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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 06/26/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
06/26/2019 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Jun 25, 2019 11:39 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown there are interesting things happening in Carolina with the Hurricanes, the Toronto Maple Leafs make Mitch Marner a serious offer and Artemi Panarin is getting some love outside of the Florida where the Panthers have been considered the favorites to land the scoring winger.
What’s Going on with the Hurricanes?
First, the Carolina Hurricanes trade for an overpriced, problematic contract in Patrick Marleau, then they dump salary when moving Calvin de Haan and finally, it seems they’ve drawn a line in the sand when it comes to Sebastian Aho.
NHL insider John Shannon was on OilersNow (630 CHED Edmonton) and said that the Carolina Hurricanes’ offer to Aho currently comes in at just $6 million x 8 seasons. That’s pretty low considering what other talented stars are being paid during their RFA years.
Shannon said, “I think if, and that’s a big if, there’s still an offer sheet to come, I would put the offer sheet to Aho at the top of the list for me.” Comparing that kind of contract to Marleau’s (who the team just acquired), Shannon added, “you know darn well that somebody could come in and buck that number way up, for what Sebastian Aho is.”
GM of the Hurricanes, Don Waddell said, timelines on an Aho deal are false and that technically the Hurricanes have until September to get this done and they will. That changes if an offer sheet is forthcoming.
Marner Offered $10 Million Over 8
Brian Burke says the Maple Leafs have made Mitch Marner a significant offer: “My understanding is that a very significant offer was made; a full eight-year term and $10 million a year was what one of our guys told me — a guy on our staff who talked to the agent.”
Burke went onto to say that it sounds like Marner’s camp doesn’t want an eight-year term. Like Auston Matthews, Marner wants the right to walk away in five but for Marner, it’s about the idea that if he has to take less money than Matthews, he’s certainly not taking on the longer term. He’s been the team’s leading scorer.
Everyone believes Marner will wait until July 1 to see if there is an offer sheet. Burke said, “I’d do the same thing if I was representing this player. It is already June 24th.”
Interest in Panarin Outside of Florida
We already know Artemi Panarin is in Florida ready to meet with Dale Tallon and see what the Panthers are willing to offer the free agent. Another team is getting into the bidding.
Adrian Dater reports Panarin’s agent met with the Colorado Avalanche yesterday in Denver. The Avs have a significant interest in the forward. Dater also adds that while he’s not positive, the New York Islanders are rumored to have some interest in Panarin. It is believed that Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello is looking to make a splash.
Mike Smith Talking to Several Teams
Goaltender Mike Smith has spoken to several teams now that the free agent interview period has opened according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. Seravalli says the door isn’t closed to him returning to Calgary and that perhaps the Hurricanes might have an interest.
Considering the Canes’ just added Anton Forsberg in the Blackhawks trade, that would be an interesting team to have interest in Smith and would mean both their pending free agent goalies are expected to leave the organization.
The post NHL Rumors: Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, Panarin, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jun 24, 2019 10:39 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the free agency interview period is underway and there are some updates. The Washington Capitals might have some interest in a former forward, the Edmonton Oilers attempts to trade Jesse Puljujarvi aren’t going well and the Vegas Golden Knights have a few things on the cooker.
Capitals Interested in Johansson?
Tom Gulitti notes Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said of reports that they might have interest in pending free agent Marcus Johansson:
“We monitor the whole free agent market. Obviously, we like Marcus, we’re familiar with him, but it’s going to come down to cap space and the contract.”
But Tarik El-Bashir has been told there might be more to it than that as the Capitals do like Johansson and did some tire kicking. Unfortunately, the team would need to trade out a big contract. Nick Kypreos thinks Johansson will command a $5-$6 million AAV as a UFA.
Oilers Having Trouble Moving Jesse Puljujuarvi
The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins reports that the Edmonton Oilers haven’t had much success trying to trade winger Jesse Puljujarvi. It’s no secret by now that the forward has asked for a trade and new Oilers GM Ken Holland said he would trade him if the return was right, but so far, nothing.
Leavins writes that the Oilers have a quick conversation with the Pittsburgh Penguins but that general manager Jim Rutherford wasn\t about to give up Bryan Rust. Leavins adds:
If Ken Holland can’t engineer a deal the club will still qualify Puljujarvi. But the player’s agent has signaled that if that happens his client will instead go to Europe. After years of agents dealing with former player agent Peter Chiarelli in Edmonton they had better get used to Ken Holland. There’s a new sheriff in town.
There is some belief the wrong people, people who don’t have Puljujarvi’s best interests at heart are in his ear. The Oilers are still hoping he’ll have a change of heart and return to the team.
