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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 08/10/2020
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
08/10/2020 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Aug 09, 2020 01:30 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the Blue Jackets got good news when it comes to a couple of potentially injured players, while the Tampa Bay Lightning got potentially bad news when it comes to their star defenseman. The New Jersey Devils officially picked up two extra draft picks and the Nashville Predators are looking at ways to improve their roster with little money.
Blue Jackets Will Have Werenski and Murray
Columbus Blue Jackets’ head coach John Tortorella announced today that both Zach Werenski and Ryan Murray are expected to play in today’s Game 5 matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton.
Werenski suffered an upper-body injury during the third period and underwent and MRI Saturday. Murray was scratched for Game 4, but is expected to return. Goaltender Jonas Korpisalo is expected to start in net.
This is it for the Blue Jackets. If they win tonight, they’ll bump Toronto from the postseason and move on to the Eastern Conference Quarter Finals. If not, they’ll leave the NHL bubble and their season will be over.
Hurricanes Still Waiting on Dougie Hamilton
NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reported that Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour still isn’t sure if defenseman Dougie Hamilton will be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs.
The Hurricanes eliminated the New York Rangers in a series sweep and Brind’Amour did say that if Hamilton is ready he will play. If he is at full speed when he comes back, the Canes will be inserting a player coming off a (shortened) Norris-Caliber season into their lineup.
Unfortunately, defenseman Brett Pesce is out with a shoulder injury and not expected to play in this next series.
Predators and Possible Changes
Paul Skrbina of The Tennesseean suggests the Nashville Predators don’t have a lot of cap room to make big changes after being eliminated from the postseason by the Arizona Coyotes. That said, the expectation is that changes are needed.
Skrbina writes:
How different the team might look in a few months remains to be seen.
One option is to buy out Kyle Turris’ contract, which would cost the team $2 million against the cap through 2027-28. Another is to let unrestricted free agents Craig Smith and/or Mikael Granlund go and give prospects such as Eeli Tolvanen and Philip Tomasino a chance.
There will also be questions about Matt Duchene, who mostly struggled through the first three games and it was rumored the team was considering scratching the player in Game 4. Duchene is costing the Predators a lot of money against the cap and he’s locked in for six more seasons at $8 million per season. He has a modified no-trade clause that kicks in starting in 2023-24.
Devils Get Two More First-Round Picks
The New Jersey Devils had a good weekend. Thanks to both the Arizona Coyotes and the Vancouver Canucks moving on in the postseason, they’ll receive those respective team’s first-round selections as part of trades where the picks were lottery protected.
The Coyotes and Canucks will not take part in Monday’s second draft lottery so their picks have officially been sent to the Devils. In a similar-style trade, the Ottawa Senators officially acquired the New York Islanders’ pick yesterday.
Lightning Unsure of Hedman’s Potential Injury
Victor Hedman appeared to suffer an ankle injury in the game versus the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. The team is unsure about how much time he’ll potentially miss.
Lightning coach Jon Cooper said of Hedman’s injury:
“We don’t know how long this is going to be, but when your perennial Norris Trophy finalist is out that creates a hole. But, we’ve dealt with injuries before. Our captain’s out, he’s been out for a long time.”
“It’s a little frustrating because we feel like we’re going in the right direction … but that’s why you pick up guys at the deadline & add depth to your team & we have to circle the wagons”
If Hedman is out for any length of time and the Lightning are still without Steven Stamkos, they are down two critical pieces to their lineup. Stamkos has yet to play in any of the Lightning’s round-robin games after suffering a lower-body injury in the team’s Phase 2 skates.
The post NHL Rumors: Lightning, Blue Jackets, Predators, Hurricanes, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Aug 08, 2020 02:59 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is speculation already surrounding teams that have made an early exit from the 2020 NHL play-in rounds. Who played themselves into a trade? Who won’t get re-signed? How will teams improve? And, in a strange story, two former Vancouver Canucks players have a different opinion about what was included in a particular goaltender’s contract.
Luongo Shocked By Bieksa’s Claim
Former NHL defenseman Kevin Bieksa is now an analyst during the Sportsnet broadcasts of these NHL playoffs and he made an interesting comment during a recent broadcast that has another former teammate of his confused.
Bieksa claimed that Robert Luongo had language written into his contract that would allow him to veto the Canucks decision to put him in goal during back to back games on the road. He said, “Luongo had a clause in his contract where he didn’t have to play back-to-back games on the road if he didn’t want.”
If true, it would be an interesting clause for a goaltender to work into a deal. It might also be something that, to some, could make Luongo look like a bit of a high-maintenance player. But, Luongo appears to be denying the claim.
In a one-word tweet, the former netminder responded, “Wut?”
Penguins To Decide Between Jarry and Murray
Numerous media are taking a look at some important off-season decisions for teams that have been eliminated from the play-ins. Among them are the Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, and Edmonton Oilers.
