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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 01/29/2020
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
01/29/2020 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Jan 28, 2020 11:35 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the Nashville Predators are a team on the outside looking in but that isn’t stopping one of the key players from expressing his opinion about what the team should do at the trade deadline. Jake Muzzin talks about a new deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Pittsburgh Penguins are looking for a forward and Josh Anderson is a popular guy around the NHL.
Predators Don’t Want to Add
While this might not represent what GM David Poile thinks about his team, Matt Duchene of the Nashville Predators doesn’t think the organization should add anything at the trade deadline. Duchene says that he believes the team has what it takes to qualify for the playoffs on their own.
Duchene told the media on Monday that he thinks the Predators are a playoff team and that they don’t need to make a trade before the February 24 deadline. Instead, he hinted that the players within the room need to step up, including himself. Duchene has not been performing up the level of his new $56 million contract and the Predators have already lost a coach thanks to their struggles.
Jake Muzzin Wants to Stay in Toronto
Preliminary talks with defenseman Jake Muzzin appear to be underway as the returning blueliner spoke with Maple Leafs media prior to the game on Monday.
Muzzin was recalled after a quick conditioning stint and is back with the Leafs as they try to stay healthy and headed for a playoff spot in Eastern Conference. Despite their short-term questions, long-term GM Kyle Dubas is going to need to focus on shaping his blue line which has four key players potentially leaving next season.
If the Maple Leafs can hold onto Muzzin and get him locked in at a decent number, that would help and by negotiating now, Dubas can get a sense of what type of deals he’ll need to do before February 24 as he’s rumored to be looking to add players with term. If Muzzin is locked in, that’s one less player with term Toronto needs to acquire.
Muzzin said when asked about his potential for signing a new deal:
The organization, the way they look after us. The guys here the buzz in the city about hockey is huge. Being close to home is always a nice touch, especially with a little one around now. There’s lots of good things here and I’d love to stay.
Expect Penguins to Make a Deal
Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports that Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford remains ready to add a top-six forward thanks to the injury to forward Jake Guentzel.
Rutherford says:
“If the right one is out there, then yes, that’s what we’re looking at. I’m not sure if I’d feel that way if Jake were healthy. But Jake’s not healthy. Ideally I’d like to give us more depth and more options in the top six. Can we do that, in terms of the right style of player and the right cost? That’s the ultimate question, but we are looking into it.”
Who the Penguins might be keying in on is unclear but there is plenty of buzz they might be looking at Jason Zucker from the Minnesota Wild and winger Chris Kreider will likely be available.
Will Josh Anderson’s Contract Get Him Traded?
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic says the contract status of Josh Anderson is the reason there is talk about the forward being moved. Portzline says rival general managers have inquired into Anderson’s status for some time.
Portzline writes:
If he’s traded as a pending RFA, the acquiring club is promised at least one season of his services and it would still have a chance to sign him long term. If he’s traded next season, as a UFA, he’s a pure rental.
This is why most NHL executives, reached by The Athletic, indicated they expect Anderson to be traded either by the Feb. 24 trade deadline or over the summer, say, at the NHL Draft.
The post NHL Rumors: Predators, Maple Leafs, Blue Jackets, Penguins, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Benji Vogel on Jan 28, 2020 08:20 am
As All-Star Game festivities have just come to a close, the New York Islanders are currently sitting in third place in the dominant Metropolitan Division with 63 points. Considering they had a historic 17-game point streak, third place is not where they had hoped to be sitting at the break just a couple of months ago. Since their points streak, the Islanders have only been a mediocre team, putting up a record of 13-12-3. Obviously, since general manager Lou Lamoriello never acquired an elite goalscorer, which the team desperately needed, third place doesn’t seem too bad.
However, over the last 28 games, it’s become more and more evident that the Islanders need a boost in their goal-scoring production. Although there has been a lot of chatter about who the Islanders should go after, the one thing that nobody can seem to agree on is who that person is. As a result, since any Islanders offer hasn’t been made public since July 1 with Artemi Panarin, the chatter certainly started to pick up when a notable figure reported that the Islanders may have been involved in trade talks with the New Jersey Devils.
The Rumor Mill
In Elliotte Friedman’s most recent “31 Thoughts” piece, he reported that an offer had been made for New Jersey Devils veteran forward Travis Zajac. Zajac, 34, has spent his entire 13-year-career with the Devils, and is a consistent producer. Lou Lamoriello, who drafted Zajac when he was GM of the Devils, is known to be a huge fan of the veteran.
Considering that Lamoriello is a big Zajac fan, when discussing the team that made the offer, Friedman said that he’d “bet all of our mortgages that it was the Islanders.” Since they haven’t made a trade since July 2018, this may be a great sign for Islanders fans.
Zajac’s Response
Amid the speculation about a trade being made, MSG’s Steve Cangialosi asked Zajac where he’d like to be this season. Unfortunately for potential suitors, Zajac certainly didn’t make it seem like he wanted to go anywhere:
I’ve thought about the situation a lot. (New Jersey) is where I want to be.
