With the Stanley Cup Final in full swing and the season winding down to its finish, the NHL Entry Draft and free agency will soon be upon us. Nothing is guaranteed, but what would an offseason be without trade rumors? Here's a look at some of the biggest rumors for this upcoming summer.
Roberto Luongo - Vancouver Canucks
It was widely speculated that Luongo was set to be traded last offseason after losing the starting goaltending role to Cory Schneider, but the Canucks retained their infamous keeper throughout the regular season since Schneider has been inconsistent. A trade seems imminent for this offseason, as Luongo was once again yanked in favor of Schneider in this year's playoffs. After Vancouver was swept by the San Jose Sharks, Luongo went on to state that his contract "sucked".
It was once thought that the Toronto Maple Leafs were high on Luongo, but James Reimer's stellar play in the playoffs may have made fans believe that the Leafs are set at the goalie position. If/when Luongo gets traded, expect the Florida Panthers and New York Islanders, both teams that Luongo has played for earlier in his career, to be the frontrunners.
Kris Letang - Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin's name was thrown around a bit in trade rumors, but Penguins General Manager Ray Shero put an end to those whispers as he signed Malkin through 2021-22. It came at a high price, however, as the Russian superstar will make $9.5 million a year.
With captain Sidney Crosby already locked up and many of the team's core players in need of new contracts, Pittsburgh will not have very much money to spend on improvements to a team that got swept by the Boston Bruins in the Conference Final.
Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis, Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow, Matt Cooke, and Douglas Murray are all unrestricted free agents as of July 2nd, and the Penguins will try to get as many back as they can while still leaving room for new players that could push the team one step further - if they can afford it.
Trading defenseman Kris Letang could be a viable option for the Penguins. 2013-14 is the last year on his contract, which comes at a hit of $3.5 million a year. Trading a top blueliner like Letang could not only open up cap space, but also warrant a big return for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek - Buffalo Sabres
After two extremely disappointing years, it appears as if the Buffalo Sabres are beginning a rebuilding process. The team traded away cornerstone forward Jason Pominville to the Minnesota Wild and defenseman Jordan Leopold to the St. Louis Blues.
Miller's name swirled around before last year's trade deadline, but the American goalie remained in Buffalo for at least a few more months. He would be an excellent addition to any team in need of a goalie and the Sabres could get a pretty decent return for his services.
The Colorado Avalanche would be a good fit for Miller, as it is a young team with a ton of potential already as well as the number one overall draft pick this year. The Avalanche are expected to take Colorado-raised Seth Jones in the draft in order to shore up their blue line a bit, and they have two great young forwards in Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog. If the Avs can make a move and add a quality goaltender like Miller, they could make a push for the playoffs sooner than most expect.
Another Sabre whose name has been thrown around in rumors is Thomas Vanek: the team's best forward. Vanek would surely get a huge return in terms of prospects and young talent, which is exactly what the Sabres are looking for. Many contenders looking for a little more scoring could use Vanek's services, such as the Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks, and New Jersey Devils.
The Sabres may not want to trade Vanek to a division rival like Detroit, but the Red Wings have a plethora of young prospects that could work wonders for the Sabres. San Jose would benefit big-time by adding another scorer like Vanek to play alongside Logan Couture or Joe Pavelski.
New Jersey could probably use Vanek the most out of anyone. After losing Zach Parise, the team had to lean on Ilya Kovalchuk for a gigantic percentage of its offensive production. When Kovalchuk was injured, the offense couldn't get the job done and the team floundered. Adding Thomas Vanek would provide much-needed offensive depth for a defense-based team.