Golden Knights Have a Few Things Brewing
Jesse Granger of The Athletic writes the Vegas Golden Knights are getting prepared to make multiple moves.
First, the team is close on an extension with restricted free agent William Karlsson. As per a tweet by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, once signed this week, the deal will be an 8-year max term, which was really important to him. Karlsson loves it in Vegas. The deal should pay somewhere in the range of $6 million per season.
McCrimmon said:
“Those are the things that we’re working on. William (Karlsson) is a priority for us, and hopefully sooner than later we can have him under contract past this year…
Every team has things to work through, and we’re no different. We are doing that, we will do that, and that’s where our efforts will go next.”
McCrimmon suggested their salary cap issues were not as bad as some made them out to be, but the team will still have a lot of work to do to clear up room. Darren Dreger called the Golden Knights are a team to watch.
Trade options include Nikita Gusev (RFA), Colin Miller ($3.875 million), Cody Eakin ($3.85 million), Erik Haula ($2.75 million), and Ryan Reaves ($2.775 million).
Florida Panthers to Be Aggressive
We already reported that Sergi Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin were flying into Florida to meet with the Panthers. The newest update comes from Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com who says Panthers GM Dale Tallon will be aggressive in free agency.
“We’re going to be aggressive. We’re going to do the right thing and hope the chips fall where they may. But we’re going to make sure we’re in there and be aggressive.”
Tallon says he’s got the full support of owner Vinnie Viola to spend to the cap ceiling and everyone is happy with that plan.
The post NHL Rumors: Capitals, Oilers, Golden Knights, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jun 23, 2019 11:02 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news now that things have officially ended at the draft tables for 31 NHL franchises. What’s next after every team has made their respective picks? The NHL free agency interview process has kicked off. How does that change things?
Sabres Trying to Trade Ristolainen
Renaud Lavoie is reporting that the Buffalo Sabres are trying to trade defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. They’ve been trying to all weekend.
John Vogl reports that Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill said that he doesn’t anticipate using a buyout to move Ristolainen’s contract and that a trade should be doable over the next 24-48 hours.
With three years remaining at $5.4 million per season, he’s not bad value if he plays first-pairing minutes like he has been in Buffalo.
Flames Tried to Add Picks
Pat Steinberg reports that Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving said they tried to make trades at the NHL Entry Draft but they weren’t able to get anything done. He added that their main focus in any discussions was an attempt to acquire more draft picks.
No Takers on Bobrovsky and Panarin
Craig Custance reports that for Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen, there are no changes with regards to Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin, at least in respect to either being part of a sign-and-trade or someone offering to trade for their rights.
The two stars are expected to arrive in Florida en route from Russia and TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that they are expected to both meet with the Florida Panthers on Monday morning. If either or both of the players determine eight years is the most important part about their new deals, they will have to go the route of a sign-and-trade.
Florida has $20.48 million in cap space but the top priority is signing a goaltender, which means that Bobrovsky is likely the team’s top free-agent candidate.
The Panthers are working on finding a trade partner willing to take James Reimer’s contract.n They would like more cap space than the money they already have to improve their blue line and there’s no reason to have three netminders.
Maple Leafs Almost Ready to Announce Signings
The Toronto Sun’s Terry Korshan reports that Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas confirmed the Andreas Johnsson contract is nearly done. “They’re right at the finish line, we just have to punch them across, which will be nice,” said Dubas (via The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel).
TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the deal will be a four-year extension somewhere between $3.25 million and $3.5 million per season.
Bob McKenzie of TSN also reports the Toronto Maple Leafs basically have a contract extension agreement in place for forward Kasperi Kapanen. The team probably won’t announce it until after the Mitch Marner situation is resolved.
Predators Making Changes
Outside of the big trade that saw P.K. Subban leave Nashville, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that general manager David Poile said that the team will not be bringing back unrestricted free agent Wayne Simmonds.
Simmonds came over in a trade at last year’s trade deadline from the Philadelphia Flyers. He wasn’t as productive as the team might have hoped he’d be in their push towards a Stanley Cup.
The Tennessean’s Paul Skrbina adds that Poile also said that the team has no intention of bringing back Zac Rinaldo or Cody McLeod either.
Hurricanes and Aho Close
Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said that he had a “great discussion” yesterday with Sebastian Aho’s representation, according to NHL.com’s Michael Smith. “I think things are going to move along. … The good thing is I don’t think we’re terribly far apart. They want to get a deal done as much as we want to get a deal done.”
The post NHL Rumors: Sabres, Panthers, Maple Leafs, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jun 22, 2019 06:59 pm
In the final edition of the NHL rumor rundown for Saturday, the second day of the NHL Entry Draft, there is a residual effect from the transactions that happened just before the start of Round 2.
