2022 Trade Deadline live blog

[RELATED: NHL trade tracker]

Forward Marcus Johansson is going back to the Washington Capitals, traded by the Seattle Kraken for forward Daniel Sprong, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and a sixth-round pick in the 2023 draft.

Johansson has scored 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 51 games with the Kraken this season. He started his career with the Capitals and played with them from 2010-17, scoring 290 points (102 goals, 188 assists) in 501 games.

The Capitals were in the market for a middle-six forward, someone who could play in their top-six but might be more inclined for a third-line role. They found it in Johansson, a player they know well too.

Johansson could slide into the left wing spot on the third line with center Lars Eller and potentially Conor Sheary, leaving the Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson, Anthony Mantha, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie as the Capitals' top six forward group.

Nic Dowd, Garnet Hathaway, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Connor McMichael are candidates for the fourth line.

The Capitals had a need for another forward because of the uncertainty surrounding Carl Hagelin and his eye injury. Hagelin's return, the timing of it and if will happen at all, is unknown.

The Kraken now have 25 picks between the 2022 and 2023 NHL Drafts.

An update on the Minnesota Wild's goaltending shakeup.

It's not official yet, but the Wild will acquire Marc-Andre Fleury from the Chicago Blackhawks for a conditional second-round draft pick that can become a first-round pick, per multiple media reports.

The Wild are making room in their net by trading Kaapo Kahkonen to the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Jacob Middleton and a to-be-determined draft pick, according to Sportsnet and The Athletic.

It'll be Fleury and Cam Talbot in the Wild net for the rest of this season at least. Fleury is in the last year of a three-year, $21 million contract. He is 19-21-5 with a 2.95 GAA and .908 save percentage with the Blackhawks this season.

Talbot is 24-12-1 with a 2.92 GAA and .907 save percentage in 38 games this season.

Middleton (6-foot-3, 219 pounds) is a rugged defenseman who has scored nine points (three goals, six assists) in 45 games this season.

The Sharks already have James Reimer and Adin Hill signed through next season, so something will have to give with them at the goaltending position too.

Kahkonen is 12-8-3 with a 2.87 GAA and .910 save percentage in 25 games this season. The 25-year-old can become a restricted free agent after this season.

Marc-Andre Fleury is being traded to the Minnesota Wild from the Chicago Blackhawks, per multiple media reports.

The 37-year-old goalie is in the final season of a three-year, $21 million contract. The return for the Wild is reportedly a conditional second-round draft pick that could become a first-round pick, according to Sportsnet.

The Athletic is also reporting that the Wild are trading goalie Kaapo Kahkonen in a separate trade.

Fleury is 19-21-5 with a 2.95 GAA and .908 save percentage with the Blackhawks this season.

Fleury would join Cam Talbot as the Wild's new goalie tandem.

Minnesota is third in the Central Division with 76 points in 60 games.

More to come.

The Minnesota Wild picked up some extra currency for a potential bigger move by acquiring a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft from the Arizona Coyotes for the rights to forward Jack McBain.

The Wild now have two second-round picks in the 2022 draft along with a first-round pick. They have eight picks in total.

If the Wild don't want to trade a first-round pick to acquire a rental player, perhaps they would be willing to part with one or both of the second-round picks to facilitate a trade.

The Wild, as mentioned in a previous blog entry, are reportedly interested in Chicago Blackhawks goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Sportsnet has reported the Blackhawks want a first-round pick in a trade for Fleury and the Wild are not willing to do that.

McBain, a third-round pick (No. 63) by Minnesota in the the 2018 NHL Draft, played four seasons at Boston College. He did not sign with the Wild, which is why they were able to trade his rights.

The Coyotes now have to sign McBain, but indications are that they will, or else why would they give up a second-round pick to get him?

That Jake DeBrusk signed a two-year contract (average annual value $4 million) with the Boston Bruins does not mean the forward is off the trade market, according to reports from Sportsnet and TSN.

DeBrusk asked the Bruins to trade him earlier this season, a request that was confirmed by Boston general manager Don Sweeney on Nov. 30. 

That trade request has not been rescinded, Sportsnet reported, but the key is the cost certainty involved because of the contract, because any team looking to acquire DeBrusk now knows exactly what it will cost them against the NHL salary cap for the next two seasons.

Sweeney said in November that the Bruins were looking for a trade that makes sense for them and DeBrusk, but nothing has materialized since and it's possible the contract situation was holding it up.

DeBrusk has been playing regularly for Boston, scoring 26 points (15 goals, 11 assists) in 57 games this season.

Analysis: DeBrusk is easier to trade now because the contract is finalized. His market is also not limited to playoff contenders because he's not a rental. 

The Bruins will want a player who they can put in their lineup right away if they trade DeBrusk before the deadline. If they can't get what they want, they'll hold onto him for the stretch run and playoffs and reevaluate the situation in the offseason.

The Minnesota Wild are reportedly trying to acquire goalie Marc-Andre Fleury from the Chicago Blackhawks, according to Sportsnet and The Athletic. 

Here's why the Wild are interested in Fleury:

Cam Talbot, the No. 1 goalie for the Wild this season with 38 games played, is 26th in save percentage (.907) and 24th in goals-against average (2.92) among goalies who've played at least 25 games this season.

Of the 16 teams currently in a Stanley Cup Playoff position, only the Edmonton Oilers have a No. 1 goalie, Mikko Koskinen, with a save percentage (.904) lower and a GAA (3.04) higher than Talbot.

Kaapo Kahkonen, Minnesota's backup who has played 25 games, is 19th in save percentage (.910) and 23rd in GAA (2.87) among goalies to play at least 25 games.

