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To follow up on Kostitsyn:
It appears that the Montreal Canadiens have traded forward Andrei Kostitsyn to the Nashville Predators. RDS is reporting that the deal is pending a trade call to the National Hockey League.
Kostitsyn would be reunited with his brother Sergei, who was traded from the Canadiens to the Predators in 2010.
Kostitsyn has scored 12 goals and 12 assists in 53 games with the Canadiens this year.
The 27-year-old right winger will be an unrestricted free-agent at the end of the season and is making $3.25 million this year.
Leading up to today's 3pm et deadline, TSN has you covered from every possible angle, delivering the industry's most-watched, most-respected and most-comprehensive coverage of NHL Trade Deadline Day with our multiplatform event, TradeCentre '12.
TSN's 10-hour flagship show, TradeCentre '12, is underway LIVE NOW.
TradeCentre '12 is also available live in its entirety on TSN Mobile TV, online at TSN.ca, on the popular TradeCentre app for iPad and iPhone, and in the U.S. on NHL Network.
You can also keep track of every single move on our TSN.ca trade list.
The big question on everyone's minds this year is whether or not Columbus Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash will be moved.
Nash has been the face of the Blue Jackets franchise for the past decade having spent his entire nine-season NHL career in Columbus.
The Blue Jackets' big goal-scorer has a no-movement clause in his contract but gave the Jackets a list of the teams that he would accept trades to. Nash has six years remaining on his current deal that carries an annual cap hit of $7.8 million.
The Blue Jackets have been major players in this year's lead up to the deadline and already made a splash in the trade waters on Thursday when they sent Jeff Carter to the L.A. Kings in exchange for defenceman Jack Johnson and a conditional first-round pick in 2013.
Despite picking up Carter from Columbus, the Kings may not be done with their deadline dealings either. Both goaltender Jonathan Bernier and Dustin Brown are thought to be potential trade pieces for a deadline day deal.
The Maple Leafs are another team with multiple players being mentioned in trade speculation as Toronto looks to claw its way into the playoffs in the East. Clarke MacArthur and Luke Schenn have both been involved in multiple rumours.
MacArthur has just one-year left on his deal with a cap hit of $3.25 million.
The 22-year-old Schenn meanwhile is not likely to be given away, but could be a piece that many teams would look to get back in a deal with the Leafs. Schenn has four years remaining on his current contract and carries a cap hit of $3.6 million per season.
Schenn could also be a hot target as the pool of defensive talent thought to be available is not particularly deep especially after the Hurricanes signed extensions with Tuomo Ruutu and Tim Gleason.
However, there are still some veteran names thought to be available on the blue line including Dallas' Sheldon Souray and Carolina's Jaroslav Spacek who are both set to become unrestricted free agents this summer.
Anaheim's Lubomir Visnovsky is another defenceman being mentioned as trade bait. The point-scoring Ducks defenceman has one-year left on his contract with a cap hit of $5.6 million.
From the Canadian teams, Vancouver's Mason Raymond is rumoured to be on the block as the Canucks are looking for that final piece or two to make another run at the Stanley Cup.
The Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames both find themselves in the thick of their conference playoff races. Neither team is expected to make any major roster moves but could look to add a piece or two for the stretch run.
In Ottawa, the Senators currently find themselves in a playoff spot and could try to secure their positioning with a minor move or two in addition to the trade they made with the Blues on Sunday to acquire 6-foot-7 goaltender Ben Bishop. That move came on the heels of Craig Anderson slicing his hand while cutting frozen chicken breasts and putting himself on the shelf for the next few weeks.
The Edmonton Oilers were originally thought to be deadline day sellers with the likes of Ales Hemsky and Ryan Smyth said to be on the block. However, Hemsky just signed an extension and GM Steve Tambellini has said he is not looking at moving Smyth.
Shifting gears back to the rest of the league, there appears to be a decent amount of talent available up front.
Philadelphia winger James Van Riemsdyk has been involved in numerous rumours over the weeks leading up to the deadline and could find himself in a new city on Monday. Van Riemsdyk has 11 goals for the Flyers this season.
Staying on the wing, the Rangers' Brandon Dubinsky, TJ Galiardi of the Avalanche and Dallas' Steve Ott are a few other names being mentioned as possible deadline targets.
At centre, Paul Gaustad and Derek Roy may have played their last games in Buffalo as the Sabres look to shake things up.
Besides all of the players being mentioned, there will also be plenty of draft picks changing hands as teams look to change their fortunes on deadline day.
_________________ "I'll rap you with my cane; you pencil necked geek!!"
-Bowler, imitating Freddy Blassie, at the very first M & G.
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