NHL Trade Rumors: Bobby Ryan, Roberto Luongo, Niklas Hjalmarsson

With the 2012 Draft weekend upon us, there are countless NHL Trade Rumors swirling around. Below are the latest.

• Bobby Ryan’s name continues to be mentioned in trade rumors according to the Orange County Register. The Anaheim Ducks will want a lot for the 30 goal scorer and there should be plenty of teams interested, including all the teams that lose out in the Rick Nash sweepstakes. Ryan has not been a good fit alongside the Ducks top two forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and every team in the NHL could use a winger who can put the puck in the net.
• The Vancouver Canucks have listened to “numerous” trade offers for Roberto Luongo, and assistant general manager Laurence Gilman admitted it’s possible that a trade gets done in the near future. “There is interest that’s in place right now,” Gilman said. “It is conceivable that we could make a deal this weekend.” Talks should escalate over the next few days, with staffs of every team so close together. The Canucks are open to trading with any team, but they’ve asserted that they’ll remain patient and wait until the right deal comes along. “If we think we can get a player who is going to make us better, we wouldn’t bypass a potential trading partner,” the assistant GM said.
• The Chicago Blackhawks are “actively shopping” defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Hjalmarsson, a 25-year-old stay-at-home defenseman, has two more years left on his contract that calls for a $3.5 million cap hit, but he could draw decent interest for teams looking for a defensive-minded blueliner and good shot-blocker. The re-signing of Johnny Oduya and growth of Nick Leddy has made Hjalmarsson more expendable as the team seeks to free up some cap space in order to possibly make a bigger splash this offseason. Chicago is also said to be willing to move veteran rearguard Steve Montador as well.