NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 07/08/2020

July 08, 2020

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

 07/08/2020 edition:

By Jim Parsons on Jul 07, 2020 12:52 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on the type of contract the Edmonton Oilers might offer Ethan Bear, news on Jake DeBrusk not taking a hometown discount to stay with the Boston Bruins, the Chicago Blackhawks are expected to sign a top defensive prospect, and other top prospects have a small window to sign with their NHL clubs.

Plus, the NHL has adjusted the recapture penalties clause under the new CBA which gives some serious relief to teams like Nashville and Minnesota.

Oilers to Offer Ethan Bear One-Year Deal?

According to Bob Stauffer, the Edmonton Oilers might offer a short-term deal to defenseman Ethan Bear. The number would likely fall between $1 and $2 million for the season. He writes:

Have had queries on Ethan Bear’s contract status. Bear has taken a massive step forward but does not have arbitration rights. Anthony DeAngelo (NYR) was in a similar situation last summer. Could see Bear get a 1-year deal and then sign long-term. Excellent 5th round pick!

Bruins Could Lose DeBrusk

The Bruins have about $18 million to re-sign free agents Jake DeBrusk, Matt Grzelcyk, Anders Bjork, Torey Krug, and Zdeno Chara. Finding room for both Krug and DeBrusk could be difficult, especially if DeBrusk sees himself as a $6 million forward.

DeBrusk’s agent, Rick Valette, was on Stauffer’s Oilers Now radio show out of Edmonton, and it doesn’t sound like DeBrusk is ready to take a hometown discount, despite news of a flat salary cap. “I don’t really consider that at this point. Will it play into it? Maybe,” said Valette.

DeBrusk and his agent don’t view the internal structure built by Boston as something that affects DeBrusk’s negotiations. Just because Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand all make under $7 million per season, doesn’t mean DeBrusk will lower his ask. “Boston certainly has some internal things that they like to look at, but I’m going to try to not look at that. I guess that’s the way I would say it to you.”

The only thing that might keep DeBrusk on a lower annual average salary is a playoff struggle. If he plays well, he could easily ask for more than $5 million per season.

Blackhawks to Sign Kalynuk

The Chicago Blackhawks are likely going to be adding another interesting defensive prospect in Wyatt Kalynuk who Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reports they will sign to an entry-level contract.

Kalynuk became an unrestricted free agent last month after failing to reach an agreement with the Philadelphia Flyers. Lazerus writes:

Kalynuk decided to forgo his senior season at Wisconsin, and the Flyers failed to sign him during their window of exclusivity, making him a free agent.

“At this point, Wyatt thinks right now it’s better for him to turn pro, and I support that,” Wisconsin coach Tony Granato told the Wisconsin State Journal. “

source – ‘Blackhawks add slick-skating Wisconsin defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk to the mix’ Mark Lazerus – The Athletic – 07/06/2020

Short Window for Unsigned Prospects

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, top prospects like Alexander Romanov (Montreal Canadiens), Kiril Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild) and Ilya Sorokin (New York Islanders) can sign in the NHL once the CBA is ratified but they cannot join their news teams until the 2020-21 season. This gives their respective teams a short window to sign and burn a year off their entry-level deals.

Getting to burn the 2019-20 season off their deals is a huge plus for these prospects but they won’t get to play. It will be interesting to see if a player like Kaprizov chooses to sign or head back to the KHL.

New Recapture Penalties Rule

Under the old CBA, teams were dinged substantial penalties if a player with a front-loaded contract retired before its expiration. Under the new CBA, that penalty cannot eclipse the original contract’s cap hit in a single year. Roberto Luongo’s contract is an example for the Vancouver Canucks, who has been costing the Canucks an extra $3 million per season since he retired.

Basically, the best example of where this could come into play is with Shea Weber’s contract. The Nashville Predators, could have potentially faced a $24.6MM cap charge if Weber had retired just before the 2025-26 season. Under the new rules, the most the Predators could be hit with is the $7.86 million cap hit he carries. It would be spread out over several years as the entire penalty must still be paid eventually.

The Minnesota Wild were another team where this would caused major issues as both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise had hefty deals as well. $88MM of the initial $98MM guarantee by the end of next season.

By Jim Parsons on Jul 06, 2020 12:40 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on the Calgary Flames and whether or not Juuso Valimaki will join the team. In Chicago, there is potential pressure to change the team name and a shadow named Brent Seabrook ‘s status lingering over the roster. Would the Blackhawks even entertain the idea of a name change and can they move the defenseman’s contract? Finally, the Emdonton Oilers are feeling the cap squeeze. What gives first?

Flames to Sit Valimaki?

According to Eric Francis of Sportsnet, even if the Calgary Flames’ Juuso Valimaki gets clearance to play after injuring his knee, the Calgary Flames might elect to have him sit out the play-in round versus the Winnipeg Jets, 

Francis notes that the issue isn’t necessarily health related but more that it forces the Flames to make unnecessary decisions around the Seattle expansion draft. If Valimaki plays, he’s likely to have seen enough NHL action that the Flames have to use one of their three defensemen protections on him. If they protect him, along with blueliners Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson, the organization can’t protect captain Mark Giordano.

There’s a chance the Flames make a bet that Seattle wouldn’t want to select Giordano when he’s 37 years old but if Seattle wants to win as soon as possible, Giordano is potentially the best d-man they could grab.

Blackhawks Feeling Pressure to Change Team Name?

