Jets acquire Nino Niederreiter from Predators for 2nd-round draft pick

The Winnipeg Jets acquired forward Nino Niederreiter from the Nashville Predators on Saturday in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

He has 396 points (199-197) over 788 career NHL games with Nashville, the New York Islanders, Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes. Niederreiter also has 30 points (15-15) in 82 career playoff games.

Niederreiter was selected by the Islanders with the fifth overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft.

He represented Switzerland at the 2010 world junior hockey championship and the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Canucks acquire Kravtsov from Rangers

The Vancouver Canucks acquired forward Vitali Kravtsov from the New York Rangers on Saturday in exchange for forward Will Lockwood and a seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Kravtsov, 23, has six points (3-3) in 28 games this season.

"We are excited to add Vitali's combination of size and skill to our group," Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said in a release. "He is a smart player and a former first-round pick with a good set of skills.

Lockwood, 24, has split this season between Vancouver and AHL Abbotsford. He has one assist in 13 NHL games and 18 points (12-6) in 26 AHL games.

Also Saturday, the Canucks placed forward Curtis Lazar on injured reserve.

Chicago's Kane a healthy scratch ahead of deadline

Chicago star forward Patrick Kane was a healthy scratch for Saturday's road game against the San Jose Sharks and has left the team for at least the time being.

Rumours have circulated that Kane could be dealt, possibly to the Rangers, in advance of Friday's NHL trade deadline.

.".. Based on the current status of Patrick's situation, we collectively felt it was more appropriate to have him not play during this period of reflection," Kane's agent, Pat Brisson, told TSN.

Now, his storied tenure with Chicago could be coming to an end.

"He was with the team [Friday], but as of today he's flown back to Chicago just until the situation rectifies itself either way," Chicago head coach Luke Richardson said, according to nhl.com.

Kane has a no-movement clause in his contract giving him the right to veto any trade. While he was with the team Friday, he did not practice as Chicago labelled it a "maintenance day."

Flyers leading scorer Konecny placed on injured reserve

The Philadelphia Flyers placed leading scorer Travis Konecny on injured reserve Saturday and recalled fellow forward Elliot Desnoyers from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League.

Konecny has sat out the Flyers' last two games due to an upper-body injury he sustained in Monday's 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames. He collected a goal and an assist before exiting the contest in the second period after being shoved into the boards from behind by Calgary defenceman MacKenzie Weegar.

Konecny has 325 points (137 goals, 188 assists) in 480 career games since being selected by the Flyers with the 24th overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft.

Desnoyers, 21, would be in line to make his NHL debut should he play in Saturday's road game against the New Jersey Devils. He has 36 points (19 goals, 17 assists) in 48 games this season with the Phantoms.