- Morning Skate
- Posts
- NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 06/08/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
06/08/2019 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Jun 07, 2019 12:17 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are updates out of Philadelphia where the Flyers are trying to finish what they started with the acquisition of Kevin Hayes, the Dallas Stars are making some moves and there is potential movement on a Joe Pavelski re-signing in San Jose. Plus, did a star forward from the St. Louis Blues almost get traded to Boston?
Hayes Signing in With Flyers?
Jared Clinton of The Hockey News writes that even if a fifth-round pick doesn’t turn out for the Jets, it’s good they got something by moving the rights of Kevin Hayes. The question is, can the Flyers get Hayes under contract or did they throw away a fifth-rounder?
If the Flyers could get Hayes to sign an extension, not only would that give them a center who could play a number of different roles, but it would allow Philadelphia to continue playing Claude Giroux in the hybrid winger position. This is almost as important for the club as Giroux has thrived over the past two seasons in that role.
Clinton also write that the Hayes move is not the last move and that Philadelphia expects to remain aggressive this summer.
Jim Nill Trying to Avoid Big Mistakes
Mike Heika of NHL.com writes that Jim Nill is navigating through potential landmines this summer for the Dallas Stars and that could make them a team to watch.
Nill said:
“The summertime is when you make a lot of big decisions, and you try to come up with the structure of what you want your team to be. But you know that by the end of next season, a lot can change, and you have to be ready for that, too.”
It seems clear that one of the changes coming to the Dallas Stars is the “working core” of the team that will need minor tweaking. Outside of that,Mats Zuccarello remains a huge priority as he needs to be re-signed.
Already taken care of in Dallas, the team re-signed both defenseman Roman Polak and forward Mattias Janmark to one-year deals.
Pavelski and the Sharks
San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski indicated that he and the team haven’t talked much about a new contract. He told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News that there has been “a little bit of talks” and he remains optimistic that he’ll work out a deal to stay in San Jose.
Pavelski’s 38 goals will certainly generate a lot of interest on the open market if he can’t come to terms with the Sharks but his age also has to be considered if a team is willing to offer anything beyond a couple of seasons.
It is expected his asking price will stay around the $6 million per season mark.
Schenn Was Almost Moved
Looking back at the St. Louis Blues season and realizing they are one win away from the Stanley Cup is amazing when you think about it. An interesting story is coming out from TSN’s Frank Seravalli that center Brayden Schenn was almost moved.
Schenn admitted at one point that he believed that he was going to be traded to Boston. Thank goodness for the Blues they didn’t pull the trigger on that deal as the 27-year-old has put up 11 points in 23 games for St. Louis so far in the postseason.
The post NHL Rumors: Flyers, Sharks, Blues, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jun 06, 2019 11:31 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the New Jersey Devils and Taylor Hall respond to rumors Hall won’t sign an extension, the Buffalo Sabres are still working on a Jeff Skinner extension and the Edmonton Oilers are heavily considering a Jesse Puljujarvi trade. From the sounds of things, Puljujarvi is ok with that.
Devils and Hall Respond to Extension Rumors
Mike Morreale of NHL.com reported that the New Jersey Devils took some time to respond to the rumors that first surfaced by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. Their claim was that Hall was not interested in re-signing with New Jersey. GM Ray Shero tried to shoot that down right away.
Shero said:
“No idea where got that from aside from a ‘source,’” Shero said in a text message. “Nothing on our end has changed and I have never heard differently from Taylor or Darren Ferris.”
Hall’s agent Darren Ferris also responded saying he would not speak to the talks about his client because everything that is out there is fictitious. He said he that out of respect for the negotiations process, he would not respond to any questions about the subject.
When Hall himself was asked, he said that he knew he was not the team’s priority and was fine with that since there are bigger things going on with the organization at the moment. All he would say is that he didn’t see July 1 as a deadline and was pretty sure the team didn’t either.
Arpon Basu of The Athletic wrote:
Ferris and Hall were somewhat annoyed their lack of urgency in engaging in contract talks with Shero and the Devils was being spun into something they claim it isn’t. A reluctance to sign as soon as possible is not necessarily a sign that the Devils are no longer an option, they say. It is simply a way to go about taking a very important decision and choosing to attack it under the best circumstances possible.
Sabres Fans Shouldn’t Worry, Yet
TSN reports that GM Jason Botterill is not worried about the Jeff Skinner negotiations yet. The fact an extension hasn’t been reached has some in Buffalo slightly concerned but Botterill remains confident.