For Pittsburgh, following their qualifying-round exit to the No. 12 seed Montreal Canadiens, a decision over which netminder to keep is critical. Both Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry are restricted free agent goaltenders and neither necessarily played their way into the starting role with the club next season. Since the Penguins also need to shore up their blue line and re-sign most of their young RFA forwards, there won’t be money left for both netminders.
Matt Vendel of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette also wondered if general manager Jim Rutherford might dangle veteran defenseman Kris Letang.
He writes:
Will the Penguins move on from Murray three years after they chose him over Marc-Andre Fleury? Could Letang be dangled in a trade to allow them to shake up the core? Will Rutherford, with little salary cap space, think even bigger?
Panthers to Make Numerous Moves?
While the news of GM Dale Fallon possibly getting fired surfaced Friday, what other moves might follow? Matt Larkin of The Hockey news believes winger Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov could be departing via the unrestricted free agent market.
There are some serious questions that will need to be answered out of Florida, but deciding about how to actually run the hockey team might be key among them.
Oilers Have a Few Needs
In Edmonton, the team should try to provide more support for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Both carried the load for the Oilers (along with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins). Could Hoffman be an option? He played well for Florida but won’t be inexpensive.
There is a lot of talk surrounding Darnell Nurse’s performance in the series versus the Hawks and how often he turned the puck over and took undisciplined penalties. He’s set to jump up in salary to $5.6 million player next season and some are wondering if the emergence of players like Ethan Bear and the expected growth of players like Philip Broberg and Evan Bouchard will make Nurse expendable.
There is a counter-argument to that thought in that the blue line is already a weakness for Edmonton. Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic feels adding a top-four defenseman should be a priority for the Oilers but doesn’t blame Nurse. He writes:
A top-four defenceman seems imperative, too, especially with Adam Larsson’s inconsistent output during the season and struggles (in two games) during the Chicago series.
He also thinks the Oilers will try to find a replacement in goal for Mike Smith.
The post NHL Rumors: Canucks, Penguins, Oilers, Panthers, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Aug 07, 2020 01:08 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, with the Winnipeg Jets now out of the playoff picture, the team is finally allowed to reveal the extent of the injuries to both Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine. The Pittsburgh Penguins are making a change in goal and the head coach explains why. Will Matt Murray’s playoff performance play a roll in a possible contract extension? The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to get bad news when it comes to Steven Stamkos and, finally, a former 30-goal scorer in the NHL has extended his career in the AHL.
Injuries to Laine and Scheifele Not Long-Term
Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine both missed three of the four games in the series against the Calgary Flames and all the Jets were allowed to reveal was that they were deemed “unfit to play”, explained to Sara Orlesky of TSN. Now that they are out of the playoffs, the team can share more details about their respective injuries.
Neither one is expected to miss an extended period of time and head coach Paul Maurice said he doesn’t believe there is any Achilles damage for Schiefele. Maurice called it “a crush” not a cut, said Scheifele is still undergoing further testing.
Meanwhile, Laine sprained his hand and couldn’t hold a stick. Maurice believes he’ll only be out for a few weeks.
Penguins to Go With Jarry
In danger of being ousted from the play-ins, the Penguins are making a change in goal. The team announced today that they’ll call upon Tristan Jarry, starting him in game four over Matt Murray who has lost two of the first three.
Coach Sullivan said about the decision to go with Jarry:
“His practice habits have drastically improved. It’s just part of the maturation process. He’s much more mature in his daily approach. Every day, his work habits in practice have been terrific. All year, consistent..
I think that transfers to a game environment. Tristan deserves a lot of credit for how hard he’s worked his game and where he’s at today. He’s a real good goalie.”
There is no denying that Murray has been out-played by the Canadiens’ Carey Price and if the Penguins are eliminated, or Jarry goes on a run, that could have implications when it comes to re-signing Murray, even a one-year deal. The belief is that the team can’t afford to sign both restricted free agents at the end of the season.
The Penguins will play an elimination game today against the Montreal Canadiens.
Lightning Still Won’t Have Stamkos
Steven Stamkos won’t be playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning when they face the Philadelphia Flyers. A game that has a lot riding on it, both the Lightning and Flyers have won their first two round-robin contests. Whoever takes this game will be the top seed in the Eastern Conference, overtaking the Boston Bruins who should have been there based on their Presidents’ Trophy-winning regular season, but have lost two games in the seeding rounds.
Stamkos is working hard and rehabbing, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters including Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Still, he is listed as out indefinitely. No one is sure of what the injury is but it is troubling enough that all precautions are being taken.
Matt Moulson Re-Signs in AHL
A former three-time 30-goal scorer in the NHL, Matt Moulson’s NHL career took a serious downturn. Still, he’s not giving up on the professional game. Now 36, the veteran has re-signed with the Hershey Bears of the AHL for the 2020-21 season.
Moulson served as an alternate captain for the Bears this year after spending the last two with the Ontario Reign. He’s played extremely well in the AHL and seems to have found a comfort level there to finish out his hockey career.
The post NHL Rumors: Jets, Penguins, Lightning, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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