Surprise team emerges as contender for Duchene, could become major Stanley Cup threat.

This could turn out to be one of the big story lines of the 2018 - 2019 National Hockey League regular season.

It now appears to be a forgone conclusion that Ottawa Senators star forward Matt Duchene will be traded ahead of the trade deadline this season. Earlier today two of the National Hockey League's top insiders shared the latest on the Duchene front and both men have seemingly come to the conclusion that the writing is already on the wall in Ottawa, and it tells a story that involves Duchene being traded sooner rather than later.

TSN NHL insider Darren Dreger made it clear that while the future of forward Mark Stone remained uncertain, he believes Duchene is on his way out.

"Unless there’s last minute change, the Ottawa Senators plan on trading Matt Duchene," said Dreger on Sunday. "Mark Stone’s future in Ottawa should also be determined early this week, well in advance of the trade deadline."

Meanwhile Dreger's colleague, fellow TSN NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, went one step further. LeBrun indicated that teams from both conferences have shown interest in Duchene but in his case he went out of his way to name two of the specifically.

"Not surpringsly, word is that several teams from both conferences have shown interest with Ottawa on Duchene," said LeBrun on Sunday morning. "Believe that Columbus and Nashville are among the many teams which have checked in with the Senators on him."

Well now another NHL insider is throwing his hat into the ring and this may be the most intriguing detail of all at this time. The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta is now reporting that not only are the New York Islanders one of the team's interested in Duchene, but additionally that they have already had talks with the Senators about a potential trade deal.

"The New York Islanders are one of the several teams very interested in Ottawa’s Duchene, and have spoken with the Sens about a potential deal," said Pagnotta on Sunday.

The Islanders have been one of the most surprising stories of the season already and under the leadership of Barry Trotz appear to be a much more dangerous team in spite of losing their captain John Tavares to free agency this past summer. Adding Duchene would certainly help fill the gap left by Tavares and could legitimately make the Islanders one of the most threatening teams in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

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