The last speculation was a deal somewhere around eight years and $70-80 million range was being discussed. If accurate, no other team can match that eighth year which gives the Sabres an important advantage. Botterill says that talks with Skinner have been ongoing since January, but paused during the hiring of their new head coach.
Jesse Puljujarvi to Be Moved?
Trading winger Jesse Puljujarvi remains a strong option for the Edmonton Oilers, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger, citing league sources.
There were rumors he might consider signing in the KHL, but those were shot down. Instead, the agent for Puljujarvi (Markus Lehto) has said his player is going through the requested rehab as asked but that a change of scenery might benefit everyone.
“I think it’s hard to reset. It’s like, when the player isn’t trusting anymore … ‘Do these guys really want me here? Do they really trust me to be a top-six guy? A top-nine guy? An offensive player?’ The player is uncertain.
Engelland to Stay With Golden Knights
It sounds like the Vegas Golden Knights are hoping to re-sign veteran leader Deryk Engelland. They won’t go up against competing offers if another team shows interest, but that shouldn’t be a concern because reports are Engelland would only play for the Golden Knights or retire.
The Sin Bin reports that the Golden Knights have made an offer, likely another bonus-laded, low cap hit one-year contract. He will likely take some time to consider.
The post NHL Rumors: Devils, Sabres, Oilers, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jun 05, 2019 04:41 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, Patrik Laine’s agent posturing on contract negotiations? Are the Toronto Maple Leafs learning anything from their dealings with William Nylander and what team has just popped up as interested in Jason Zucker?
Jets and Laine in Potentially Awkward Spot
Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun comments on David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period’s report this weekend that Patrik Laine could explore a variety of options if he doesn’t like numbers the Winnipeg Jets are using to negotiate the forward’s extension.
Wiebe suggests this could just be posturing by Laine’s agent and considering that contract negotiations are expected to pick up here in the upcoming weeks and that the player is seeking upwards of $10 million per season, that makes sense.
The other side of this is that if Laine’s agent Mike Luit doesn’t like what he hears he and the sniper could explore an offer sheet similar to how Mitch Marner is rumored to be looking to do come July 1.
Wiebe writes:
But right now, it’s simply far too early to overreact and suggest the Jets and Laine have reached the point of no return.
Negotiations of this magnitude take time and both sides need to find numbers that are suitable when it comes to both contract and term.
From a Jets perspective, speculation is they’d like to get Laine in on a five- or six-year deal in the hopes of keeping the AAV down. Toronto did something similar with Auston Matthews.
Staying with the Jets, the team has re-opened talks with pending unrestricted free agent Tyler Myers according to Frank Seravalli of TSN.
Canucks Interested in Zucker?
It’s no secret the Minnesota Wild have tried to trade Jason Zucker multiple times. The last buzz was that he was part of a deal that would bring back Phil Kessel from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Speculation is now, another team might be interested.
During a discussion on TSN 1040 radio today, host Mike Halford —who also works at The Athletic—reported that a source told him the Vancouver Canucks are interested in the Wild forward and that there are several trade proposals already on the table.
Interest from the Canucks makes some sense if you consider they have a group of young forwards, a huge amount of cap space and Zucker can still produce (21 goals and 42 points last season). Zucker is the right age to help groom some of their top-six, namely Bo Horvat or Elias Pettersson.
In other Canucks news, both Luke Schenn and Alexander Edler continue to discuss new contracts with the team according to GM Jim Benning on a Sportsnet radio appearance today.
Benning also shot down any rumors that the team and RFA Brock Boeser are far apart on contract talks. He said things are moving “in the right direction.”
Leafs and Marner’s Agent Having Frequent Talks
Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas has met with Mitch Marner‘s agent Darren Ferris often according to reports. The latest comes from Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun who wrote:
“We’ve had a lot more discussion with Darren already than we had with Lewis Gross (Nylander’s agent),” Dubas said. “This time last year, Lewis and I had not even had discussions…
“The discussions with Mitch, Darren and I, they’ve been going back to last year.
Dubas said they can’t allow their three restricted free agents – Marner, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson – to hold up everything so the trick will be to stay in constant contact with the player’s agent to ensure things don’t get pushed back.
The post NHL Rumors: Jets, Canucks, Maple Leafs, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
Recent Articles:
Latest News