By Daniel Coyle, Featurd
The Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators both upped the ante in the their respective bids to finish atop the Central Division standings as the clock ticked toward the NHL Trade Deadline on Monday.
The Jets made one of the biggest splashes of the day, pulling the trigger on a deal to acquire scoring winger Kevin Hayes from the New York Rangers. Not to be outdone, the Predators responded with a pair of 11th hour deals, landing Wayne Simmonds from the Philadelphia Flyers and Mikael Granlund from the Minnesota Wild.
The decision to move Granlund continues the Wild’s recent attempts to wrestle done a bloated payroll that could still leave the club facing salary cap issues this summer.