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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 07/29/2020
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
07/29/2020 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Jul 28, 2020 10:20 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is good news on the testing front for the NHL as play gets underway Tuesday. The Boston Bruins got perhaps their biggest star back, while the Edmonton Oilers have spoken with one of their top prospects about returning. One scribe looks at the Ottawa free agent situation, and in Montreal, there are questions about Cary Price’s job security if the Canadiens have a bad series.
NHL Has No New Positive Tests
With exhibition games set to begin Tuesday and with teams now in their bubbles and hub cities, there is good news for the NHL in terms of their virus testing. The league has confirmed zero new cases of COVID-19 in the past week.
That means, between last Monday where only two tests were confirmed positive and yesterday’s test results, all 24 teams seemed to successfully get into the isolated areas without issue. Considering MLB is having games canceled with regularity, that’s great news and shows the NHL’s protocols could prove successful.
Pastrnak Joins Bruins
On the topic of players getting into their bubbles, David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins is finally back with the team and ready to participate.
The Bruins posted a video of Pastrnak skating with the rest of the roster Monday which is his first on-ice skate with his teammates since the NHL went on pause. Head coach Bruce Cassidy said Pastrnak looked great and noted he expects the line of Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand to get up to speed quickly.
The Bruins posted a video of Pastrnak skating with the rest of the roster Monday which is his first on-ice skate with his teammates since the NHL went on pause. Head coach Bruce Cassidy said Pastrnak looked great and noted he expects the line of Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand to get up to speed quickly. Bergeron said of his linemate:
“I don’t know if he really needs that much help. He’s one of those guys that gets back and he’s so talented and always seems effortless. I’m expecting him to get back and obviously he might be rusty a little bit, but we have a little bit of time before we start.”
Price’s Spot With Canadiens Safe
Eric Engels of Sportsnet wrote in recent mailbag segment that even if Carey Price doesn’t have a great playoff series this season, he’s not in jeopardy of being shopped or traded by the Montreal Canadiens.
Engels writes:
“… obviously management isn’t going to be particularly thrilled if the team plays exceptionally well and Price proves unreliable. But even something like that could boil down to the uniqueness of this unprecedented situation.
He added that trading price would be difficult, even if the team wanted to do so because of a stagnant cap. He notes trying to get something of value in return would be tricky.
Senators Free Agent Options
Hailey Salvian of The Athletic took a closer look at the Ottawa Senators and their 13 pending unrestricted and restricted free agents. She broke them down into categories as to who might stay and who might go.
On the list of free agents that aren’t going anywhere, Connor Brown (RFA), Anthony Duclair (RFA), and Chris Tierney (RFA) are the top. She writes that Brown has established himself as a reliable shutdown player with an offensive skill set and Duclair seems to have finally found a home. Of Tierney, she writes:
His production dipped slightly this season after two straight campaigns with 40 and 48 points, respectively. But with 11 goals and 37 points, he still was among the team’s top producers this season. He was also one of the best penalty killers on the team and another reliable, two-way option for Smith to use.
She adds that few Senators centers have proved they are as reliable as Tierney. Colin White and Artem Anisimov struggled and Josh Norris is still a rookie.
Oilers’ Holland Has Spoken to Puljujarvi
According to Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now, general manager for the Edmonton Oilers Ken Holland has been in contact with Jesse Puljujarvi’s agent, Markus Lehto. In fact, reports are they have spoken multiple times over the past few weeks.
Holland also reportedly had a Zoom call with both Puljujarvi and Lehto and the feeling seems to be, more and more, like Puljujarvi, could return to Edmonton at some point in the future. The final word is, “There’s communication, we’ll see where it goes.”
The post NHL Rumors: Bruins, Canadiens, Oilers, Senators, COVID Tests… appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jul 27, 2020 11:50 am
In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Tampa Bay Lightning will have to do without their star defenseman for a few days, while the Edmonton Oilers will get one of their key defensemen back. The Arizona Coyotes have a new GM, but he may have to deal with the rumored fallout of a low ball offer to one of the team’s stars. Plus, how long will Sullivan be there if rumors of a connection to a different former manager are accurate? Finally, Sidney Crosby provides an update on his playing status.
