NHL Trade Talk Weekend Rumors: Maple Leafs, Oilers, Canucks, Bruins

In our NHL Trade Talk weekend rumors report, the Toronto Maple Leafs offered two different returns for Mikko Rantanen, but one option declined to work with the Leafs to make it happen, and the other wasn’t what Carolina wanted. Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers chased Rantanen, but were they ever really in the mix? Could the Oilers go after the player the Leafs might have offended during the chase? The Vancouver Canucks had a price set for Brock Boeser, while the Boston Bruins had a limit for Brad Marchand.

Maple Leafs Tried Hard for Rantanen

The Maple Leafs asked Mitch Marner if he would like to go to Carolina since the Hurricanes made it clear they wanted the winger and would trade Rantanen for him. Marner declined. That moved the Leafs to offer Fraser Minten, Easton Cowan, and a couple of firsts for Rantanen. This time, Carolina declined and felt Logan Stankoven was the best player they could get.

What has this done to the relationship between the Leafs and Marner? The fact he declined the trade means he wants to stay, but will he remain loyal to the Leafs this summer when he has the chance to test the market and pick his destination?

Will the Oilers Take a Swing at Marner?

The Oilers were also in on Rantanen but ultimately didn’t have the pieces needed to make a trade of that size given the other offers that were out there. The Oilers were willing to offer Rantanen more than Dallas in an extension and Rantanen was reportedly open to it. Could the Oiler pivot in the offseason and go after Marner?

There is certainly a link there as Marner and Connor McDavid had chemistry at 4 Nations and Marner knows Zach Hyman well from his days in Toronto. He would get a chance to play with Leon Draisaitl (or McDavid).

Canucks Wanted a First-Round Pick for Boeser

Elliotte Friedman reported that the Vancouver Canucks wanted a first-round pick for Brock Boeser and weren’t going to take anything less than that for the player. The offers weren’t there from other teams, so they decided to hold onto the player.

GM Patrik Allvin said at the media conference after the trade deadline that if people had heard the offers they did get, they wouldn’t have believed it.

---

---

Farhan Lalji tweeted that Boeser confirmed he did read Allvin’s comments about the trade market for him and hasn’t really processed all of it. He expects he’ll speak to Allvin about it in the days ahead and is trying not to read too much into it. The forward is still open to an extension.

Bruins Face-to-Face With Marchand Went Sideways

Friedman also reports that the Bruins and Brad Marchand had agreed on term on a contract extension. But there was gap in salary (AAV) and there was a point when Marchand asked for a face-to-face meeting with Bruins’ management. He got the meeting and told management he would bend on some of his asks, but the Bruins weren’t willing to bend.

The Bruins told Marchand they had gone as far as they would go with their offers, so everyone pivoted to a trade. Marchand told the organization that he would prefer to go to the Florida Panthers and the Bruins made it happen.

Marchand was reportedly quite disappointed with the way things ended in Boston.

Next: NHL Trade Talk Recap: Oilers, Maple Leafs, Penguins, Bruins