Around the NHL: Penguins’ Bunting ‘ok’ after car accident, Sabres’ Cozens potential trade candidate, Flames’ Andersson wants to stay in Calgary

The second half of the NHL season is upon us, and there are less than two months to the trade deadline. Trade chatter has picked up in a major way, and GMs across the league are getting a good sense of whether they’re going to be buying or selling before the March 7th deadline.

While trade talks have certainly started to heat up, there’s been plenty of other notable news throughout the league this week, here’s the very latest from around the NHL:

Penguins’ Michael Bunting involved in car accident, misses game vs. Lightning

Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed to team reporter Michelle Crechiolo Sunday that forward Michael Bunting was involved in a car accident outside of PPG Paints Arena.

Bunting, thankfully, was ok, however, he didn’t dress Sunday in the Penguins’ 5-2 defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sullivan added that everyone involved in the accident was not harmed, but it was certainly a scary incident for all involved.

Bunting has appeared in 43 games this season for the Penguins, scoring 13 goals and 25 points. The former Maple Leaf was acquired last season as part of the Jake Guentzel trade with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Sabres’ Dylan Cozens remains a prime trade candidate

Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin listed six potential trade destinations for Buffalo Sabres’ forward Dylan Cozens. With the Sabres sitting dead last in the Eastern Conference with a record of 16-22-5, there could be a major shakeup coming to the core of the Sabres’ roster.

Larkin’s six trade destinations included the likes of the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, and Philadelphia Flyers as potential landing spots for the 23-year-old centre. Cozens has recorded just nine goals, and 21 goals in 43 games this season, and carries a $7.1 million cap hit through the 2029-30 season.

Cozens does not hold any trade protection on his contract until the 2027-28 season, giving Sabres’ GM Kevyn Adams a chance to at least listen to trade offers, with growing speculation there could be something significant coming from the Sabres’ executive.

Other potential trade candidates from Buffalo include pending unrestricted free agents Jason Zucker, Jordan Greenway, who is currently on injured reserve, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and defenceman Henri Jokiharju.

Flames’ Rasmus Andersson wants to stay put in Calgary

Flames’ defenceman Rasmus Andersson has made his aspirations very clear to GM Craig Conroy – he wants to re-sign in Calgary.

‘I hope I’m staying,” Andersson told Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson. “I can’t affect anything, right?” Andersson continued. “You look at it, I have a six-team no-trade (clause). I mean, there’s still 26 teams. So if they want to move me, they could move me. I could get a call right now. It’s out of my hands.”

Andersson went on to mention that he hopes the fanbase sees how much he loves being a Flame and also turned some heads stating how he hates the rival Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks more than anyone.

Andersson has recorded six goals, and 18 points in 41 games so far this season. The right-handed d-man carries a cap hit of $4.55 million through the 2025-26 season and is eligible to sign an extension this summer. The Flames are in a fight for a playoff spot, sitting one point behind the Vancouver Canucks for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Should the Flames entertain trade offers before March, the Maple Leafs could be one of the teams to at least inquire about the asking price for the 28-year-old blueliner. Andersson averages 2:13 per game on the power play and could be an upgrade over the Maple Leafs’ Morgan Rielly, on Toronto’s top unit.

Quick hits from around the NHL:

• Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin made NHL history last week, joining Gordie Howe as the only two players in league history to score 20 goals in 20 straight seasons. Talk about consistency.
• Sabres’ head coach Lindy Ruff has had a tough go this season in Buffalo, and recently called his team’s collapse against the Seattle Kraken ’embarrassing’. Unfortunately, that word has been used quite a bit this season in Buffalo.
• Edmonton Oilers‘ forward Evander Kane underwent successful knee surgery last Thursday and is expected to be out for four to eight weeks.
• Staying in Edmonton, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports the Oilers are going into the trade season with an ‘open mind’, and LeBrun added Edmonton would like to get their hands on another defenceman.
• Sticking with Lebrun, he reported last week that Montreal Canadiens’ forward Jake Evans is garnering a ton of interest from teams, including the New Jersey Devils. Evans, a right-handed two-way centre, could certainly be someone Maple Leafs’ GM Brad Treliving inquires about.
• Penguins’ Sidney Crosby recently passed NHL legend Joe Sakic for 9th on the all-time points list.
• Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL with 68 points, meanwhile, Oilers’ forward Leon Draisaitl is beginning to run away with the goal-scoring lead, with 31 goals in 42 games, six clear of Winnipeg Jets’ forward Mark Scheifele.
• Jets’ goaltender Connor Hellebuyck leads the league with a 2.02 goals-against average. Injured Leafs’ netminder Anthony Stolarz sits second with a 2.15, however, has played just 17 games compared to Hellebuyck’s 34.