Once the Nashville Predators traded P.K. Subban and the Toronto Maple Leafs moved Patrick Marleau, it became clear what lay ahead for some NHL clubs.
Subban Deal Details, Hall Approves
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun offered up a number of updates after the Predators moved Subban to the New Jersey Devils. Saying first, “Obviously this clears the way for Nashville to presumably make an offer to UFA star center Matt Duchene. The UFA speaking period opens Sunday,” he followed it up by providing more detail about the behind-the-scenes of the trade.
LeBrun explained that there were at least four teams interested in Subban, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, but all teams outside of the Devils wanted the Preds to retain salary in the trade. Nashville wanted to move the entire contract which took the Leafs and others out of the running.
The Leafs were willing to take on Subban as a $6 million player but Nashville needed the money to go after Matt Duchene in free agency. Duchene let the Columbus Blue Jackets now he’d be testing free agency and the Preds have long been looked at as the front runners.
From the Devils’ side of things, before Devils GM Ray Shero pulled off the trade, he spoke to both Taylor Hall and former Devil Brian Boyle about Subban. According to NHL.com’s Amanda Stein, Shero wanted to make sure that Subban would be a good fit as well as making sure that Hall approved of the deal.
One of the main reasons the Devils grabbed Subban was in the hopes they could convince Hall to re-sign.
Marleau Trade Changes Trade Landscape
The Patrick Marleau deal to Carolina has very little to do with him playing for the Hurricanes. In fact, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet is reporting Marleau has been assured he’ll be bought out by the Hurricanes should he want.
Meanwhile, Hurricanes GM, Don Waddell said of the rumors they intend to talk to Marleau and see if he is interested in staying with Carolina.
Michael Smith writes:
“For us, when you can pick up assets like that, like a 1st round pick, that’s important for the future. The plan would be to meet with Patrick, talk with him and see where he’s at. If he wanted to be a Hurricane, we’d certainly love to have him.”
The thought here is that Marleau wants to work his way back to San Jose and the only way to accomplish that was to eliminate his current salary and give the Sharks an option to add him at a highly-reduced rate. Their priority is to first sign Joe Pavelski and others.
Other GM’s have taken notice of what Toronto had to give up just to move Marleau’s salary and find another team to take on the responsibility of buying him out. It could change any chances of a team like Edmonton ridding themselves of Milan Lucic’s deal or Vancouver moving Loui Eriksson.
Anders Lee to Talk With Other Teams
Reports regarding New York Islanders forward Anders Lee is that he will start talking to others teams tomorrow. Lee said of the fact that a deal hasn’t been completed with the Islanders, yet, “I never thought it would get to this point, but I guess it’s the nature of what this week means.”
Reports are that he wants to stay with the Islanders and that he will continue talking with the team but will also field other offers.
LeBrun reports that he saw Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello and Lee’s agent, Neil Sheehy were having a lengthy discussion during the draft Saturday.
Sticking with the Islanders, David Pagnotta reports defenseman Nick Leddy and forwards Thomas Hickey and Josh Ho-Sang are in play.
Justin Faulk to Washington?
The Athletic’s Sara Civian reported on Saturday that talks regarding Justin Faulk being traded had picked up and that the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals were discussing a deal. Part of a package could include the rights to Quinnipiac University defenseman Chase Priskie.
NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti reported that Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said the report of a potential deal with Carolina for Faulk was not true. “No. We haven’t had any discussions about him.”
The post NHL Rumors: Predators, Sharks, Devils, Islanders, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jun 22, 2019 11:56 am
In our second installment of the NHL Rumor Rundown, there are more whispers coming out of the draft, including notes on P.K. Subban out of Nashville, news on names like Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin out of Pittsburgh and the Avs trying to cool the talk on a Tyson Barrie trade.
Subban on the Trade Block Saturday?
Nashville Predators star P.K. Subban is being mentioned as a potential trade option. Multiple reports, including one from SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman, suggests the Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks are looking into Subban’s availability if the Predators decide to make a move.
There are reports the Predators are willing to eat as much as $3 million per season worth of Subban’s contract, should the right deal fall into place and TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported the Predators are believed to be looking to clear cap space for free agency or have the space to make a Roman Josi extension work.
There were other whispers that New Jersey might be a destination for Subban.
** Update: Subban did, in fact, get traded to the Devils on Saturday.
Malkin and Letang Not Going Anywhere
Pens Inside Scoop is reporting comments made by Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford when discussing forward Evgeni Malkin and defenseman Kris Letang. In regard to trading either player, he said, “I’m prepared to say it’s highly unlikely.”
