Rumour: Rickard Rakell on the Leafs' radar; Habs inquire about Filip Forsberg
The Anaheim Ducks, who have lost six straight, are owners of the NHL's longest current losing skid, having racked up just 17 of a possible 42 points through their first 21 games of the season.
Not far behind are David Poile's Nashville Predators, who have managed to wrangle up just 20 points through their first 21 games as well.
There is a common denominator between these two teams. Each has several players who are rumoured to be available at or before the trade deadline.
The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta mentioned on Sunday that the Anaheim Ducks are willing to accept trade calls on several players, most notably 27-year-old 2011 1st round pick Rickard Rakell - and that the Toronto Maple Leafs are among four teams that he expects have interest in the two-time 30-goal-scorer. The others listed were the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Rakell is signed through 2021-22 at a very reasonable $3.789M, but with Toronto being so close to the cap, they will likely have to move a contract or two, or convince the Ducks to retain salary on Rakell with a sweetener such as a young prospect or a draft pick in order to move things along.
Toronto has been rumoured to be looking for a top-nine forward who could challenge for top-six minutes, and Rakell definitely fits the bill there.
In addition, Pagnotta also touched on a player who is likely Nashville's biggest trade chip in winger Filip Forsberg, who has been the picture of consistency over his 9-season NHL career. Like Rakell, Forsberg is signed through 2021-22, albeit at a much higher cap hit ($6M AAV) and also has multiple 30-goal seasons to his credit, but where Forsberg separates himself is that he also has an additional four seasons where he had scored 20+ goals to Rakell's one.
Though no real frontrunner has emerged for Forsberg as of yet, Pagnotta believes that the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames and New York Islanders are all expected to reach out to Preds GM David Poile to inquire about his asking price on the 26-year-old Swede.
As we head into March, we're not far off from the league's April 12th trade deadline, so talks should begin to heat up, providing us with some additional information over the coming weeks.
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 6, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brayden McNabb | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Martinook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Karlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Logan Stankoven | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||