- Morning Skate
- Posts
- NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 10/30/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
10/30/2019 edition:
By Kyle Gipe on Oct 30, 2019 10:45 am
In today’s NHL Rumors rundown, how has Brent Seabrook handled being a healthy scratch the past two games? Plus, can the Calgary Flames extend defenseman Travis Hamonic during the season, and what’s the status of head coach Pete DeBoer after the San Jose Sharks’ slow start? Finally, what does the return of John Tavares and Zach Hyman mean for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Seabrook Upset with Being Scratched
In Tuesday night’s game against the Nashville Predators, the Chicago Blackhawks scratched veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook for the second straight game. They lost 3-0 and allowed 51 shots on goal. The 34-year-old has struggled the past few seasons and only has one point in nine games in 2019-20 while averaging a career-low 17:39 of ice time. Him being scratched comes after he’s received criticism in recent years, much of which surrounds his contract that has four years left on it after 2019-20 with a $6.875-million cap hit and a full no-move clause through 2021-22.
After learning he was being scratched in last night’s game, Seabrook voiced his frustration in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope:
I’m 34. You guys seem to want to write articles about my age and my speed. I feel like I’ve still got a lot to offer in this league and still be a good player for somebody.
As Pope points out, Seabrook’s inclusion of the words “for somebody” speaks volumes. Even through the criticism of his play, he had never hinted at waiving his no-move clause, yet “for somebody” makes it appear as though he would consider waiving said clause. However, even if he were to agree to a trade it doesn’t mean the Blackhawks would be able to move him. His cap hit, when combined with the contract’s remaining term and his age, make a trade unlikely, but not impossible. The Blackhawks would have to retain the maximum 50 percent of his cap hit, but even that may not be enough and they could have to add in a draft pick.
Look for the Blackhawks to do everything possible to trade him, though, because his contract is going to make life difficult for the team with the need to re-sign restricted free agents and the expansion draft looming in the coming years. Perhaps the team plays him more to prop up his value and show he can still play, but with the team trying to be competitive this season, playing Seabrook may not be in the team’s best interest for 2019-20.
Hamonic Not Willing to Negotiate Mid-Season?
On this week’s Insider Trading, TSN’s Darren Dreger spoke about the Flames and their pending free agent defensemen, T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic. Dreger reports that the Flames had discussions with Hamonic and his representatives over the offseason, but nothing came from them. Now, Hamonic has decided to not negotiate during the season.
If that is the case, general manager Brad Treliving could have a difficult path ahead. The Flames only have 11 players currently on their NHL roster who are signed through next season with only $22 million in cap space for 2020-21. Treliving may be forced to turn his attention to Brodie before circling back to Hamonic in the offseason. Another option, although unlikely considering the Flames are a Stanley Cup contender, is potentially trading Brodie or Hamonic in order to not lose either in free agency.
Are the Sharks Considering a Coaching Change?
It’s safe to say that the Sharks have not gotten off to the start they had hoped for in 2019-20. With a 4-8-1 record, they’re currently in seventh place in the Pacific Division and eight points out of first place. That naturally leads to speculation surrounding the job security of head coach Pete DeBoer. However, Pierre LeBrun doesn’t think there’s any reason to believe DeBoer is on the hot seat.
Not right now. In fact, if you look at (GM) Doug Wilson’s history, he doesn’t make coaching changes in the middle of the season. I know everyone is wondering about Pete DeBoer’s future.
LeBrun goes on to talk about Ron Wilson and Todd McClellan, DeBoer’s predecessors, and how both were let go over the offseason. Instead, LeBrun thinks that the Sharks’ problems are rooted in their top players under-performing. Specifically, he points out Logan Couture, Erik Karlsson, Martin Jones, and Timo Meier. Couture, Karlsson, and Meier have just four goals between them and the Sharks currently rank 23rd in goals scored.
