- Morning Skate
- Posts
- NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 05/01/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
05/01/2019 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Apr 30, 2019 01:13 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown there are updates out of Buffalo where the Sabres have a couple of interesting free agents, Jim Rutherford is slowing down any action in Pittsburgh and there are a few updates on KHL players playing in the NHL.
Pominville’s and Skinner’s Future Uncertain
Buffalo Sabres beat writer for The Buffalo News, Lance Lysowski is reporting a that the Buffalo Sabres haven’t made a decision on whether or not to attempt to re-sign unrestricted free agent forward Jason Pominville.
It sounds like that will be a decision that will include the next head coach of the team.
That said, Lysowski reportsthe Sabres will not wait for a head coach to try and sign Jeff Skinner. The Sabres don’t want Skinner to get close to the open market on July 1st and GM Jason Botterill said at his press conference that they will get him signed.
There are a number of teams potentially rumored as options for Skinner if the Sabres don’t get a deal done. Among them are the Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and San Jose Sharks. Of course, some of these teams would only be interested if they first make major changes with some of their current roster.
Penguins Will Slow Down Changes
Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford may take a little more time this offseason before making any roster changes or sweeping decisions. The GM feels that, right now, everyone is still a bit emotional from a surprising playoff performance.
Rutherford explained:
“I always take my time, but I’ll probably take more time in this because I’ve got to make sure all the emotion is out of this. Not just my emotions, but the people I’m talking to. I would say it’s not any different, the process, recognizing that there’s more chance there’s going to be changes made.”
Rutherford also isn’t expected to make many comments about the team or what he intends to do because whether he says he isn’t going to trade anyone or that he’s open to trading everyone, the narrative around this team is already set and nothing he says will make a difference.
What he is going to do is let the internal audit of the team run its course and see where that leads the organization.
Ilya Mikheyev Confirms Two Teams Interested in His Rights
KHL forward Ilya Mikheyev confirmed Monday that he’s being pursued by two NHL franchises. He was asked at a team facility who those two teams were and Mikheyev responded, “Toronto or Vegas.”
He added, “They are really interesting clubs and offers, but now I don’t want to discuss them.” The 24-year-old posted 23 goals and 45 points in 62 games with Omsk Avangard this season.
Goldobin to Return to Canucks
Despite rumors that Nikolay Goldobin was being pursued by the KHL, Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet spoke with Goldobin’s new agent Sergei Isakov, who explained that the young forward would be returning to the Canucks next season.
Nothing is guaranteed but Goldobin is back in Vancouver and the two sides are working on a deal.
Prokhorkin to Get Contract in LA?
Los Angeles Kings GM Rob Blake recently confirmed the team’s intention to offer Nikolai Prokhorkin a contract, and it seems as though a deal is close. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express tweets that Prokhorkin himself confirmed he is going to sign with the Kings.
Prokorkin put up 20 goals and 41 points in 41 games for SKA St. Petersburg this season and should help the Kings on offense.
The post NHL Rumors: Sabres, Penguins, KHL, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Apr 29, 2019 01:11 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are updates on a few players from the Calgary Flames, the Carolina Hurricanes are banged up and could be without some big names for a while, and there is a bit more clarification on how apart the Jets and Jacob Trouba are.
Flames With Unanswered Questions
Pat Steinberg is reporting that pending unrestricted free agent goaltender Mike Smith would “for sure” like to return to the Calgary Flames next season. He says that he sees Calgary as an organization that wants to win and he wants to be a part of it.
The question is, do the Flames sees Smith as a good option considering he was inconsistent but turned it on in the playoffs?
During a round-table article for the Calgary Sun, the names of Matthew Tkachuk, Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau were brought up. The belief is that Thachuk should be re-signed and that, unless the Flames don’t think they can win with Gaudreau and Monahan as their top players, the core shouldn’t change.
One contributor to the round table did wonder when asked who was better in the playoffs versus the regular season:
From my vantage point, the answer is two — Mike Smith and Sam Bennett. Could you make a case for others? Sure, but it would be a short list. When so few guys raise their individual level, your run won’t last very long. Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan have been the most popular targets for criticism, but a lot of Flames didn’t look like their usual selves and that’s why they’re already on summer vacation.
