Are the Vancouver Canucks going to trade star forward Ryan Kesler before the NHL trade deadline?
According to sportsbooks, there’s a good chance that Kesler will be wearing a different jersey by the end of the day on Wednesday.
Kesler was listed at -175 odds to be dealt by the deadline on Wednesday and as a +125 underdog wager to stay put in Vancouver. The Pittsburgh Penguins are just one team rumored to be interested in the American winger, who has 21 goals and 39 points for the Canucks so far this season.
Philadelphia was also rumoured to be interested and they tried to sign him as a restricted free agent many years ago.
The New York Islanders might be busy on Deadline Day, as they have two prime assets on the trade market – forward Thomas Vanek and defenceman Andrew MacDonald. Vanek, acquired from the Buffalo Sabres earlier this season and an impending UFA, is at -500 odds to be dealt at the sportsbooks, and at +300 to remain a member of the Islanders.
MacDonald holds down -300 odds to be dealt and +200 odds to stay on Long Island, according to NHL player props posted by Bodog.
Matt Moulson was traded to the Sabres by the Islanders in the Vanek deal earlier this season, but he might be getting a change of address on Deadline Day as well; Moulson has -500 odds to be traded, with defenceman Christian Ehrhoff at +150 odds to be dealt by Buffalo. Ehrhoff’s current contract runs through 2021.
The New York Rangers are reportedly exploring the trade market for captain Ryan Callahan, with the forward holding down +150 odds at the sportsbooks to be dealt by the deadline on Wednesday and -200 odds to remain a member of the Rangers – which likely only happens if the team manages to sign him to a lucrative contract extension prior to the deadline.
The other two marquee forwards involved in NHL trade rumors heading into Deadline Day are Mike Cammalleri of the Calgary Flames and Marian Gaborik of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Cammalleri sits at -300 odds at the sportsbooks to be dealt, with Gaborik at +200.
Longtime Ottawa Senators defenceman Chris Phillips is at EVEN odds to be dealt by the only team he’s ever played for by the deadline, and at -200 to remain with the Sens. New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur was set at +150 odds to be dealt at the sportsbooks, and was given a line of -200 to remain with the Devils through Wednesday’s NHL trade deadline.
The OVER/UNDER for the number of trades that will occur by the deadline on Wednesday is sitting at 16.5, while the OVER/UNDER for the number of players dealt has been set at 30.5.
By late Thursday, oddsmakers will recalculate the odds to win the Stanley Cup as well, with some favourites cementing their places atop the leader board and the pretender teams becoming even bigger long shots.
