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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 05/01/2020
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
05/01/2020 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Apr 30, 2020 12:10 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on the Carolina Hurricanes potentially walking away from defenseman Sami Vatanen. In Edmonton, the Oilers are quickly preparing for the NHL Draft and in Toronto, could Tyson Barrie possibly boost his value enough in a short playoff run to get another contract with the Maple Leafs?
Hurricanes to Move on From Vatanen
Sara Civian of The Athletic speculates the Carolina Hurricanes and defenseman Sami Vatanen will likely go their separate ways this offseason as she notes, “Due to a setback in that recovery, and then a paused NHL season, Vatanen may never play even one game in a Hurricanes jersey.”
Vatanen came over from the New Jersey Devils in a trade near the deadline and it is possible the Hurricanes try to re-sign him, but Civian believes the team will move on after injuries forced him out of the lineup and he played literally no games for the team before the season went on pause.
Civian writes:
Sure, the Hurricanes could and might try to re-sign him — his current, $2,437,500 cap hit is an excellent value for what he provides, but it would make just as much sense for both parties to move on from what will likely end up being an unfortunately failed experiment.
Civian also notes the team’s acquisition of Brady Skjei could mean Joel Edmundson won’t be back, but blueliner Trevor van Riemsdyk could be.
Oilers Preparing for the NHL Draft
General manager for the Edmonton Oilers, Ken Holland said, “We’ve been forewarned that this draft could happen way sooner than we had ever anticipated.” As such, the Oilers are starting to make plans for the NHL Entry Draft.
The Oilers will start getting their rough draft together but have yet to commence any video interviews with draft prospects and likely won’t interview the top-end prospects, since the Oilers are projected to pick at No. 20.
The way things are shaped right now, the Oilers do not have a pick in the second round (Andreas Athanasiou trade) and the fourth round (Mike Green deal). The team is still waiting to hear what happens with the conditional third-round pick as part of the James Neal trade. Holland says it will be his responsibility to get the team more picks. Jonathan Willis of the Athletic writes:
Regardless, Holland said he’d strongly consider trading down – a tactic he used in Detroit – to secure more draft picks for Wright and his staff.
“The scouts need picks,” Holland said. “I understand that I have a responsibility to do that.”
Barrie Could Boost Value in Toronto
While most insiders expect that Tyson Barrie will not be back with the Toronto Maple Leafs next season, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic wonders if he can boost his value in a small playoff sample size, perhaps even earn another contract?
Siegel writes that Barrie had an impactful playoffs with the Avalanche last season and played a team-leading 24 minutes a night. He doesn’t expect that to happen again if play resumes but he explains:
Make a splash after the season returns and Barrie will boost free agent value that figures to be hurt by the stalled season and a year, personally, that fell below expectations. Maybe there’s even a world (unlikely as it seems) where he comes back to the Leafs.
The post NHL Rumors: Hurricanes, Oilers, Maple Leafs, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Apr 29, 2020 01:55 pm
In today’s NHL rumors, former NHL star Martin St. Louis noted during an interview that he’d like to return to the NHL, but not as a player. The Vancouver Canucks have a few items on their to-do list, and the Pittsburgh Penguins will have to make a decision on goaltenders Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry. Finally, the Edmonton Oilers signed two players in the last 24 hours.
St. Louis Looking to Coach in NHL
Now retired NHL star Martin St-Louis said during an interview on the Max & Bruno program that he’d like to return to the NHL one day as a head coach. Retired since the end of the 2014-15 season, he’s looking to step back into the game in a few years and sees himself in a coaching role.
He said (English translation):
“I can’t wait for this next step. In the past five years, being able to be present for my children in their development is time that I will never be able to take back. If I get into this right away, I’m going to waste time with my kids so I want to be patient, but within three years, I see myself going back to hockey.”
St-Louis has already dipped his toes in having helped with the Columbus Blue Jackets last year in a part-time role. His contract was not extended because he wasn’t ready to commit to the job as a consultant full-time.
Canucks Contracts and Trade Speculation
NBC Sports’ James O’Brien notes that the Vancouver Canucks may be moving some forwards around to improve their blue line and clear cap space. The idea is to use the NHL Draft to pick up some supporting pieces for Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes.
This means making room to re-sign starting goalie Jacob Markstrom, who is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Backup Thatcher Demko is only signed through next season so that extension is on the Canucks’ long-term radar as well.
One question that remains unclear is whether or not the Canucks will spend what is needed to re-sign pending UFA winger Tyler Toffoli. Signing the 28-year-old to a longer-term contract carries some risk. If they choose to, in an effort to make room for Toffoli, Harman Dayal and Thomas Drance of The Athletic believe Chris Tanev, Jordie Benn, and Sven Baertschi are the Canucks most likely to be moved.
While the team would like to move veteran winger Loui Eriksson (and $6 million annual average value through 2021-22) that could be difficult. They write that it could be essential to figure out clearing extra space:
Let’s assume that Markstrom and Toffoli sign for $11 million combined, which seems realistic albeit a bit team-friendly. That leaves $3.3 million available for five additional spots to fill out the roster.
Obviously, in that scenario, the team will need to carve out more space, if only to re-sign their key RFAs (not to mention upgrading the blue line).
Oilers Re-Sign Haas, Sign Lennstrom
The Edmonton Oilers officially re-signed forward Gaetan Haas to a one-year extension for the 2020-21 season. Ryan Rishaug of TSN reports that the contract will carry a salary of $915K. Haas tweeted that he was really happy to be part of the team for another year.
They also announced the signing of Theodor Lennstrom to a one-year, entry-level contract. The 25-year-old defenceman spent the 2019-20 season with @frolunda_hc of the Swedish Hockey League, posting three goals & 12 assists.
Penguins Goaltending News
Seth Rorabaugh of TribLive.com recently examined what might happen with Penguins’ goaltenders Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry. Noting that Murray has the resume to ask for a hefty contract, the Penguins might not want to spend the money it could take to re-sign him , especially with Jarry in the fold.
Murray could seek an extension comparable to Tampa Bay’s Andrej Vasilevskiy ($9.5 million AAV) or Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck ($6.16 million AAV) but the more affordable option is to re-sign fellow RFA Jarry.
He writes:
As a pending restricted free agent, Jarry figured to be a candidate for a pay raise. The 24-year-old is in the final season of a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $675,000, a bargain for a player who was selected as an All-Star this season.
The timing of breaking out as an NHL-er in a contract year could not have been more convenient for Jarry … until, of course, the league shut down because of a worldwide pandemic, potentially losing $1.1 billion as a result.
The post NHL Rumors: Canucks, Oilers, Penguins, a St. Louis Return, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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