The consensus though is not to overreact in Calgary even though the team has a lot of unanswered questions.
Of the players who might not be back, TJ Brodie, along with defensemen Rasmus Andersson, Juuso Valimaki and Oliver Kylington could be out. Michael Frolik may also be moved in a trade.
The cost to re-sign Tkachuk? Could be north of $9 million per season.
Hurricanes Banged Up, Returns Uncertain
Game 2 of the Hurricanes versus the New York Islanders series saw a number of Hurricanes’ players go down with an injury. What will the Hurricanes do as a result?
Michael Smith says that Hurricanes coach Rob Brind’Amour speculates that Trevor van Riemsdyk will “definitely not coming back any time soon.” Luke DeCock suggests Saku Maenalanen could be out for 10 to 14 days as he requires surgery on his hand and Petr Mrazek is listed as day-to-day. Speculation is that Alex Nedeljkovic will likely be recalled.
For the Islanders, there is no update on how bad Cal Clutterbuck’s injury is.
Trouba Trade Getting Closer?
Mike McIntyre of The Winnipeg Free Press writes that it’s time for the Jets to trade Jacob Trouba. He believes it’s clear Trouba is not interested in staying long-term but the Jets can’t afford to lose him for anything in free agency.
Trade partners to move Trouba could include Florida, Philadelphia, or Detroit and once Trouba is moved, the Jets can look at retaining pending UFA blueliner Tyler Myers.
McIntyre writes:
Assuming Trouba doesn’t shock us all by signing a lengthy extension in the next couple of months, another one-year deal should not be an option…
Obviously getting back a young blue-liner with contract certainty should be an priority, but the Jets can’t afford to be too picky here.
Andreas Johnsson Already Turned Down Maple Leafs Offer
Darren Dreger was on TSN radio this morning and indicated that the Toronto Maple Leafs had offered Johnsson a two-year deal worth $4.2 million (total) and a four-year deal worth $10.4 million at the trade deadline and he declined.
Could this be a sign of how tricky things might get in Toronto when it comes to signing all the players they need to make decisions on?
The post NHL Rumors: Flames, Maple Leafs, Jets, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Apr 28, 2019 01:36 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown there are more detail on the negotiations between Mitch Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Washington Capitals might look very different next season and the Ottawa Senators have asked for permission to speak with an assistant out of Toronto.
Mitch Marner Could Be Traded
The Sportsnet panel said on Saturday night that if the Toronto Maple Leafs are sincere in their negotiations with Mitch Marner, they’d better come out with a good offer immediately and somewhere in the range of what Auston Matthews is making. If they don’t there could be problems getting that deal done.
Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos said, “If that doesn’t happen, then I think Mitch Marner owes it to himself to take this to July 1.” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said if an extension is not in place by July 1st, there could be trade rumors and “anything’s in the air.”
TSN’s Darren Dreger asked on TSN 1050:
Can you afford to add two, let alone three $11 million players in Matthews, Tavares and in Mitch Marner?” “I don’t see it – but the unthinkable is, what do you do? Do you move Mitch Marner? If you legitimately can’t get to $10 million or more and you’re legitimately afraid of an offer sheet, what do you do?
Dreger then asks, ‘Who do you trade?’ He suggests there’s no way the Maple Leafs trade Auston Matthews and you’re not trading John Tavares. That leaves only Marner or dumping a good portion of the surrounding cast.
The Washington Capitals Are Likely to Lose a Number of Players
Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post writes that the Washington Capitals will have a $1.15 million bonus overage penalty added on to their salary cap for next season. This makes an already sticky situation stickier.
GM Brian MacLellan said they are interested in a long-term deal for Jakub Vrana after he posted a career-high 24 goals this past season. A new deal will probably come in around the $4.5 – $5 million per season mark.
