Breaking: NHL GM nearly traded star player last month!

Elliotte Friedman revealed Saturday night on Sportsnet that the Ottawa Senators came very close to trading their top center - Kyle Turris - during the first week of pre-season action.

“For teams around the league, my impression was Turris did not play in the first week of the pre-season,” Friedman explained to the Hockey Night panel. “I think there were some teams that thought a deal was coming that week. But now that the season has started, they don’t feel that Ottawa is anxious at all to make a trade.”

The centerman is in his last season of his contract, and his agent is working on an extension with GM Pierre Dorion, and while the money appears to be agreed upon (around $6 million), they're far apart on term.

It's rare that a team trades away their top center - especially right before the season starts, it would've been quite the story had they actually pulled the trigger on a deal.

That being said, Nick Kypreos stated that the possibility of a trade is still possible, but it will probably occur towards trade deadline if Ottawa finds themselves out of playoff contention.