Hedman Didn’t Travel With Team
Victor Herman didn’t head to Toronto with the rest of the Lightning roster for the beginning of play-ins Sunday. Instead, he stayed back to deal with a personal matter. Word is his absence won’t be a long one and he’ll join the roster for the first game of the series against the Washington Capitals. That said, he will miss the exhibition game.
Also, head coach Jon Cooper said that Steven Stamkos remains day-to-day for the Lightning but is not expected to participate in the exhibition game either. According to Joe Smith of The Athletic, the forward is hoping to increase how much he’s involved in practice once the team gets settled into their hub city. “It’s still in the window of time to get him back,” said Cooper.
Oilers Nurse Ready To Go
Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that Oilers fans can breathe easy when it comes to the status of defenseman Darnell Nurse. He was forced to miss a scrimmage on Saturday with an undisclosed injury, many saying he tweaked something during Thursday’s practice. The good news is, he’s expected to be ready to go.
Leavins also covers a couple of other injury questions in Edmonton when he writes:
Darnell Nurse sat out the scrimmage Saturday out of an abundance of caution, after what has been described as a “tweak” at practice earlier in the week. He’s fine. Riley Sheahan left scrimmage early with an injury. Hard to see, was it his back? No word on how serious. James Neal looks 100% from his foot injuries and much quicker. No COVID-subtractions for the Oil so far which should be an advantage.
Related: NHL Owners: Who Are They?
Sullivan Picked to Replace John Chayka
Immediately following statements by both the Arizona Coyotes and their former general manager John Chayka, rumors started to surface about what was really going on and who might be connected to the organization as a new GM. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the team had named Steve Sullivan their interim general manager, but that’s not where the story ends by any means.
Steve Sullivan is a sharp hockey guy, thrust into the GM role with Coyotes but we’ve also heard Peter Chiarelli’s name for awhile in a management capacity in the desert. So we’ll see…
That would be incredibly interesting considering the history between Chiarelli and winger Taylor Hall and buzz the Coyotes met with Hall earlier this week over dinner to potentially discuss staying with the team. If there is any truth to the Chiarelli rumors, one would have to assume Hall’s exit from the Coyotes organization would be a given.
More than one scribe has connected Chiarelli as The Athletic’s Scott Burnside adds:
“Several sources indicated former Boston and Edmonton GM Peter Chiarelli is someone league officials would like to help find his way back to the NHL after a disastrous turn in Edmonton and think that Arizona would be a good landing place.”
Coyotes Low Ball Taylor Hall?
Speaking of Taylor Hall, in the midst of all the news surrounding John Chayka and the Arizona Coyotes, reports suggest the team presented a low offer to Taylor Hall that the winger isn’t likely to accept.
John Gambadoro of Arizona of 98.7 FM in Phoenix is now reporting, “Heard the offer to Taylor Hall was 5 years for about $7 mill per year so roughly $35 million.” While some will argue that’s fair in a flat cap situation, $7 million per season has to be considered low for how prominent a player Hall will be in this year’s free-agent class. The assumption is he’ll get more on the open market.
Sidney Crosby Hopes He’s Good to Go
The Pittsburgh Penguins official Twitter account notes the team is hoping to have Sidney Crosby ready to play against Montreal starting August 1 and Crosby updated everyone on his status. He said, “I’m hoping I can skate with the team on Monday and take it from there.” He added that he wants to play the exhibition game and noted he felt pretty good when he skated with the team. “It was good to get out there with the guys.”
Popular Penguins Twitter account Pens Inside Scoop quoted Crosby who also said:
“Ideally I would’ve liked to get in a little more of the scrimmages and game situation things. But with that being said, I think the fact that I’ve been able to skate (on my own) for a good chunk of time will help getting through that.”
The post NHL Rumors: Lightning, Coyotes, Oilers, Penguins, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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