NHL Rumors: 6 Teams Linked To Coyotes' Gostisbehere

Trade rumours are starting to pick up for Arizona Coyotes' Shayne Gostisbehere. He has found a home in Arizona and has played very well the past two seasons on a team at the bottom of the standings. But it isn't the right time as the Coyotes still have multiple years of rebuilding and Gostisbehere is in his prime.

There are a number of teams in need of a defensive upgrade and Gostisbehere can provide a lot of offence and help on the power play. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said that the Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Los Angeles Kings. Of those six teams, I believe four to five of them make sense.

The Panthers are the team that doesn't make much sense because they are nearing seller territory. The team doesn't have much in the way of prospects and will have Anthony Duclair and Patric Hornqvist returning soon. They already have to move a forward to become cap compliant soon, so adding a $4.5 million defenceman isn't in the budget. Not even if the Coyotes retain half of Gostisbehere's salary.

The Oilers and Maple Leafs are stuck in between adding more forward help or defensive help. The Oilers have been really liking what they've seen from rookies Philip Broberg and Vincent Desharnais, making it so they may not even need to add a defenceman this season. The Maple Leafs have dealt with a ton of injuries, but have had players step up in a huge way. Their forward depth needs a scoring addition before their defence needs more bodies.

As for the Penguins, Kings, and Rangers, they all have the greatest need on the back-end and should address it before the deadline. The Penguins are playing without Kris Letang and Jeff Petry, but could still benefit from a defensive upgrade when they return. The Kings are trying to trade a right-shot defenceman or two and acquire a natural left-shot defender for their left side. Gostisbehere would complement their high-scoring team. Lastly, the Rangers have a hole on their left side that is being filled by Ben Harpur. They are definitely looking to upgrade there.

It's likely Gostisbehere is being traded before the deadline, but nearly impossible to pin down which team will acquire him. The best we can do is narrow it down logically.