NHL Trade Buzz: Driedger drawing interest after Panthers sign Knight

Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. There are 10 days remaining until the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET; April 12). Here's a look around the League at the latest deadline doings:

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Florida Panthers

Chris Driedger is drawing interest after the Panthers signed top goalie prospect
Spencer Knight
to a three-year, entry-level contract Wednesday.
"TSN Insider Trading" reported teams have checked in with the Panthers to see if the goalie is available, and that general manager Bill Zito is taking a wait-and-see approach while the goalie market starts to take shape.
Driedger is 10-4-2 with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage in 16 games. He and Sergei Bobrovsky have split time in goal for the Panthers, who are tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for first in the eight-team Discover Central Division. The top four teams in each of the four divisions qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Driedger can be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Selected by Florida with the No. 13 pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, Knight played the past two seasons with Boston College and is a finalist for the Mike Richter Award as the top NCAA Division I men's goalie.

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New York Islanders

Count Islanders coach Barry Trotz as someone who expects it to be busy trade deadline.
"What I think's going to happen is there's not going to be much movement, then there's going to be a fire sale the last hour and a half," Trotz said Friday. "That's what I think's going to happen."
Trotz said he believes the number of teams near or at the $81.5 million NHL salary cap could suppress activity during the next week.
The Islanders, who are tied for first place with the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins in the eight-team MassMutual East Division, should not be distracted by the what-ifs leading up to the deadline, Trotz said.
"From our standpoint, I don't think there's a lot of talk about it," he said. "I think everybody understands where we are. If it's not the right piece, we're not going to do anything. If it's the right piece, I'm sure we're going to try like hell to do it."

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Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers are looking for a third-line center, according to Sportsnet.
Kyle Turris, who was signed as an unrestricted free agent, has scored five points (two goals, three assists) in 23 games in that role. He also missed four games while in NHL COVID-19 protocol from March 9-15.
The Oilers haven't had much production from others at that spot, either. Tyler Ennis has scored nine points (three goals, six assists) in 27 games and was assigned to the taxi squad Friday after clearing waivers. Gaetan Haas has scored three points (one goal, two assists) in 22 games.
Luke Glendening of the Detroit Red Wings and Brandon Sutter of the Vancouver Canucks are among possible players of interest, according to Sportsnet. Each can become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Derek Ryan of the Calgary Flames is another potential unrestricted free agent who the Oilers coud look at.

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Vegas Golden Knights

General manager Kelly McCrimmon said he doesn't anticipate making any major changes ahead of the trade deadline.
"This year, with some of the things that we did during the offseason, it is fully connected to what you're going to be able to do during the season," McCrimmon told The Athletic in comments published Thursday. "So when we made the decisions that we made, to be as close to the salary cap as we are, that then impacts what your ability is to change your roster during the season. Which we were comfortable with because we feel good about our roster."
The Golden Knights are tied with the Colorado Avalanche for first place in the eight-team Honda West Division.
Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said Wednesday that he would be OK entering the postseason with the same players that currently are on his roster. McCrimmon seems to agree.
"In terms of taking players off our roster, we're happy with our roster," McCrimmon said. "I like the chemistry of our team. I think the players we have can help you win. So I don't see us moving money off our books in any significant way leading into this trade deadline."

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Toronto Maple Leafs

Coach Sheldon Keefe said he is happy with the makeup of the roster and that he would be OK if nothing changed during the next 10 days.
"We've been rolling as a team and building a lot of positive feelings as a group," Keefe said Friday. "The camaraderie of the group has been strong all season. My job is to coach the group that we have."
Toronto is 4-0-1 in its past five games with goalies Jack Campbell and Michael Hutchinson playing in place of Frederik Andersen, who has been out since March 19 because of a lower-body injury.
Keefe said Andersen is "progressing well," but won't join the Maple Leafs for their three-game road trip, which starts at the Winnipeg Jets on Friday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, TSN4, NHL.TV), followed by games at the Calgary Flames on Sunday and Monday.
The Maple Leafs are in first place in the seven-team Scotia North Division, three points ahead of the Jets.