from The Athletic,

Here are the names generating the most buzz around the league, taking into account both the potential impact of the player and the probability he’d actually be traded, with analysis from The Athletic’s Eric Duhatschek, Pierre LeBrun and Michael Russo.

This list will be a living document, with frequent updates to rankings and analysis, based on the latest rumblings and the market’s ebbs and flows, so bookmark it and check back regularly.

5. Ryan O’Reilly, Blues

Not that I think anything is imminent — we’re only in December — but my sense this week after talking to a few NHL teams is that they expect the Blues to listen on their pending-UFA captain in the new year. The Blues continue to play inconsistent hockey, and it’s not giving anyone confidence that the season will get back on track. I think the Maple Leafs have talked about O’Reilly internally. Whether that leads to showing interest with the Blues in the new year, we shall see. Like with Horvat, the Avalanche would make sense. I mean, any contender should have interest in the 2019 NHL playoff MVP. — LeBrun

11. Matt Dumba, Wild

Traded or not, this is probably the end of the erratic defenseman’s run in Minnesota. The 2012 first-round pick once looked like he would be as good an offensive sharpshooter as there was in the NHL — until he got into a fight with Matthew Tkachuk in December 2018 and tore his pectoral muscle into smithereens. He hasn’t been the same since, yet he has survived two expansion drafts, years of trade rumors and, without a doubt, several attempts by the Wild to trade him. Even if he were willing to take a significant paycut to stay, the Wild will move on this offseason because of their perceived blue-line depth among prospects. They have playoff aspirations but may still be willing to trade Dumba in a lateral move. He has been a liability too many nights this season. — Russo

23 more ($) players