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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 07/22/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
07/22/2019 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Jul 22, 2019 07:56 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on the Philadelphia Flyers and how close they are to singing Travis Konecny, the Florida Panthers who may run with a couple of inexperienced backup goaltenders, plus updates on the Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche.
Flyers to Sign Konecny Right Away?
The Courier Post’s David Isaac writes he believes that Philadelphia Flyers and forward Travis Konecny are likely to work out a deal within the next few weeks. With other comparable contracts done around the NHL, the Flyers have a better idea of what he’s worth.
Isaac writes that the Timo Meier and Jakub Vrana deals set a market for Konecny and he will probably fall somewhere between the two.
Isaac writes:
They’re closer with Konecny than they are with Provorov. As Fletcher has said a few times this offseason, RFAs are playing a waiting game more this summer than ever before. Teams and players are both waiting to see what other comparables look like
Panthers Won’t Sign a Backup Netminder
There have been a lot of changes in Florida where the Panthers have a new head coach in Joel Quenneville and starting goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky. That said, one place the team won’t be making a change is at the backup netminder position.
The Athletic’s George Richards writes that Florida believes 22-year-old Sam Montembeault is a legit backup and he’d have to show poorly to lose the spot. One other prospect who will be trying to grab that spot should Montembeault not show well is Chris Driedger. He would get the nod before Florida brought in outside help.
Richards writes:
… I do not see Florida going out to find a bargain-bin backup unless things really look dire. They feel pretty good about the position, especially with Bob in and getting the majority of the playing time.
Blue Jackets and Jonathan Quick?
NHL Tonight video with David Pagnotta revisits talk that the Columbus Blue Jackets might have some interest in Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick. Pagnotta notes that if the team has any doubt that Joonas Korpisalo is their guy they may make a move during training camp.
Calgary Flames Arena Deal Coming?
John Gibson of CBC News writes that while the deal isn’t done, a proposal is ready and on Monday, there might be some news as it pertains to a new arena deal in Calgary.
Lightning to Move Dominque?
Mari Faiello of the Tampa Bay Times writes that with the contract uncertainty and an option to pick up someone like Curtis McElhinney at a reasonable rate too good to pass up on, current Lightning backup Louis Domingue might be up for auction to teams that realize their goaltending is suspect during training camp.
Faiello writes:
McElhinney will serve as a back-up role to Tampa Bay’s veteran goaltender in Andrei Vasilevskiy this season. Tampa Bay opted to sign McElhinney in part because of Louis Domingue’s upcoming unrestricted free agency in 2020-21. Domingue likely will look to play a larger role on another team.
Rantanen Waiting to Get Paid
Mike Chambers of the Denver Post writes that Mikko Rantanen figures to make between $8 million and $10 million annually and expects to become the highest-paid member of the Colorado Avalanche.
Chambers writes:
Rantanen wants to remain an Av, and the franchise is willing to pay him more than 2018 Hart Trophy finalist and linemate Nathan MacKinnon — Colorado’s top-paid player with a $6.3 million annual cap hit.
The RFA market is moving so slowly that players like Rantanen are just going to have to be patient if they want to make their money. Teams aren’t jumping on unrestricted free agents or offer sheets because they have their own RFA concerns. It’s hard to know which of Mitch Marner, Brayden Point or Rantanen will have a deal first.
The post NHL Rumors: Flyers, Panthers, Lightning, Avs, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jul 20, 2019 12:20 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news that former Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis would like to return to the NHL, the Calgary Flames may have been looking elsewhere before going with Milan Lucic and the New York Rangers now have no choice but to start shedding salary after signing Jacob Trouba. Finally, will Andrei Markov make it back to the NHL? He certainly wants to come back.
Mike Gillis Looking for Work?
Former Canucks general manager Mike Gillis told Sportsnet’s Luke Fox that he’d like to return to the NHL and be involved a big-picture type of role. Whether that be in general organizational development or analytics and much more, it remains to be seen if there’s a job out there for him.
During that interview, Gillis shot down any rumors he was in line to replace Trevor Linden when Linden left the Canucks. He said he was never approached about taking that job.
Flames Looked At Reaves Before Lucic
The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers made a trade yesterday when the Oilers sent Milan Lucic to Calgary for James Neal. There’s been a ton of talk about the swap but Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reports that Calgary had been looking for toughness long before acquiring Lucic.
The Flames thought they had a deal in place with winger Ryan Reaves last summer before he re-signed with Vegas. It’s unclear if the Flames and Golden Knights struck up a conversation about Reaves before finalizing the trade with the Oilers but there is some assumption they did and that because Vegas needed to move salary, there was no way James Neal was going to be part of the package going the other way.
Francis believes it’s unlikely now that Calgary revisits the idea of adding Reaves with Lucic in the fold.
That said, on the trade that did happen, Nick Kypreos was on with Tim & Sid and said both Lucic and Neal are ecstatic to be getting fresh starts. Neal has been training with Connor McDavid this summer and feels like he hit the jackpot getting an opportunity to play alongside him and Lucic feels he’s got a lot to prove and doesn’t believe he’s even close to done contributing in the NHL.
Rangers Signing Trouba Means Money Must Go Out
Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post reports the New York Rangers now need to move salary out after re-signing Jacob Trouba yesterday to a seven-year, $56-million contract. They are over the $81.5-million salary cap for 2019-20.
The dilemma is trying to get under the cap ceiling but leaving room to sign restricted free agents like Pavel Buchnevich, Brendan Lemieux, and Anthony DeAngelo. The immediate options to alleviate the financial stress appears to be trading winger Chris Kreider, shopping center Vladislav Namestnikov or buying out defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and waiving Brendan Smith. If Smith clears waivers and is sent to the minors, the Rangers would save $1.25 million.
The Latest on Andrei Markov
TVA Sports is reporting that former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov still searching for a new contract and would like to return to the NHL. After two seasons with KHL’s Kazan Ak-Bars, his $2.5 million US asking price has apparently priced him out of the KHL.
Markov has reached out to NHL teams, among them, the Canadiens, but has not gotten a response. The only likely way he gets a job in the NHL at this point is if he comes in on a professional tryout and wins a spot on an NHL roster.
The post NHL Rumors: Gillis, Flames, Rangers, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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