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Dreger: Rene Bourque and Tuomo Ruutu top early trade speculation list

Calgary Flames v San Jose Sharks

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 23: Rene Bourque #17 of the Calgary Flames skates down ice during their game against the San Jose Sharks at the HP Pavilion on March 23, 2011 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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You think it’s too early for trade rumors? It’s never too early for those and TSN’s Darren Dreger has a pair of noticeable names being pursued by NHL GMs in need of a boost. Dreger reported on this evening’s Insider Trading that Calgary’s Rene Bourque and Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu are two of the players teams are calling about to get them on their teams.

Both players are physical scoring forwards and Bourque is coming off back-to-back 27 goal seasons with the Flames. Bourque also comes with a sizable cap hit of $3.33 million over the next five years. Bourque is also a much more attractive trading option than guys like Niklas Hagman or Matt Stajan who GM Jay Feaster is apparently already trying to move.

Ruutu is in the final year of his contract that comes with a $3.8 million cap hit. He can score a bit and play physically tough although Dreger reports that Ruutu feels uncomfortable with the physical side of his game at the moment. For a power forward that’s a bit of a problem. Ruutu had 57 points last year though and for a team in need he’d be a great pick up.

It doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see anything come of this, especially with those kinds of cap hits involved, but it’s something to lock away in your mind as the season rolls along. With GMs doing a lot of scouting and asking about players already, you never know when we’ll see something go down.