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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 11/20/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
11/20/2019 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Nov 19, 2019 12:55 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are some who look closely at the Calgary Flames organization and wonder if it’s time to consider trading one of their best forwards. In Toronto, there is still buzz surrounding Tyson Barrie but some are contending this is not the time to make a move. Finally, are the Edmonton Oilers ready to make a few subtle swaps throughout their lineup to get better results?
Time to Trade Gaudreau?
Darren Haynes was gusty enough to pose the question in a recent article for The Athletic, ‘Is it time for the Flames to consider trading Johnny Gaudreau?’ His answer was definitely a maybe.
While Haynes points out some significant differences, he compares eras of the Flames organization — that of Jarome Iginla and now Gaudreau — where the Flames need to avoid getting nothing significant back for one of their most valuable pieces. Haynes writes:
It feels like something of significance has to happen with this club soon to change the core… shake up an underperforming group and also salvage this season. Perhaps the place to start is the guy who is struggling the most, yet would also command a significant return. Yes, perhaps it’s time for general manager Brad Treliving to explore trade possibilities for Gaudreau — one of his most lucrative assets — and not necessarily for futures either. Think: an old-fashioned hockey trade. Two teams changing their mix.
The scribe goes so far as to suggest the Flames should make a move now versus later in the season which would give the team acquiring him a cap-friendly player for nearly three seasons. With how bad things have gone in Calgary lately, he also suggests the fans wouldn’t riot over trading their best player.
Related: Jack Adams, the Man and the Award
Update on Tyson Barrie
Chris Johnston of Sportsnet doesn’t believe this is the time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to trade Tyson Barrie. While teams might be inquiring about the offensive defenseman who is struggling to get going in Toronto, there are multiple reasons not to move him.
First, a pending free agent who’s value is at an all-time low, the Maple Leafs won’t get what they want in return. So too, with him only taking up $2.75 million in cap space, the Maple Leafs can’t really make much of a dent with that kind of money, at least not enough to turn their troubles around.
For now, the belief is that it’s best to find in-house ways to get Barrie out of his funk.
Oilers Interested in Pageau?
Edmonton Oilers reporter Jim Matheson tweeted on Sunday that the Oilers are still looking for a third-line center. Riley Sheahan is ideal for a fourth-line role (he’s yet to score for the Oilers) and it doesn’t appear the team has plans to split Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins down the middle as they want to keep Draisaitl on McDavid’s line.
For now, the search for No. 3 offensive C is still ongoing for Ken Holland too. And yes, like everybody else in the league, they’re wondering about Ottawa’s speedy UFA J.G. Pageau and what it would take to get him.
Sticking with the Oilers, Jonathan Willis of The Athletic writes that Alex Chiasson might get some additional looks on the power play over James Neal. He writes that with Chiasson:
” James Neal won a top power play gig early in the year when Alex Chiasson was out, but we’ve seen Chiasson get more regular looks lately. There’s a reason for that: over the last 10 games, the Oilers have had five power play goals in his 17 minutes of ice time, and just four in Neal’s 29.”
Neal has still been fantastic for the Oilers, but his goal-scoring pace has dropped and he’s on track to score 23 over the season. Ironically, it’s not that Chiasson is scoring that’s earning him these opportunities. Belief is that his presence alone on the man-advantage has improved the Oilers power play.
The post NHL Rumors: Flames, Maple Leafs, Oilers, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Nov 18, 2019 02:35 pm
It’s been some time since we’ve done a rumor shootdown article but a tidbit coming out of today’s NHL rumor rundown post made it almost impossible to ignore writing something when it comes to the buzz surrounding William Nylander.
In Toronto, panic is starting to set in. The team is mightily struggling and rumors of head coach Mike Babcock being sent packing, defenseman Tyson Barrie being requested in trade and now Nylander possibly being considered in trade to shake things up exist. The last option is a bit baffling.
Where Does the Nylander Rumor Come From?
Rosie DiManno of The Toronto Star believes a lot of people are focusing their blame in the wrong direction. While she admits it’s highly possible Babcock has lost the locker room, she contends GM Kyle Dubas poorly assembled the Maple Leafs and removing the coach doesn’t solve their problems.
Her opinion is that the team might be better-served trading someone like William Nylander — a trade she categorizes as a slam-bang character adjustment needed to reset the season.
DiManno writes:
Something needs to be done to kick-start the Leafs before time does run out. … Who can the Leafs sacrifice, if painfully, to secure a crucial return? The arrow spins around, I’m afraid, to William Nylander or a prospect package that would include Rasmus Sandin and, seriously, you don’t want to be doing that.
DiManno is right in that the Leafs certainly don’t want to trade Rasmus Sandin. They shouldn’t want to trade Nylander either, and I don’t think they will.
Nylander is Actually Producing
When Nylander missed time last season because he and the Maple Leafs couldn’t come to an agreement on a contract extension, he wasn’t exactly the Nylander most had expected upon his return. This season, he’s been more the player the organization anticipated they’d see when he signed for $6.9 million per season-over-six.
Nylander certainly isn’t the type of player that adds a second or third dimension like fighting, grit, penalty-killing skill or, as Brian Burke coined, “truculence” to the team (he’s pretty much all offense) but he’s not the reason the Maple Leafs are struggling either.
