NHL Trade Buzz: Chiarot scratched for Canadiens against Coyotes

Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. The 2022 NHL Trade Deadline on March 21 (3 p.m. ET) is six days away.
Here's a look around the League at the latest deadline doings:

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Montreal Canadiens

Ben Chiarot was scratched for the Canadiens against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday.
Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said Tuesday that Chiarot sitting out is "management's decision."
Chiarot could interest a team looking to add to its depth at defenseman before the deadline, in part because of his size (6-foot-3, 234 pounds). The 30-year-old also is in the final season of a three-year, $10.5 million contract ($3.5 million average annual value).
He has scored 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) and is third on the Canadiens with 91 blocked shots and fourth with 110 hits in 54 games.
"Game in, game out, he brings stability to your team," Canadiens forward Paul Byron said. "He's a hard guy to play against. People don't realize how big a guy like that is. He's pushing on you in the corners, he punishes you. He's a guy you win playoff series with."
Montreal (16-35-8) is last in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.

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Nashville Predators

The Predators are hoping to continue talks with the representatives of forward Filip Forsberg, general manager David Poile said.
The sides "haven't reached the right number yet. It's as simple as that," Poile told ESPN 102.5 The Game on Tuesday.
Forsberg, who can become an unrestricted free agent July 13, is tied for the Predators lead in goals (31) with Matt Duchene and is third in points (54) in 46 games this season, his 10th with Nashville.
"I'm happy with our team," Poile said. "I'm talking, I'm listening, but a lot of [trade] activity with little accomplishment at this point. [We] aren't a seller, but I don't think, at this point, we're a huge buyer."
The Predators (32-22-3) are fourth in the Central Division with 72 points and hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Nashville hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; BSSO, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).

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Dallas Stars

Braden Holtby no longer may be a trade option for teams looking to upgrade at goalie after the Stars said Tuesday that goalie
Anton Khudobin
had season-ending right hip surgery Monday.
Khudobin, who last played in the NHL on Jan. 15, had hip arthroscopy and labral repair. The expected recovery time is six months.
Holtby, who hasn't played since a 4-3 overtime win at the Winnipeg Jets on March 4 because of a lower-body injury, is 10-10-1 with a 2.78 GAA and .913 save percentage in 24 games (22 starts).
Dallas (32-22-3) is fifth in the Central Division, one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
The Stars play at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, BSSW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
Jake Oettinger, the only healthy goalie with NHL experience on the Stars roster, is 19-8-1 with a 2.43 goals-against average and .918 save percentage in 30 games (28 starts). Adam Scheel, recalled from Texas of the American Hockey League on March 12, has not played an NHL game. The 22-year-old is 7-6-6 with a 2.91 GAA and .901 save percentage in 22 AHL games this season.

Minnesota Wild

Wild general manager Bill Guerin said he still believes in goalies Cam Talbot and Kaapo Kahkonen and won't necessarily look to make changes at the position ahead of the deadline.
Talbot is 3-2-0 with a 3.80 goals-against average and .872 save percentage in his past five starts, and has a 3.00 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 36 games this season. Kahkonen is 0-5-1 with a 3.87 GAA and .873 save percentage, and has a 2.87 GAA and .910 save percentage in 25 games.
"I still have confidence in these guys," Guerin said. "I know the numbers aren't telling me I should, but I do. I know the people. I know the character of these guys. And I think if you ask them, they're the first ones to tell you that they haven't been playing as well as they can. And they'll need to be better."
The Wild, who traded forward Nico Sturm to the Colorado Avalanche for forward Tyson Jost on Tuesday, has lost four of their past six (2-3-1) and are third in the Central Division.
"We need a ton of guys on our team to be better," Guerin said. "We haven't been good enough for the last 15 games. I'm not into finger pointing or blaming anybody. We all need to be better.
"… We need to get some saves and we need to play better as a whole. We cannot trade our way out of problems."