Following the comment, Kurt Overhardt, Zajac’s agent, reiterated the fact that his client was unwilling to waive his no-trade clause. Obviously, assuming the Islanders went after Zajac, this was not the news they wanted to hear.
How the Islanders View Zajac
The one thing that Islanders head coach Barry Trotz has repeatedly said since the beginning of his tenure with the club is that the team comes first. A great example of how seriously he takes this can be found when he benched Mathew Barzal for the third period in their last game before the All-Star break.
With that being said, Zajac has proven time and time again that he is a team player, which is why Lamoriello likes him so much. The Islanders view Zajac as a fit as he knows how to play in a system similar to Trotz’s very well. Throughout most of his 971 games played in the NHL, Zajac played on a team that was dominated by great defense and goaltending.
That’s why when his stats show only 526 points, it’s better than it may seem. His statlines are very similar to the ones Islanders players have had in the past couple of seasons, due to the system in which they play in. Keeping this in mind, the Islanders’ front office probably views Zajac as an addition that will boost production from their bottom-six forwards. Of course, having a seasoned veteran playing every night would certainly be a step-up from Michael Dal Colle.
The Islanders Deserve Better
With the trade deadline less than a month away, the Islanders should really try and re-evaluate who they look to acquire in a trade. Even though there is a strong connection between Lamoriello and Zajac, there are plenty of other options that should be considered before him. Despite the fact that he is in the last season of his contract, there are plenty of better players that the Islanders can go after that have a $5.75 million cap hit; especially since Zajac wouldn’t be providing them with an elite goalscorer.
Although Zajac declined to waive his no-trade clause, this potential trade goes to show that the Islanders may not be looking for an elite goalscorer at the trade deadline. Instead, maybe they’re just looking for some forward depth. Nevertheless, since Lamoriello runs a very tight ship, nobody really knows what he’s trying to do. In fact, he could be looking to add some depth to the bottom-six, and trade for an elite goalscorer at the same time. The point is that we just don’t know, and we probably won’t until something happens (if it ever does). The one thing that we do know, though, is that the Islanders deserve much better than Zajac.
The post Islanders: Would a Trade for Travis Zajac Make Sense? appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jan 27, 2020 03:45 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on the San Jose Sharks, namely Joe Thornton and whether or not he’ll waive his no-trade clause. The Toronto Maple Leafs look to insert a young blueliner while the New York Rangers send a young forward to Sweden. Finally, what are the Ottawa Senators doing with 10 different free agents?
Joe Thornton Will Consider Waiving For Trade
Talks surrounding Joe Thornton continue and Thornton himself has addressed speculation he might move at this year’s trade deadline considering how poorly the San Jose Sharks are playing.
A Sharks veteran, Thornton has stayed loyal to the Sharks organization and he’s consistently said during that time he had no desire to leave San Jose. That said, Thornton told reporters, including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, that it’s something he has yet to consider this season. He said:
I really, I need to think about that. I haven’t thought about it at all. I’m just trying to win games here and see how it goes. I’m still optimistic we can make a run at it, I really am.
Thornton’s comments suggest he’s still committed to the Sharks but isn’t closing the door on waiving his no trade clause. Should he be willing, there should be no shortage of teams interested even with his declined numbers (2-17-19 in 50 games). That he also only has a $2 million contract (and no bonuses), make him one of the more affordable rental players over the next month.
Rasmus Sandin to Play
The Maple Leafs appear to be set to play defenseman Rasmus Sandin even with reports the Leafs will insert Jake Muzzin into the lineup as well.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston noted on Twitter the news of Sandin and calls it noteworthy because playing him will officially burn the first year of his entry-level contract as it’s his his tenth NHL game of the season. After this, the key will be to monitor Sandin up to the 40-game mark. That will accrue a year of service time towards unrestricted free agency.
Lias Andersson Loaned To Sweden
The New York Rangers recently announced they have loaned suspended forward Lias Andersson to HV71 of the SHL. It appears the Rangers haven’t found a solution that would either see Andersson traded or back with the team so allowing him to play overseas for now is the best case for his continued development. At the same time, if he excels, perhaps teams might notice and he’ll garner some interest before the trade deadline.
Senators Free Agents
The Ottawa Senators have ten impending UFA’s on their current roster, and the assumption is many of them may be traded prior to February 24. Bruce Garrioch reports that GM Pierre Dorion plans to sit down with each one before the deadline and discuss the possibility of an extension before publicly shopping them or trading anyone.
For the Senators, the key is maximizing any value in any of their 10 players. That means either keeping them or moving them for an asset. The biggest names to watch will be of Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Vladislav Namestnikov, Ron Hainsey, Mark Borowiecki, and Dylan DeMelo.
The post NHL Rumors: Sharks, Maple Leafs, Rangers, Senators, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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