The Capitals would also like to re-sign Chandler Stephenson but between Vrana and Stephenson, this could mean saying goodbye to Andre Burakovsky and his deal which requires a $3.25 million qualifying offer, players like Brooks Orpik and Devante Smith-Pelley, Brett Connolly and Carl Hagelin.
An alternative for the Capitals might be looking at trading defenseman Matt Niskanen to clear up some space.
Senators Interested in D.J. Smith
The Ottawa Senators have asked for permission to speak with Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach D.J. Smith according to Elliotte Friedman. This news comes after it was already revealed the Senators have spoken with Marc Crawford, Jacques Martin, and Troy Mann.
Smith, 41, has worked with the Leafs since 2015 as an assistant. His experience working with younger players is likely why the Senators are interested and it helps that he would have a profound knowledge of the workings of the Maple Leafs, who the Senators play quite often. Smith has the makings of a future NHL head coach and this does seem to be an ideal situation for him to make that jump.
The Senators plan to talk to five or six people before moving on to round two of interviews. Mike Yeo, Nate Leaman, and Dominque Ducharme could also be possibilities.
Listen to Latest Episode of The Hockey Writers Podcast
On this edition of the Hockey Writers Podcast, Brandon fills in for Jim who was unable to host this week. The special guest is Zeke from The Hockey Writers to chat the San Jose Sharks first-round victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.
The post NHL Rumors: Marner, Capitals, Senators, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Apr 27, 2019 01:11 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are updates on the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Edmonton Oilers have narrowed down their GM search, one specific Washington Capital free agent would like to stick around in Washington and there is speculation on James Neal’s future in Calgary.
Quick Hits on the Maple Leafs
Darren Dreger reports that Toronto Maple Leafs pending UFA defenseman Jake Gardiner will be looking for and get at least $6 million per year on his next contract. He says the term and the structure of the deal will be very important. He also reports there is a good chance that defenseman Igor Ozhiganov will be returning to the KHL this offseason.
Chris Johnston reports that pending UFA defenseman Ron Hainsey has no desire to discuss his future plans.
Dave McCarthy reports that Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau said he has no plans to leave the team and if asked to waive his no-trade clause that he cross that bridge at that time. He did not say he would be open to doing so.
One of the things that might have to happen would be San Jose expressing in an interest in getting Marleau back and Toronto retaining some of his salary.
While Kyle Dubas did not verify the security of anyone’s jobs (including his own) he did say that Brendan Shanahan would be evaluating all positions. In terms of head coaching and Mike Babcock, there was some speculation that he may have an out clause in his contract. Pierre LeBrun reports that this is not the case and that Babcock remains committed to the Leafs.
Oilers GM Search Getting Closer
The Edmonton Oilers appear to be making progress in their search for a new general manager. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman appeared on 630 CHED and Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer and reported that Edmonton has narrowed its list of candidates down to three names.
Two obvious candidates in GM Mark Hunter and current Vegas assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon are still on the board. The third candidate is unknown. Some are still speculating Ken Holland’s name is in the mix out of Detroit but most people believe he’s pulled out of the running. Interim GM Keith Gretzky is also still part of the conversation.
It sounds like a decision will come almost immediately after the World Under-18’s conclude on Sunday.
Carl Hagelin Would Like to Stay With Washington
Carl Hagelin played a big role for the Washington Capitals even they they were ousted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of this year’s playoffs. He had 11 points in 20 games and logged over 16 minutes a night.
There could be some interest in him as a free agent but he told reporters, including NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, he’d like to remain with the team for next season.
James Neal Not Going Anywhere
Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun reports that there is “little doubt” James Neal will return with the Calgary Flames next season. He doesn’t believe ownership will approve a contract buyout stretching through 2026-17 nor does he think he can trade a winger carrying a $5.75-million salary through 2022-23.
On James Neal’s reaction to his season:
Now, I have a chance to train in the summer and come back and I have something to prove. The last three years have been good years but, that being said, you don’t have time to take care of your body and train in the summer. So I’ll try to take the positive. I’m healthy, and this is a chance for me to get back to where I know I can be and where I feel like I should be.
The post NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs, Oilers, Capitals, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
Recent Articles:
Latest News