Meanwhile, Jones, their starting netminder, is sporting an .890 save percentage (SV%), while his backup, Aaron Dell, isn’t much better, at .891. When combined, the Sharks are tied for the league’s sixth-worst save percentage, which is slightly better than last season when they were dead-last. It’s going to be a difficult problem to face, however, as the have just over $300,000 in cap space and a lot of long-term contracts given to aging veterans. Any substantial trade will require money being moved out.
Maple Leafs Getting Reinforcements
The last rumor involves the Maple Leafs and the return of forwards John Tavares and Zach Hyman. Tavares has been out several weeks with a broken finger and could be back in the lineup as early as this weekend. Meanwhile, Hyman has been recovering from an ACL injury and could still be a couple of weeks away. And while their returns will certainly boost a struggling Maple Leafs team that has started the season 6-5-3, moves will have to be made to create space for them.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that Tavares is due to return to the lineup sooner and that Hyman’s return is the one that will force the front office to make moves. He suggests that the team will have to send three players to the minors to get them under the salary cap. Currently, the Maple Leafs have $217,000 in cap space and that includes Hyman’s $2.25 million on long-term injured reserve. And when he returns from injured reserve his contract will count against the salary cap, meaning they will need to create roughly $2 million in space. This means multiple players will have to be moved, with forwards being the most likely option since they only have seven defensemen on the NHL roster. Nic Petan, Jason Spezza, and Nick Shore seem to be the most obvious candidates.
The post NHL Rumors: Blackhawks, Flames, Sharks, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Oct 29, 2019 12:55 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on Roman Josi’s new deal, what it means for the Nashville Predators and what it might say to other free agent NHL defensemen. Out of Ottawa, there is speculation surrounding Bobby Ryan, and one reporter close to the Edmonton Oilers wonders if they should “go nuclear” to fix their depth scoring issues.
Josi Long-Term Extension Creates Questions
The announcement or Roman Josi’s eight-year deal in Nashville has already led to questions. What will this mean for the Predators down the road? They gave him a full no-movement clause and he’ll be 30 by the time the new contract starts. Will he be able to play to a $9-plus million level in his mid-thirties?
Also, what does that mean for the top defensemen looking at free agency in 2020? Names like Alex Pietrangelo, Tyson Barrie, Torey Krug and others are all in line for big raises but now they know what to shoot for. Josi’s deal, in particular, may pose an issue for the St. Louis Blues who are already going down a bit of a bumpy road in terms of trying to extend their captain.
Bobby Ryan Trade Coming?
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun is speculating the Ottawa Senators might be considering a trade that would move Bobby Ryan out of the organization. He was a healthy scratch on Sunday and he’s a highly-paid player who hasn’t produced.
Garrioch writes:
While the immediate thinking is the club should trade Ryan, it would be difficult to find a team willing to take the final two years of his contract with a $7.25 million cap hit.
There isn’t much of a market – if any – for Ryan which means at this juncture the options are limited.
Meanwhile, Hailey Salvian of The Athletic agrees and adds it would take packaging Ryan with a first-round pick to move him. Salvian explains that this isn’t something the Senators are likely to do:
All the Senators can really do is continue to scratch him and hope he finds his way back to being productive through hard work in practice, which Smith wants to see from all his players. That isn’t ideal for Ryan, and I’m sure it’s a hard pill to swallow. It cannot be easy to be thrust out of the lineup as a 12-year NHL veteran.
Landeskog Out of Colorado Lineup
The Colorado Avalanche continue to get bad news. They are without forward Mikko Rantanen and now it looks like they’ll be without captain Gabriel Landeskog.
A subtle announcement on Twitter from the organization noted Landeskog is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
Blue Jackets Were Shopping Ryan Murray
TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports prior to Ryan Murray going down to injury with a broken hand, the Columbus Blue Jackets were shopping him around the NHL. The team will have to wait now thanks to his injury but it will be interesting to see if that attempt to move him continues once he’s cleared to return.
Oilers to Go Nuclear?
David Staples of the Edmonton Journal asks the question, ‘Should the Oilers go nuclear to fix their depth scoring issues?’ In other words, is the only way to fix the bottom-six, by making a dent in the top-part of the forward group?