Sure, trades that remove players to shake up a team do happen. But, it’s not often a trade is made where the team knowingly removes a useful piece just to spite the other players who need to improve. It’s certainly not often a team trades a contract that isn’t a drastic over-payment to do so.
Dubas Made Him a Promise
Outside of the fact that maybe a Nylander trade gets something the Maple Leafs could sorely use in return, there’s one small catch. GM Kyle Dubas promised Nylander he wouldn’t trade him. It wasn’t added officially to the deal but the promise was made.
As DiManno points out, “handshake deals don’t mean anything in professional sports”, but they actually do. Dubas can trade Nylander; that’s not up for debate here. That said, the consequences of doing so will ring through the organization for a while.
Dubas is going to be responsible for having to completely reshape his blue line over the next couple of seasons and it means a lot to players that they can trust their GM. Dubas trading Nylander throws all of that right out the window.
The Coach and Other Factors Fall First
The real reason I don’t believe Nylander goes first to solve the problems in Toronto is because a $6.9 million forward on pace for 63 points doesn’t often get moved. The coach who can’t seem to find wins for a team that has multiple players contributing and skill throughout the lineup does.
This is not the first season Babcock has been on the hot seat. Add to that, rumors of a lost locker room almost always get coaches canned. It’s a way of life in the NHL and as big a name and large a reputation as Babcock has, he’s not immune to it.
Now, if Nylander asks for a trade, that changes everything. And, who knows, maybe players in Toronto start to want out should the season keep falling apart on them.
The post NHL Rumor ShootDown: William Nylander Trade Needed appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Nov 18, 2019 01:05 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news out of New Jersey as the team waives a big-name goaltender, speculation head coach Mike Babcock has lost his locker room and news surrounding the Edmonton Oilers. Finally, are the Pittsburgh Penguins hanging onto Jack Johnson?
Babcock Lost the Room? Time to Make a Trade?
James Mirtle of The Athletic examines the situation in Toronto and wonders if head coach Mike Babcock has lost his team in the locker room.
Mirtle writes:
Sometimes the message gets stale. Sometimes big personalities can’t co-exist, after years together in the same dressing room. Babcock certainly didn’t have many fans in Detroit’s room by the end.
You can’t rule that out as a factor here, given the way the Leafs look right now.
Obviously, even if this is true, there are other issues in Toronto and a future coaching change is unknown. Rosie DiManno of The Toronto Star believes the Maple Leafs might be better-served trading William Nylander.
Arguing the club hasn’t replaced the emotion Nazem Kadri brought to the lineup, she blames GM Kyle Dubas more than she blames Babcock and that his need for skill removed other important dimensions from the team.
DiManno writes:
Something needs to be done to kick-start the Leafs before time does run out. If not parting company with Babcock, then a trade to shake up the team. And not a peripheral trade either but a slam-bang character adjustment to reset the season. Who can the Leafs sacrifice, if painfully, to secure a crucial return? The arrow spins around, I’m afraid, to William Nylander or a prospect package that would include Rasmus Sandin and, seriously, you don’t want to be doing that.
All arguments or opinions aside, expectations that were that this team would win in the playoffs, now questions including whether or not they’ll make it there.
Related: How to Talk Like a Hockey Player
Devils Waive Schneider
The New Jersey Devils have announced that Cory Schneider will be placed on waivers today with the intention of sending him to the minor leagues. He will likely clear considering the size of his contract and how unproductive he’s been in net for the Devils.
Schneider will try to rebuild his game in the minor leagues while the Devils will go with a combination of Louis Domingue and MacKenzie Blackwood in net. If Domingue plays more than seven games, it will cost the Devils a 2021 seventh-round pick.
Questions in Edmonton: Puljujarvi and Bear Updates?
The Edmonton Sun’s Jim Matheson asks whether or not it’s a good idea for the Edmonton Oilers to make the rumored trade of Jesse Puljujarvi for the New York Rangers’ Lias Andersson. Matheson isn’t sure that trade makes much sense from an Oilers’ perspective.
Matheson says Andersson has been pegged as a bottom-line forward who lacks pace to his game. Meanwhile, Puljujarvi is still considered a player with a ceiling in the top-six on an NHL team.
Sticking with Matheson and the Oilers, writes that when it comes to finding a contract comparable for Ethan Bear, things get tricky. Bear has been outstanding for the Oilers as a rookie on their blue line but will become a restricted free agent this offseason. Matheson states that the closest comparables the Oilers might use are Neal Pionk’s $3 million deal with Winnipeg Jets or Ryan Pulock’s $2 million deal with the New York Islanders.
Others have suggested the Oilers look at locking up Bear long-term in an attempt to get him on a bargain contract.
Jack Johnson Staying With Penguins?
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now writes that with the improved play of Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson, there is speculation that any trade the Penguins had to move him is now off the table.
Kingerski writes:
Success breeds confidence. Confidence breeds more success. Johnson has been the right veteran counter-balance for Riikola and John Marino and has been a valuable asset to the team. Any trade talk around the defenseman is probably null and void.
The post NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs, Devils, Oilers, Penguins, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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