While most of the hockey world goes nuts over the potential of Senators captain Erik Karlsson getting shipped out of town, another Ottawa player is reportedly garnering a lot of attention.
Brassard is an experienced centerman with legit goal-scoring ability. His playoff point production - 55 points in 78 games - and toughness would be a solid deadline addition to any postseason-bound club.
Through 58 games this campaign, he has notched 18 goals and 20 assists in 18:21 of ice time per night.
Pulling the trigger on a trade at any time during the NHL season comes with obvious uncertainty for front-office executives. Acquired players have the potential to not fit in, subsequent contract negotiations can get messy, or expectations for performance are simply not met.
However, dealing players and tinkering with rosters at the trade deadline is the riskiest time of year for any general manager - especially if a goaltender is involved.
The Philadelphia Flyers' move to acquire netminder Petr Mrazek was obviously precipitated by the unfortunate injuries to both No. 1 starter Brian Elliott and backup Michal Neuvirth in a matter of a couple weeks. But that doesn't change the fact Mrazek's spotty track record leaves the potential for the move to blow up in Ron Hextall's face.
And, if the recent history of deadline goalie trades provides any indication, it's of the fact Mrazek could have a hard time adjusting to a new team with fewer than 25 games left before the postseason begins - complicating matters for a Philly squad looking to be a legit playoff threat.
That wouldn't be the first time, however, a trade-deadline deal - or one in the preceding weeks - involving a goalie didn't pan out for the team looking for stability in the blue paint.
March 14, 2000: Senators acquire Tom Barrasso from Penguins
Some of the younger puckheads out there might not remember the lanky 'tender or his move to the nation's capital. But Barrasso was brought in at the 2000 deadline in hopes of solidifying a goaltending situation in Ottawa that has seemingly always been the club's Achilles heel. The outcome was far from desirable.
After being swept in the playoffs the previous season with the goalie duo of Damian Rhodes and Ron Tugnutt, the Senators acquired Barrasso for the stretch run and playoffs for what was supposed to be a stronger veteran option.
Unfortunately for Ottawa, the move backfired almost immediately, as Barrasso registered only three wins out of seven remaining regular-season games to go along with an ugly .879 save percentage. He followed that by allowing 16 goals in six postseason games as the Sens lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a first-round, six-game series in which they never truly competed.
March 9, 2006: Oilers acquire Dwayne Roloson from Wild
A rare deadline goalie trade that initially worked out, the Edmonton Oilers gave up a first- and third-round pick to add Dwayne Roloson ahead of the postseason push in 2006. Roloson would go on to post a respectable record of 8-7-4 for the remainder of the regular season.
Nothing to get overly hyped about, but take in Roloson's postseason numbers before passing judgment on this trade: He was lights out for his club once the calendar flipped to April, registering a playoff record of 12-5 to go along with a sparkling .927 save percentage and 2.50 goals-against average.
Roloson's late-season addition was instrumental in galvanizing the Oilers' locker room ahead of the playoff drive, and he was perhaps the biggest reason for the team qualifying for its first Stanley Cup in over a decade.
Unfortunately for Edmonton fans, the dream season went up in smoke when Roloson injured his knee in Game 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes, missing the rest of the Cup series. Ty Conklin replaced Roloson, and the Oilers fell painstakingly short in seven games.
Edmonton would subsequently miss out on the postseason the next three years with Roloson in net, but his deadline addition was notable, nevertheless.
March 4, 2009: Senators acquire Pascal Leclaire from Blue Jackets
The Senators were at it again with a questionable deadline goalie add in the spring of 2009, shipping out centerman Antoine Vermette to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for injured netminder Pascal Leclaire and a second-rounder.
Leclaire had undergone ankle surgery earlier in the year and missed the entire 2008-09 season, and would go on to play only 48 regular-season games (16-21-3, .894 save percentage, 3.09 goals-against average) for a Senators team still struggling to find an answer in net.
It should be noted the second-round pick Ottawa received turned into then-promising young netminder Robin Lehner, so the deal wasn't a complete dumpster fire for former Senators GM Bryan Murray.
Still, the Leclaire experiment was a deadline disaster that still irks some Sens fans to this day.
Feb. 28, 2014: Blues acquire Ryan Miller from Sabres
A deadline goalie move supposed to take a surging St. Louis Blues over the top ended up a massive disappoint for a team with legit Cup aspirations.
After Miller's acquisition from the Buffalo Sabres in February 2014, St. Louis backed into the playoffs by losing their final six regular-season contests - five of which were hung on Miller. A decent 10-8-1 record and .903 save percentage down the stretch was followed up by a shaky first-round performance in which Miller allowed 19 goals on only 185 shots in six games.
The Blues were unceremoniously bounced from the first round by the Chicago Blackhawks, ending St. Louis' season much earlier than many expected, especially after bringing in a goalie of Miller's caliber.