He writes:
What would I do? I’m inclined to go nuclear, save for one thing, the Puljujarvi trade.
Edmonton’s going to be prone to stinker games until it more fully addresses the talent deficit on the bottom two lines and bottom-pairing defence.
Staples suggests calling up both Kailer Yamamoto and Cooper Marody and putting one on the second line with James Neal and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the other on the third line. He suggests calling up Caleb Jones on the blue line and insert both he and Joe Persson into the lineup sitting Brandon Manning and Matthew Benning.
Based upon those suggested changes, it could be argued this is not really all that “nuclear” a change.
Elsewhere, the Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson suggests that Oilers GM Ken Holland and already checking in on Vancouver Canucks forward Sven Baertschi. Matheson calls him a proven scorer that would help the Oilers third line. Salary is an issue.
The post NHL Rumors: Josi, Ryan, Oilers, Avs, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Oct 28, 2019 02:32 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the St. Louis Blues got hit with devastating news that Vladimir Tarasenko is out for what might be the remainder of the season. Will the team make a move to replace his offense? Did the Ottawa Senators call up a player because they intend to move on from another? What will the Toronto Maple Leafs do to make room for Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott and are the New Jersey Devils looking for a better goaltender?
Blues to Find Replacement for Tarasenko?
According to a report from the St. Louis Blues official website it now appears as though forward Vladimir Tarasenko will miss the remainder of the season (at least five months). Will the Blues now try and acquire someone once they put Tarasenko on long-term injury reserve?
Given that Tarasenko won’t be with the team over the course of the regular season and given that the Blues will place his $7.5 million cap hit on LTIR, it will open up some financial flexibility and if the Blues can stay competitive, likely opens up the option to acquire someone else.
On the flip side, there is a chance the Blues could struggle and if they do, they might become sellers. This could include moving Alex Pietrangelo.
Related: Revisiting the Brayden Schenn Trade
Senators Numbering Boedker’s Days With the Team?
The Ottawa Senators have called up 22-year-old Filip Chlapik from the American Hockey League and Senators beat reporter Bruce Garrioch believes this indicates the writing is on the wall for Mikkel Boedker.
In his Monday Ottawa Sun report, Garrioch states that if Senators rookie head coach DJ Smith chooses to bench Boedker, it won’t really comes as a surprise or get kickback by the fan base. He writes:
Since Smith doesn’t want to play Boedker, the club may find another forward that can put a pressure on the veterans and allow the staff to sit guys more often if it becomes a necessity.
“Part of my job is to hold people accountable, to hold my staff accountable and they’ll hold me accountable. You have to put in your work before anything,” said Smith Sunday.
Maple Leafs to Clear Roster Space
Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star reports it will only be a matter of time before the Maple Leafs start making room for the return of sidelined winger Zach Hyman and defenseman Travis Dermott.
Zwolinski writes:
General manager Kyle Dubas and his staff have been finding creative ways to open up cap space since last spring’s first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Boston Bruins, but will need more to make it add up in the near future.
Saying something has to give on the current roster, the scribe suggests trading winger Nic Petan or assigning Petan and defenseman Kevin Gravel to the Marlies as options. Or, players like Jason Spezza, Dmytro Timashov, and Nick Shore could be moved out.
Will New Jersey Go After Raanta?
Larry Brooks of the New York Post believes the New Jersey Devils will be trying to find an upgrade over Cory Schneider and MacKenzie Blackwood in goal. He wonders if the Devils will look at Antti Raanta out of Arizona?
Raanta has a year remaining on his contract at $4.25 million per season and, while recovered from his injury, seems to be playing the backup role for the Coyotes.
Brooks writes:
Clearly, the front office has selected Kuemper as their goaltender of the (near) future. The question is whether the club is committed to presenting this formidable one-two in nets in an attempt to nail down the franchise’s first playoff spot since 2012, or whether GM John Chayka could be enticed to surrender Raanta.
The post NHL Rumors: Blues, Senators, Devils, Maple Leafs, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
Recent Articles:
Latest News