade their roster before the deadline, but general manager Ken Holland said he won't trade a first-round draft pick for a player eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
"I'm not going to trade a first for a rental," Holland said Friday. "I guess if a player had some term, I would be open to it."
Edmonton traded its second-round, third-round and fifth-round picks in the 2021 NHL Draft, so it's understandable the Oilers don't want to move the first-round pick, too. But that limits what they have to offer teams looking for pieces for the future.
It wasn't surprising that Holland also said he doesn't intend to trade potential unrestricted free agents such as forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, defensemen Adam Larsson and Tyson Barrie and goalie Mike Smith. Edmonton (25-14-2) is second in the Scotia North Division and will need those players over the remainder of the regular season and in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"In my mind," Holland said, "when you have a team that's a playoff team and you have some unrestricted free agents, there is always the risk that they are not with you next year and that's a risk that I'm prepared to take. I think the goal for 2021 is to try and make the playoffs and try to go on a playoff run. Then I'll deal with the offseason in the offseason."

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Buffalo Sabres

Sabres forward Taylor Hall might be more than a rental player if a team acquires him before the deadline. Sportsnet reported Thursday that Hall is willing to consider signing a contract with a team that trades for him. That would potentially add to the value Buffalo can receive for the 29-year-old because a team might be willing to give up more for a player under contract beyond this season.
Hall signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Sabres on Oct. 11 and can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He is expected to sit out his third straight game for precautionary reasons when Buffalo hosts the Washington Capitals on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, NBCSWA+, NHL.TV).
Though Hall has struggled this season, scoring 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in 37 games, he might benefit from a change of scenery and would be a valuable addition for a team seeking a forward to play on its top two lines. Hall scored 52 points (16 goals, 36 assists) in 65 games last season for the New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes and has scored at least 20 goals six times in his 11 NHL seasons. He was voted the Hart Trophy winner as the League's most valuable player in 2018 after setting NHL career highs with 39 goals, 54 assists and 93 points in 76 games with New Jersey.

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Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks don't expect to be busy before the deadline because they don't want to trade players already dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak, general manager Jim Benning said Friday.
The Canucks have had 21 players and four staff members test positive since March 30, and the NHL has postponed six of their games through Saturday.
"Given what our team and individual players have gone through this last couple of weeks, I don't expect us to be doing a whole lot at the deadline," Benning said.
Benning didn't completely rule out trades, saying he would take calls and talk to other general managers, but didn't sound eager to force players to move.
"It's more the human side of things," Benning said. "They've dealt with a lot in the last couple of weeks, getting the virus themselves and it running through families and stuff, and I just don't think it's the right thing to do at this point in time."
Vancouver has seven players on the active roster set to become an unrestricted free agents after this season: forwards Brandon Sutter, Jimmy Vesey, and Travis Boyd, and defensemen Jordie Benn, Travis Hamonic, Jalen Chatfield and Alexander Edler.
The Canucks are tied with the Calgary Flames for fifth in the seven-team Scotia North Division, eight points behind the fourth-place Montreal Canadiens. The top four teams qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. -- Kevin Woodley

Florida Panthers

The Panthers might be getting calls from teams interested in trading for goalie Chris Driedger, but general manager Bill Zito doesn't seem interested in moving the potential unrestricted free agent.
"I get calls about guys, well, not too many about 'Sasha' (forward Aleksander Barkov) or whatever. But you get calls about everybody," Zito told NHL.com. "We'll address long-term and short-term needs for our team but won't look to tear apart this team unless there are really compelling reasons, and [Driedger's] a significant part of this team."
Driedger has excelled sharing the Panthers net with Sergei Bobrovsky this season, going 11-5-2 in 18 games. He is second in the NHL with a .930 save percentage and fourth with a 2.05 goals-against average (minimum 10 games). But after Florida signed top goalie prospect Spencer Knight to a three-year entry-level contract March 31, TSN reported teams were checking in to see if Driedger is available and that Zito is taking a wait-and-see approach.
One point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the eight-team Discover Central Division, the Panthers (26-11-4) are a top contender for the Stanley Cup, so it would be understandable if Zito doesn't want to make a trade that weakens their goalie depth unless they can strengthen another area in the process.

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Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks could continue to be active prior to the deadline, general manager Stan Bowman said Thursday.
Chicago has made two trades in the past week. It acquired restricted free agent forward Henrik Borgstrom, forward Brett Connolly, defenseman Riley Stillman and a seventh-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft from the Florida Panthers for forward Lucas Wallmark and defenseman Lucas Carlsson on Thursday.
Chicago acquired forward Vinnie Hinostroza from the Panthers for forward Brad Morrison on April 2.
"I don't think you go into it figuring you'll make four trades this week," Bowman said. "We're having a lot of conversations now. I'm not sure it's going to materialize into an actual deal. There's a lot of talk between now and the deadline, I think it's starting to pick up, I've had several calls today, and [will] probably continue that on over the next few days. Not hesitant to make more trades, but if this is the way it ends for us, that's fine as well.
"We're not here to just try to get on the board, we'll try to do things that we think fit into our long-term picture."
The Blackhawks (18-18-5) are fifth in the eight-team Discover Central Division, two points behind the fourth-place Nashville Predators. The top four teams qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Detroit Red Wings

Bobby Ryan's chances of being sent to a Stanley Cup Playoff contender, and the Red Wings' opportunity to trade him for a future asset, disappeared Friday when coach Jeff Blashill announced the forward is expected to miss the remainder of the season and might need surgery because of an upper-body injury.
Ryan, who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after this season, appeared destined to be a rental option for teams seeking scoring depth to help their playoff chances. The 34-year-old scored 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 33 games this season but has not played since March 28.
The rebuilding Red Wings are expected to be sellers at the deadline. Detroit is last in the eight-team Discover Central Division, 13 points behind the Nashville Predators for fourth place. The top four teams qualify for the playoffs.

Calgary Flames

A disappointing season has the Flames considering all options before the deadline, but general manager Brad Treliving doesn't want to overreact.
"Certainly, any player can be moved," Treliving told TSN in comments published Thursday. "You hear that all the time in our business, but we certainly have players right now that we think are good players but are underperforming. … In terms of what moves we may or may not make, I think anybody that watches our team or knows our team knows who the top players are. We're certainly not going to do things just out of emotion right now because the season hasn't gone the way we intended it to go."
Calgary (16-21-3) expected to contend for the Stanley Cup this season but is tied with the Vancouver Canucks for fifth in the seven-team Scotia North Division, eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the fourth and final Stanley Cup Playoff spot in the division. Replacing coach Geoff Ward with two-time Stanley Cup winner Darryl Sutter on March 4 hasn't helped. The Flames are 5-10-1 since then, including losses in their past four games.
So the spotlight now is on the possibility of changing the players.
"We've got a trade deadline that's upon us on Monday, so we'll look at seeing what if anything takes place there and then we continue to work at it every day," Treliving said. "I'm not going to start making any big proclamations about the direction of the team. We've got 30 percent of our schedule left here, so that's the focus, is on the ice right now."

NHL.com staff writers Tracey Myers and Tim Campbell contributed to this report