Miller came in on an expiring deal and didn't re-up with the Blues, jetting for the Vancouver Canucks and a three-year, $18-million deal in the offseason, making his deadline acquisition that much more disappointing for St. Louis.
March 4, 2017: Kings acquire Ben Bishop from Lightning
Another deadline move motivated by an expiring contract, Bishop was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings from the Tampa Bay Lightning as a pending unrestricted free agent who could add some much-needed depth and support in net for No. 1 goalie Jon Quick.
Quick missed most of the season due to injury but split time with Bishop down the stretch, to mixed results for the latter 'tender.
In the seven games after joining L.A. at the deadline, Bishop managed just two wins and a lackluster .900 save percentage. The Kings would wind up missing the playoffs for only the second time in eight years.
The Kings also paid a decent price to get Bishop, giving up Peter Budaj, defensive prospect Erik Cernak, and two late-round picks. Bishop was subsequently dealt in the offseason to the Dallas Stars, ending his short and disappointing tenure with the Kings.
Canada suffered a shocking 4-3 loss to Germany in the men's hockey semifinal at PyeongChang 2018, crushing its bid to win a third consecutive gold medal.
To little surprise, Twitter had a field day in reaction to the loss.
The shock began during the second period of the game when Germany took a 4-1 lead and Canadian forward Gilbert Brule was ejected for a brutal hit in which he left his feet to make contact.
If these teams were playing in opposite OAR jerseys, you wouldn't know which one was from the hockey powerhouse and which one was from the place where hockey is like the sixth? most popular sport.
I’m happy the Germans won. That was fantastic stuff and it’s great for the game. It’s also a testament to why the NHL’s six-country World Cup always seemed counter-intuitive. Need upsets every so often.
If Germany starts actually producing top hockey players more regularly and the DEL becomes a more noteworthy league then this is all worthwhile. https://t.co/dDOcWhQC5p
In any event, Canada's loss to Germany will go down as a dark mark on the country's storied men's hockey program as PyeongChang 2018 quickly reaches its end.
The Boston Bruins are exceeding all expectations by challenging for top spot in the Eastern Conference this season, and head coach Bruce Cassidy believes team chemistry has been key.
Whether the Bruins should risk disrupting that cohesiveness prior to the trade deadline has been a topic of discussion between Cassidy and general manager Don Sweeney.
"I think it's been factored into conversations between me and Donny (Sweeney) that we have a group with some real togetherness there this season," Cassidy said, according to Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston. "At the end of the day, if you can add and make your team better then you always have to look at it, and Donny is looking at that right now."
Cassidy, however, seems content with his lineup as it is.
"But after that, I do worry about if we subtract somebody from the room. If you're adding and you're not subtracting, i.e. future assets, then as a coach you always prefer to go that way. But Donnie will do what's best and as a coaching staff, we'll take it from there, so to speak. But there is a good chemistry with that group ... a very good chemistry in that locker room."
Based on those comments, a deal involving picks or prospects may be in order in lieu of trading young players already contributing to the team's success.
Germany has upset Canada 4-3 in the semifinals of the men's hockey tournament at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Canada trailed 3-0 and 4-1 before battling back to cut the deficit to one in the third period Friday. Canada played the second half of the game without goal-scorer Gilbert Brule, who was ejected for a brutal hit to the head of Germany's David Wolf at center ice.
Brooks Macek, Matthias Plachta, Frank Mauer and Patrick Hager all scored for Germany.
Kevin Poulin started for Canada because of a shoulder/collarbone injury to No. 1 goaltender Ben Scrivens. Poulin allowed four goals on 15 shots but was less to blame than Brule and other players who took several undisciplined penalties.
Germany will play the Russians in the finals Sunday.
Nashville Predators general manager David Poile appears to have set some spending limits in advance of Monday's trade deadline.
Poile reiterated Thursday that he's leaning more toward doing nothing than something based on the asking prices set by his colleagues, according to Thomas Willis from the Predators' website.
"Every team we talk to asks for Eeli Tolvanen, and he's not available," Poile said.
The Predators selected Tolvanen 30th overall in 2017 and he recently recorded three goals and six assists in five games at the Olympics. He's expected the join the Preds for the stretch run.
Poile, however, is open to dealing the team's 2018 first-round pick:
#Preds GM David Poile: I don't want to give up my first-round pick in a trade, but I would if that's what we felt was the right thing to do.
As it stands, the Predators will add Mike Fisher to their roster after the veteran center announced he's coming out of retirement for the balance of this season.
The Florida Panthers capped off an emotional night in spectacular fashion on Thursday.
On a night where the club paid tribute to the victims and survivors of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., forward Vincent Trocheck brought the crowd to its feet, scoring the game-winning goal over the Washington Capitals with just 18.7 seconds left in regulation.
Prior to the opening puck drop, goaltender Roberto Luongo delivered a touching speech directed at last week's shooting, calling the students of the school "an inspiration to all of us."