He added, “My point was I’m open to accepting calls and having conversations about our players. I wasn’t aggressively active on trying to move those top guys.”
There has been a lot of buzz around the Penguins leading up to the NHL Entry Draft but not much talk during it. It will be interesting to see if that changes.
Senators Second-Round Picks in Play
Bruce Garrioch is reporting the Ottawa Senators are getting a lot of interest in their second-round picks – No. 32 and No. 44 picks.
Ottawa doesn’t seem afraid to move those picks either. It is being reported that Sens management when back to the hotel after the first-round to talk about potential scenarios in respect to trades in Round No. 2.
Avs Trying to Cool Barrie Talk
Despite speculation, the Colorado Avalanche are working on a deal that would move offensive d-man Tyson Barrie, Avs GM Joe Sakic told A.J. Haefele of BSN Denver that there is no truth to the idea that Tyson Barrie is already traded.
So too, Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now that the rumors are “news to him.”
Zuccarello to Hit Free Agency
As per a report by Elliotte Friedman, the Dallas Stars and forward Mats Zuccarello are continuing to talk but GM Jim Nill expects Zuccarello will test free agency before making his decision.
Keep an Eye on Rasmus Ristolainen
One of the names to keep an eye on during Saturday’s draft coverage is defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. There is talk he could be on the move and Vancouver might have engaged in some conversations regarding a possible trade.
The Tampa Bay Lightning may also be a part of that discussion.
Final Cap Number Will Be?
Darren Dreger of TSN reported this morning that the NHLPA had a board call scheduled today to finalize the cap number for next season. The target is between $81.5 – $82 million and an announcement will come this weekend.
Once the announcement does come, there might be more movement in terms of trades, especially if the number is closer to the $81.5 million.
The post NHL Rumors: Predators, Penguins, Barrie, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jun 22, 2019 09:58 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news out of the first round of the NHL Entry Draft on Friday with some teams having tried to do more than took place and others happy the way things fell for them.
Sabres Tried to Move Up
GM of the Buffalo Sabres spoke to the media after the first round of the draft and he made a number of comments on the day.
Joe Yerdon reports Botterill said the team attempted to move up from the No. 7 on Friday but they couldn’t find a deal. That said, he was happy the way things turned out.
Lance Lysowski reports Botterill said the Sabres intend to talk to some free agents, but they are more likely to use trades to change and improve the team. “Yeah, there is certainly some high-end talent , but I don’t think there’s the quantity in there.”
Hurricanes Shopping Justin Faulk
The Carolina Hurricanes are shopping Justin Faulk according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The two sides met on Friday morning and things apparently did not go well. Faulk has one year remaining on his current contract and carries a $4.83 million cap hit.
More teams talking to the Hurricanes are interested in right-handed defenseman Brett Pesce but the Canes aren’t budging on him.
After potting 35 points in 82 games last season, the Hurricanes might finally move him after rumors surfaced last season he’d be on the go.
One potential return could be Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers, who Winnipeg is willing to trade to Carolina in return for one of their right-handed defensemen, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli.
Maple Leafs and Free Agents
According to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, it sounds like Kasperi Kapanen and the Maple Leafs are getting closer on an extension.
And, according to Darren Dreger: “Told Leafs Kyle Dubas met with Jarrett Bousquet, agent for Andreas Johnsson on Friday and there are more discussions to come.
More on Tyson Barrie
There was already news that Tyson Barrie might be on the move out of Colorado. When the Avs selected offensive-defenseman Bowen Byram at No. 4 overall, Barrie leaving the organization now feels like a foregone conclusion.
There was lots of chatter about Barrie but the most interested team seemed to be the Vancouver Canucks. Adrian Dater said, “More buzz I’m hearing about Barrie and Canucks. Tanev name has bubbled up. More rumblings as I hear them.”
Minnesota and Jason Zucker Story Getting Strange
This will be an interesting week for Jason Zucker. After being in trade talks and that news going public, things are starting to get a little strange in Minnesota.
The GM admitted he’d been talking with others but there’s nothing on the table yet. GM Paul Fenton said about the talks, “I don’t plan to get rid of Jason unless the right thing came to me. I listen to offers and I make offers. It doesn’t mean that he’s pigeonholed into something. I love Jason as a player.”
That led to his wife Carly going on social media and responding with, “I totally get it. I’m not planning to get rid of him as a husband, but I’m always open to offers if the right thing comes along…”
This is, of course, all after he wins the King Clancy Awards at the NHL Awards ceremony the other night. At this point, it’s looking like the Wild will need to move Zucker and the team most recently rumored to be interested are the Boston Bruins.
The post NHL Rumors: Sabres, Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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