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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 12/25/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
12/25/2019 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Dec 24, 2019 01:00 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the Ottawa Senators will need to make a decision on forward Anthony Duclair, there are questions in Toronto regarding the future of Kasperi Kapanen, and are the Florida Panthers looking to add a backup goaltender? Finally, what are the chances the Edmonton Oilers revisit talks with the Rangers regarding Lias Andersson?
Senators to Keep Anthony Duclair?
While the Ottawa Senators are still very much a rebuilding team and logic might suggest selling high on a player like Anthony Duclair, it appears the Senators want to keep him in the fold.
Duclair has done a complete 180-degree turn on his NHL career and now sits with 21 goals on the season. This comes after being tossed aside by a number of other NHL franchises because his production was almost non-existent. Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that the Senators think he can repeat what he’s doing this season. He explained:
I supposed there could be the threat of trade–again the Ottawa Senators are still very much in a rebuild format, so they could dangle Anthony Duclair out there. But again, given the offensive production of Anthony Duclair this year it makes sense that the Ottawa Senators will do everything they can up to January 1st, maybe soon after January 1st, to get a contract done.
Dreger suggests that a three-year contract extension could work for both sides given that Duclair is two years away from unrestricted free agency. Dreger believes Duclair would jump at a contract offer like that since he hasn’t had much in the way of job security over the last few seasons and it only buys out one year of his free agent eligibility should he continue to play well.
Kapanen’s Future Unclear in With Maple Leafs?
A struggling blue line in Toronto has led many to speculate on the future of a forward like Kasperi Kapanen, who recently signed a three-year, $9.6 million deal with the Maple Leafs. Pierre LeBrun spoke on TSN radio about Kapanen’s future and said, “I still talk to some teams that value him and like him. If he were to be made available I don’t think the Leafs would have a hard time gaining value in a trade involving him.”
But, how likely is a trade? LeBrun seemed to believe it was quite likely.
“In fact, it wouldn’t shock me if they did deal him,” LeBrun noted. But, LeBrun thinks a deal wouldn’t come until the offseason.
LeBrun notes that even though management would like to keep him, the value of his contract makes him one of the easier pieces to move and get value back in return. In other words, Kapanen’s contract has all the right components that make a trade almost inevitable. “… because of the pressure of the cap and the pressure of having to figure out the defense moving forward next year, I think he’ll be one of the expendable parts.”
Craig Anderson to the Florida Panthers?
Ken Warren of The Ottawa Sun speculates the Florida Panthers could become a trade destination for Senators goaltender Craig Anderson. Considering the Senators are a rebuilding organization likely to be sellers at the trade deadline, Anderson has history with the team, and Anderson’s home is just minutes away from the Panthers’ arena, the pieces seem to fit.
The question is, do the Panthers need another backup? Warren writes there is a hurdle that would need to be jumped. He explains:
At this point, the Panthers are only $900,000 under the NHL’s salary cap. Anderson has a salary cap hit of $4.5 million this season, with a 2019-20 salary of $4 million.
Oilers Won’t Give Up Draft Pick For Andersson
Allan Mitchell of The Athletic acknowledges that there was some talk regarding Lias Andersson to the Edmonton Oilers but says don’t expect the Oilers to revisit those talks now that Andersson has asked for a trade.
Mitchell writes:
On the one hand, Andersson is not a fast centre, and the Oilers are looking to increase speed and pace. It’s also possible the Rangers’ price will be a draft pick, and Edmonton likely wants to keep the rest of its 2020 draft stock.
The post NHL Rumors: Senators, Maple Leafs, Panthers, Oilers, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Dec 23, 2019 12:55 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news that new Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe is sending a message to his players, the New York Islanders might be a team interested in a free agent Taylor Hall and will the New York Rangers have any luck moving Lias Andersson once the roster freeze ends?
Keefe Sending Early Message to Leafs Roster
On Saturday night, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe effectively sent as clear a message as he could to William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen and any other member of the roster not ready to give 110% of their effort at all times.
After a lazy back-check, Keefe limited Nylander to just three shifts in the second period and none in the final 13 minutes. This came after Nylander exploded the night before offensively. Clearly, it wasn’t about continued poor play.
Nylander ended up playing only 16 total shifts through the full 60 minutes of the game, which got a lot of attention by media after the game. The message seemed to be, play hard or your ice time will virtually disappear. That said, Keefe is known to load up on the guys who are working hard and performing well. If Nylander or anyone else shows they have it going, they could make up those minutes in a hurry.
Some are thinking there’s a possible issue here between Keefe and Nylander but there likely isn’t. Keefe is simply setting the boundaries early about what he’ll accept and what he won’t. And, he’s not afraid to set those boundaries with his top players.
Islanders to Get In on Taylor Hall Sweepstakes
Should Taylor Hall make it to free agency, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe writes that no one should be surprised if the New York Islanders are the biggest bidders on the star forward.
Dupont writes:
Meanwhile, it’s possible Hall falls in love with the desert and signs an eight-year uber free agent deal there on or before July 1. More likely he hits the open market, where one of the more aggressive suitors should be the Islanders.
The Islanders have lots of in-house work to do, including getting Mathew Barzal signed, but general manager Lou Lamoriello will still have plenty of cap space to bring in Hall and a number of insiders are predicting the Islanders to be the team that outbids everyone.
Speaking of Hall, he scored his first goal as a member of the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday versus the Detroit Red Wings.
Rangers Will Have Trouble Moving Andersson
According to Rick Carpiniello of The Athletic, the New York Rangers could have a tough go of it trying to move Lias Andersson in trade. This comes after Andersson asked to be moved, didn’t report to the AHL team and was suspended by the team.
Carpiniello writes:
“The NHL has really put people like Lias Andersson in a tough situation because this kid’s going to be 21 and he’s already — in his mind — gone through an organization and is ready to move on,” a source said.
Ironically, this type of attitude seemed prevalent in Jesse Puljuarvi out of Edmonton. There were rumors the Rangers tried to move Andersson to the Oilers but this was prior to Andersson making his trade request public and the Oilers didn’t bite. Elliotte Friedman wondered during the Saturday Sportsnet broadcast if the two teams might revisit those talks.
The post NHL Rumors: Islanders, Maple Leafs, Rangers, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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