NHL Trade Buzz: Giordano to sit out second straight game for Kraken

Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. The 2022 NHL Trade Deadline on March 21 (3 p.m. ET) is three days away.
Here's a look around the League at the latest deadline doings:

Seattle Kraken

Mark Giordano will sit out a second straight game when the Kraken host the Detroit Red Wings at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, BSDET, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
The Seattle captain said he understands why the Kraken are holding him out of the lineup even though he's healthy, with a trade likely.
"You never know for sure that a trade is going to happen," the defenseman said. "But it's obviously leaning that way and then after all is said and done, it will be a quick turnaround for my family, but I'm sure we'll have lots of help."
The 38-year-old, who can become an unrestricted free agent after the season, also sat out a 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, when he was honored for playing his 1,000th NHL game, which happened on March 5 in a 5-2 loss at the Washington Capitals.
"In my situation and having good conversation with (general manager) Ronnie (Francis) and the coaches, it's probably the right thing to do," he said.
The first captain in the Kraken history has scored 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 55 games. Giordano was acquired by the Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft on July 21, 2021, after playing 15 NHL seasons with the Calgary Flames.
He said it was nerve wracking being healthy and not playing but he understands the reason.
Giordano said he's "living day to day, hour to hour, to be honest, now that it's getting so close to the deadline."
"It's weird, I've never been through this before, so it's different, yeah, pretty much living day to day," he said. "It's a tough situation, but we all understand what's going on."

Philadelphia Flyers

Claude Giroux did not accompany the Flyers on their flight to Ottawa on Thursday, the team confirmed amid multiple reports he could be traded before the deadline.
Several reports said the Flyers captain, who has a no-move clause in his contract, could be traded to the Florida Panthers.
Giroux is in the final season of an eight-year contract he signed July 5, 2013. The 34-year-old forward is second on the Flyers with 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists) in 57 games this season. He has played all 15 of his NHL seasons with Philadelphia, the past 10 as captain.
Giroux was honored in a ceremony Thursday before the Flyers' 5-4 win against the Nashville Predators at Wells Fargo Center. After the game, he spoke as if he'd be moving on from the Flyers and recalled Wayne Simmonds being traded by Philadelphia to the Nashville Predators on Feb. 25, 2019.
"I know it's tough when you leave a team, but I actually didn't realize how tough it is," Giroux said. "I wish I knew back then, but it's not something that is really fun. But at the same time, we were just all day was telling stories and things that happened last few years and it was great."
The Flyers lost 3-1 to the Ottawa Senators on Friday and are 31 points behind the Washington Capitals for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
Giroux became the second player to play 1,000 games with the Flyers, joining Bobby Clarke (1,144). Selected by Philadelphia in the first round (No. 22) of the 2006 NHL Draft, Giroux is second in team history in points (900) and assists (609), also behind Clarke (852 assists, 1,210 points).

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks traded forward Brandon Hagel and a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and 2024 NHL Draft to the Tampa Bay Lightning for forwards Boris Katchouk and Taylor Raddysh, and two first-round picks that are top-10 protected.
"I said a few weeks ago that we are rebuilding, and this is clearly the start of that," Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said. "Getting two first round draft picks as well as two, young, NHL players helps us kick-start that process in a major way."
Other potential trade candidates for the Blackhawks include goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and forwards Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik.
Fleury, a pending unrestricted free agent, is 19-20-5 with a 2.90 goals-against average, .909 save percentage and four shutouts in 44 games this season, his first with the Blackhawks.
Kubalik has scored 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 61 games and was a finalist for the 2020 Calder Trophy given to the NHL rookie of the year. Strome has scored 32 points (16 goals, 16 assists) in 48 games. Each can be a restricted free agent after the season. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Anaheim Ducks

Hampus Lindholm did not play for the Ducks in their 3-0 home loss to the Florida Panthers on Friday because of asset management.
The Ducks could trade the 28-year-old defenseman before the deadline. He's in the final season of a six-year contract and can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
"If you walked down there to Hampus right now, he's focused on the workout he's doing," Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said Friday. "He's an incredible kid the way he can think his way through things. He's not rattled by anything. He wants to win tonight, all those things. I'd like to give you something dramatic that it's been really hard on him, but that's a mentally tough kid. He's good.
"He's taken the approach he's just going to worry about his day, what's in front of him and what he can control and go about it that way. He's good. I'm really proud of him."
Lindholm has scored 22 points (five goals, 17 assists) in 61 games this season.
Defenseman Josh Manson was traded by the Ducks to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday for defenseman prospect Drew Helleson and a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. -- Dan Arritt

Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights are optimistic about Robin Lehner soon returning to the lineup.
The goalie has missed six games with an upper-body injury.
"Heading in a positive direction," coach Peter DeBoer said Friday. "I think he's excited to get back. I don't have a time frame yet, but I don't think it's far off.
"I expect him back."
Depending on how long Lehner remains out, the Golden Knights may look to acquire a goalie before the trade deadline. The 30-year-old has not played since a 2-1 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on March 8. Two days later, the Golden Knights announced he was being sent back to Las Vegas for a lower-body injury. He had started four of the previous five games since returning from an upper-body injury that caused him to miss six games.
One goalie who could be available is Fleury. The 37-year-old was traded by the Golden Knights to the Chicago Blackhawks on July 27, 2021 after playing the previous four seasons with them, including their run to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.
Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said Feb. 15 a reunion with Fleury was very unlikely.
"There is absolutely no credence to that rumor at all," McCrimmon told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I wouldn't normally speak (officially) on such things, but there will be so much racket about this, it's important to let people know that's not going to happen."
Laurent Brossoit has started three of the four games for Vegas since Lehner was injured, going 0-3-0 with a 4.02 goals-against average and .853 save percentage. Logan Thompson started the other game and relieved Brossoit in a 7-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. He made 33 saves in a 5-3 win against the Florida Panthers to help the Golden Knights end a five-game losing streak.
Vegas (33-26-4) is one point ahead of the Dallas Stars for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens will not trade either of their two primary goalies before the NHL Trade Deadline, general manager Kent Hughes said.
Jake Allen, who made 31 saves Thursday in his first start since he sustained a lower-body injury Jan. 12, a 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars, and Sam Montembeault have started most of the games with Carey Price having not played this season because of a knee injury.
"We're still in a period of uncertainty with Carey and I think that's where we'll be until we see him play in one or several games and we know that his knee has recovered properly," Hughes said Thursday. "In the meantime, as for the goalies, Jake and Sam, they're part of the organization and we have no plans to trade a goalie right now."
Montreal traded defenseman Ben Chiarot, who could have been an unrestricted free agent after the season, to the Florida Panthers for forward Ty Smilanic, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft on Wednesday.
Hughes said the Canadiens (16-36-9) are not cleaning house despite having the fewest points in the NHL (41).
"In terms of identifying players and we want to move on from, I don't want to say that we're looking to move on from specific players right now," he said. "If anything, if we get phone calls on the trade that will make sense for us, we'll definitely consider it. I've said it before, I've told the players we're not looking to make a fire sale here and we've tried to reassure them."
One player Hughes said could be traded is defenseman Jeff Petry, who has three years remaining on the four-year contract he signed Sept. 25, 2020. The 34-year-old has scored 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 54 games this season and is averaging 22:33 of ice time per game.
"If it's a deal that makes sense for us, and if it makes sense for Jeff and Jeff knows that," Hughes said. "I've spoken to him about it."