Friedman names the price to acquire Mattias Ekholm and five teams interested
Ever since the Nashville Predators' season started going south, which was early on, trade rumours have been swirling about defenceman Mattias Ekholm. Ekholm can be a force on the backend, playing a great defensive game and blocking a lot of shots. In his latest podcast, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman named the price to acquire the 30-year-old.
"I still get the sense and I heard this weekend that the name that makes the most difference to teams that get him is Ekholm, he's the guy" said Friedman. "He's the guy, he's the biggest name out there right now, that I know of... who's a difference maker."
As for the price, Ekholm won't come cheap.
They are looking for a [Jake] Muzzin kind of package," said Friedman. "Two prospects and a first rounder."
It's an expensive price to pay, but according to Friedman, "someone is gonna pay that."
As for the teams interested, Friedman named five in total.
"Now my question is, who is it gonna be? Winnipeg I think is in, Boston is in, I've had some questions about whether or not Toronto is in... I've heard at times Montreal is in, but I've also had people tell that Montreal is not so I don't know what to make of that. The other wild card there is Philly."
Montreal's interest may have been heightened with the news that blueliner Ben Chiarot is going to be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks with a fractured hand.
Ekholm won't be too hard to get under the cap for most teams. He's currently making $3.75 million, with another year left on his contract after this one. Not a bad price at all for a defenceman who can make an impact.
Source: 31 Thoughts podcast
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Brandon Hagel | - | 5 | 5 | |
| Sebastian Aho | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Nico Hischier | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Macklin Celebrini | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jakob Chychrun | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Seth Jarvis | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Zachary Bolduc | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Will Cuylle | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Lars Eller | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jake Guentzel | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alex Iafallo | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Ivan | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Drake Batherson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Simon Edvinsson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack Eichel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Morgan Frost | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Miro Heiskanen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 22 | 18 | 4 | - | 36 | |
Devils | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 32 | |
Hurricanes | 21 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 31 | |
Wild | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 30 | |
Golden Knights | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 30 | |
Capitals | 21 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 29 | |
Maple Leafs | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Flames | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 20 | 13 | 7 | - | 26 | |
Rangers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||