NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 12/11/2019

December 11, 2019

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

 12/11/2019 edition:

By Jim Parsons on Dec 10, 2019 01:05 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are all sorts of questions surrounding the news that the Dallas Stars have released head coach Jim Montgomery, the Seattle franchise appears to have a name and a logo, the Philadelphia Flyers might have a player the Montreal Canadiens are interested in and the New York Rangers need to make a decision on their goaltending.

What Happened With Montgomery?

The question on a lot of minds in Dallas and around the NHL is what happened with Jim Montgomery? No warning, no suspension, just immediate termination and comments from GM Jim Nill that, “This decision was made due to unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League.”

It appears the Stars are not going to say what Montgomery did but one has to expect the news will leak eventually. All that is known at this point is that the NHL was made aware of whatever the situation was before Commissioner Gary Bettman took to talking about the NHL’s Code of Conduct Policy and that Montgomery’s situation was unrelated.

Darren Dreger added that a source told him the situation was bad enough that the Stars felt they had no choice but to immediately fire the coach. The Stars received a phone call about an incident that took place a few days earlier but Nill couldn’t divulge who that call was from. This does not have anything to do with players past or present but Nill said this reflects poorly upon himself as he called hiring Montgomery his call but that as the leadership of this team, we had to do the right thing.

Seattle to Unveil Name of Team and Logo

It appears the new Seattle NHL franchise/team has reportedly settled on a name and logo and have officially had both approved by the NHL. Expect to hear an announcement in February or March concerning the teams branding.

On Monday, the team presented to the NHL board and the branding was approved. It’s now just a matter of presenting to the public.

Montreal Interested in Shayne Gostisbehere?

Sportsnet has written a piece on some possible blue line options for the Montreal Canadiens and among the names mentioned are Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and Anaheim Ducks rearguard Cam Fowler. The talk on Gostisbehere has picked up some steam of late.

Gostisbehere’s stocked has dropped around the NHL over the past couple of seasons and of late, he’s been a healthy scratch from the Flyers lineup. Many are predicting a change of scenery is in order.

According to the article, other options include Calgary’s T.J. Brodie or Oliver Kylington, Pittsburgh’s Juuso Riikola, and Chicago’s Erik Gustafsson.

Rangers Plans For Alexandar Georgiev

Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post reports New York Rangers GM Jeff Gorton is not completley sure what to do about his goaltending situation in New York. Current backup Alexandar Georgiev has played very well, but is there a future with the Rangers?

With veteran Henrik Lundqvist still the starter and with Georgiev becoming waiver-eligible once he plays his 60th NHL game, there’s a lot of talk about a possible trade. Cyrgalis writes:

“There’s a lot written about who’s going to be here, and waivers and all that stuff, said Gorton. “We’re just worried about the team playing well, and let events play themselves out.” He insists Georgiev remains “a big part of our team.”

One team that might be involved with the Georgiev talks is the Toronto Maple Leafs. They badly need a backup and if the Rangers can get a good haul for their netminder, might move him if the return is right.

By Jim Parsons on Dec 09, 2019 11:47 am

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is buzz the Toronto Maple Leafs might have an interest in a St. Louis Blues defenseman, a couple of newsworthy items coming out of Montreal and more updates on the Taylor Hall situation and how close one team might be to landing him in trade.

Maple Leafs to Pursue Pietrangelo?

James Mirtle of The Athletic recently wondered if the Toronto Maple Leafs should go after St. Louis Blues captain and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to fix their blueline issues this season or over the summer? This is, of course, going under the assumption they will be pursuing Pietrangelo.

Mirtle points out that with limited salary-cap space for next season, the Blues could find it difficult to re-sign him. He writes:

… negotiations with the Blues have basically been nonexistent. They didn’t go anywhere in the offseason and they haven’t continued during the year. And Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston has reported that GM Doug Armstrong and his staff have been sniffing around Leafs games of late.

source – ‘Mirtle: Should the Maple Leafs pursue Alex Pietrangelo to fix their blue line, now or in the summer?’ – James Mirtle – The Athletic – 12/06/2019

Despite the Maple Leafs interest in the elite defenseman, it’s hard to imagine the Blues would be willing to move him this season as they try and compete to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. And, if the team goes after Pietrangelo in the summer, they’ll need to move out salary and Mirtle wonders if they would subtract all of Jake Muzzin, Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci to open up more than $11-million in cap space. Speculation is that Pietrangelo will want $8.5 million per season on a long-term deal at the minimum.

Hartley Definitely Not Coming to Canadiens

Despite rumors that Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin might have traveled to Russia to speak with Bob Hartley about possibly coaching the Habs, those rumors were shot down. They are especially not true now that a report is out there that Hartley is sticking in the KHL.

Eronko also reports that the former NHL head coach is closing in on signing a two-year extension with Omsk Avangard in the KHL. Hartley has his team currently in second place in the Eastern division with 18 wins and 50 points in 37 games. He’s been with the team since May of 2018.

In other Canadiens news, Michel Bergeron of TVA SPORTS recently revisited the idea of moving Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price and defenseman Shea Weber. While most people don’t believe Montreal will or could move Price at his salary, Bergeron believes Price may be inclined to move if the right destination becomes and option and would waive his no-move clause to do so.

Bergeron suggests either the Colorado Avalanche, who are considered by many strong candidates to make a Stanley Cup run or the Vancouver Canucks, a team close to the small North BC town where he was raised.

At the very best, this is unlikely considering the difficulty Montreal would have in moving Price and the fact the Avalanche seem content with their current goalie tandem of Philipp Graubauer and Pavel Francouz.

Latest Hall Trade News

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports some teams believe it might take as many as four pieces to acquire Taylor Hall from the New Jersey Devils. So far, any conversations have been fairly one-sided as the Devils are just telling teams to put their best packages together and they’ll review them.

Johnston notes that the teams sniffing around are all getting the sense the Colorado Avalanche are the favorites to land Hall and that they may push to do so as early as the Dec. 19 Christmas break. It could cost the Avs one of Conor Timmins, Bo Byram or Alex Newhook to get a deal done.

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