Talbot is 5-0-0 in his past five starts, but that includes allowing four goals in a 5-4 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 3 and five in a 6-5 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings on March 10. He has a .900 save percentage during his personal five-game winning streak.

Fleury is 19-21-5 with a 2.95 GAA and .908 save percentage this season, but that's with the Blackhawks, a team that hasn't been in the playoff mix. 

The Wild average 3.67 goals per game; the Blackhawks average 2.60. 

Fleury has also played 162 postseason games, whereas Talbot has played 32 and Kahkonen has no NHL playoff experience. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired some extra depth for their back end by getting defenseman Nathan Beaulieu from the Winnipeg Jets for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

Beaulieu, a pending unrestricted free agent, is on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury and will remain there, the Penguins said. He is eligible to come off LTIR before the Penguins play the Minnesota Wild on March 31.

Beaulieu has four assists in 24 games for the Jets this season. He has played 419 NHL games for the Jets, Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens, scoring 94 points (12 goals, 82 assists).

Analysis: This is a minor move for the Penguins, but they were in the market to add another NHL defenseman with some size (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) and toughness and they got one at the bargain bottom price of a conditional seventh-round pick.

The Penguins have been healthy on the back end for a good part of the season, using primarily the same six defensemen in Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, John Marino, Mike Matheson, Marcus Pettersson and Chad Ruhwedel. Mark Friedman has played 20 games too.

Of the top six, Matheson's eight games missed because of injury are the most. But having an extra NHL defenseman is always a plus and now the Penguins have eight with the addition of Beaulieu.

His addition will not prevent Pittsburgh from trying to add a middle-six forward, which could also be on general manager Ron Hextall's shopping list.

The Penguins are a team to watch.

The Seattle Kraken already have 23 picks between the 2022 NHL Draft and 2023 NHL Draft, and there could be more coming their way before the deadline.

TSN reported the Washington Capitals have interest in Kraken forward Marcus Johansson, who is a pending unrestricted free agent and in play as a rental option.

Johansson has scored 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 51 games for the Kraken this season. He started his NHL career with the Capitals and played for them from 2010-17, scoring 290 points (102 goals, 188 assists) in 501 games.

Johansson would be a depth forward for Washington, possibly filling the hole in the lineup created by forward Carl Hagelin's eye injury. When Hagelin will return is unknown.

The Kraken have six picks in the first three rounds of the 2022 draft; one in the first round, four in the second and one in the third.

Seattle has already traded defenseman Mark Giordano and forward Colin Blackwell to the Toronto Maple Leafs, forward Calle Jarnkrok to the Calgary Flames, forward Mason Appleton to the Winnipeg Jets and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon to the Nashville Predators.

The Kraken got draft picks back in all four trades.

Seattle forward Riley Sheahan is also a pending unrestricted free agent and a potential trade option.

Tweet from @reporterchris: Keep an eye on Marcus Johansson before the deadline. The #caps have interest in bringing back the veteran forward.

The goalie market centers on Marc-Andre Fleury of the Chicago Blackhawks and his availability, but there are others to consider.

Semyon Varlamov (New York Islanders), James Reimer (San Jose Sharks), Joonas Korpisalo (Columbus Blue Jackets), Martin Jones (Philadelphia Flyers), Anton Forsberg (Ottawa Senators), Thomas Greiss (Detroit Red Wings), Craig Anderson (Buffalo Sabres) and Alexandar Georgiev (New York Rangers) are other goalies who have had their names tossed around as potential trade targets in advance of the deadline.

Fleury is the No. 1 option if he's available, because if traded, the team acquiring him most likely would be getting him to be its new No. 1 goalie for a playoff run this season.

However, it's not often that a goalie traded by the deadline helps a team go on a long playoff run. The last to do it was Dwayne Roloson with the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. 

The St. Louis Blues were hoping to catch that same lightning in a bottle from Ryan Miller in 2014, when they acquired him from the Buffalo Sabres before the deadline. Miller struggled and the Blues lost the Western Conference First Round in six games to the Blackhawks.

Varlamov and Reimer each have one season left on their contract, which opens their availability to all teams if they're moved before the deadline. If not, both could be traded during the offseason.

Korpisalo, Jones, Forsberg, Greiss and Anderson are all pending UFAs. Georgiev, who made 44 saves in a 2-0 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, is a pending restricted free agent.

The 2022 NHL Trade Deadline is in seven hours and some big names remain on trade boards across the NHL despite significant activity over the weekend.

Marc-Andre Fleury is the headliner in the rental market, but it's not clear if the Chicago Blackhawks goalie will be moved before the deadline. He allowed five goals on 31 shots in a 6-4 loss against the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. 

Arizona Coyotes forward Phil Kessel is likely to be traded. The Coyotes are rebuilding, and Kessel is a 34-year-old pending unrestricted free agent who doesn't appear to fit into their future plans.

Anaheim Ducks forward Rickard Rakell is likely to be moved too.

The Ducks have already traded defensemen Hampus Lindholm (Boston Bruins) and Josh Manson (Colorado Avalanche) along with forward Nicolas Deslauriers (Minnesota Wild). They're selling and Rakell is a pending UFA like Lindholm, Manson and Deslauriers.

The Jets have forwards Andrew Copp and Paul Stastny, each pending UFAs. The Jets are not defined sellers based on where they are in the standings, four points out of a playoff spot, but Copp and Stastny could be traded.

New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Max Domi, New York Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck and defenseman Andy Greene, and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Justin Braun are all expected to be traded.