Ottawa Senators NHL Trade Rumors December 27, 2019
The Ottawa Senators will likely be sellers at the NHL trade deadline.

Brandon Manning open to be traded out of Chicago

Pro Sports Daily: Brandon Manning packs a physical punch and is signed to a reasonably low cap hit, he can generate bidding wars that can get out of hand. Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Manning, 28, checks all those boxes, but his struggles this season have made him unwanted on the market and by his current team.

Manning is very clearly not demanding a trade out of Chicago, but the fact remains that he has been scratched repeatedly under new head coach Jeremy Colliton. In fact he hasn’t played at all since Dec. 12, and even then only saw 13:20 of ice time — a total far lower than the 18 minutes he averaged over the last two seasons in Philadelphia.

Chicago surely would have to retain up to half of Manning’s salary in order to move him.

It’s that retained salary that might make a Manning trade even more difficult for the Blackhawks to pull off, and why they might decide to just bury him instead.

Latest Ottawa Senators trade rumors

The Ottawa Sun: Don Brennan reports over the next nine weeks, the Ottawa Senators must either sign or trade their three top offensive players. Mark Stone, Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel are eligible to become free agents this summer, and there’s no way the team can allow such assets to walk without getting something in return.

The Senators can throw term and the numbers on the table in a contract. They can make the promises. But can the Senators give them the lockout protection and upfront money the other stars are getting these days?

Brennan thinks all three will be traded sometime in the next nine weeks, and he’s guessing it will be closer to the 2019 NHL trade deadline, since GM Pierre Dorion will once again be in a very difficult spot. Somehow, he has to retrieve not just enough for the Senators to stay above the cap floor, but also to give at least a sliver of hope for the future to the fan base.

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