With pressure mounting on teams like the NFL’s Washington Redskins and MLB’s Cleveland Indians, could the Chicago Blackhawks be feeling the pressure to change their team name and/or logo? As The Athletic’s Scott Powers notes that some Native Americans find the logo racist while others find it an opportunity to educate.

“One thing that is important to keep in mind is there’s no such thing as the Indian point of view,” said Loyola University Chicago professor Theodore Karamanski, who teaches American Indian history courses. “Each Native American has its own traditions, its own history and view the world differently, and Native American viewpoints and beliefs change over time.”

source – ‘Is it time for the Chicago Blackhawks to drop their Native American logo?’ – Scott Powers – The Athletic – 06/25/2020

It’s an interesting debate and will get more attention now that the Redskins have agreed to take a look at their name and possibly make a change.

On-Ice Blackhawks Questions Surround Brent Seabrook

In some on-ice Blackhawks news, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that there are a ton of questions when it comes to the future of 35-year-old defenseman Brent Seabrook and his $6.875 million contract over the next four seasons.

The latest news is that he’s working towards being healthy enough to play in the play-in round versus the Edmonton Oilers but more long-term questions surround how the team will move on from his deal with a flat salary cap over the next two seasons.

Signing bonuses make a buy out almost pointless and he’s got a full no-movement clause through 2022. He’d need to be protected for the Seattle expansion draft (not that Seattle would take him), but protecting him means the team can’t protect forward Alex Nylander or defenseman Lucas Carlsson.

Pope writes:

The Hawks aren’t planning to force Seabrook to ride out his career on long-term injured reserve (a la Marian Hossa), despite three surgeries on his hips and right shoulder last winter. By all accounts, he remains on track to be at full health this fall.

source – ‘Brent Seabrook’s albatross contract will soon be even more problematic for Blackhawks’ – Ben Pope – Chicago Sun Times – 07/04/2020

Will Smith and Sheahan Get Shafted by Oilers?

Like many teams, the Edmonton Oilers will be forced to make some difficult roster decisions when the season closes. The result could be that UFAs like Mike Smith and Riley Sheahan might not like their respective contract offers.

Because there is some leverage for RFAs like forward Andreas Athanasiou and Matt Benning, plus the team has to be cautious of future contracts for players like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Larsson, there’s an upper-limit the Oilers can’t pass when it comes to Smith and Sheahan. Either that, or they have to remove another contract.

With around $9.5 million in cap space, what gives? The Oilers have Smith, Sheahan, Athanasiou, Benning, Mike Green, Tyler Ennis and Patrick Russell to sign if they want to try and bring everyone back.

NHL COVID-19 News

The NHL has announced nine more positives cases of COVID-19 among the populous of tested NHL players. That means in over 2,900 tests administered to 396 players, 23 came back positive.

TSN’s Ryan Rishaug has been covering the protocols for testing positive closely and citing what would happen if a players tests positive during the playoffs or needs to leave the NHL bubble during the postseason. He notes:

Any person who is sanctioned to leave the bubble, can return but will be “required to return at least four consecutive negative PCR test results over a four day period, and will be required to quarantine in their hotel room until such testing requirements have been fulfilled”. For example, a player leaving for the birth of a child, or in an emergency situation for a short period of time.

After a player recovers from COVID he could potentially return to play once he goes through the protocols layed out including multiple negative tests. “All Players must be cleared as “fit to play” by a cardiologist and team physician before returning to game activity.”

By Trege Wilson on Jul 06, 2020 10:50 am

In today’s Montreal Canadiens news and rumors roundup, Claude Julien addresses the fans request to tank for the top pick, Mike Ribeiro gives his thoughts on the Shea Weber/PK Subban trade and his future, plus, the potential CBA modifications as the NHL/NHLPA continue to negotiate. Finally, will Alexander Romanov be able to play?

Claude Julien Addresses Tanking, and the Positives of the Play-ins

In a recent phone conference interview, Julien was asked his thoughts on fans wanting the team to tank for the first overall pick. He stated although it would be great to have a player like Alexis Lafreniere, it’s not a guarantee and he believes the only way to take a step forward is to go out and play hard and try to win.

Julien admitted they were not counting on playing for the Stanley Cup. If they knew what they know now back at the trade deadline, they never would have traded players like Nick Cousins, Marco Scandella, and Ilya Kovalchuk. He does believe, however, this will be a great opportunity for the young players to gain valuable playoff experience.

“The only way to take a step forward is to go out there and play hard and try to win and do the best you can. And if we win, then we’re getting better as a team.

There’s excitement there, there’s an opportunity to grow, I think we need to take this situation and run with it,”

Claude Julien

Mike Ribeiro on the Weber/Subban Trade and His Future

Riberio was in Montreal recently and gave his thoughts on the Shea Weber/PK Subban trade in a podcast interview. The former Canadiens center, who played with Subban in Montreal and Weber in Nashville, didn’t hold back on his thoughts. When asked about the trade he said he didn’t understand why Nashville made the trade. Subban is a “cartoon” while Weber is a presence and a professional and that the Habs were lucky because Weber is a better player.

Ribeiro has never formally announced his retirement but has been out of hockey for three seasons. Although he would have liked to have played his entire career with the Habs, he still believes he had a great career. With 793 points in 1074 games, He feels he could have been better if he didn’t have off-ice issues.

Ribeiro says it has always been a dream to win a 25th Cup with the Canadiens, but now says it would have to be as a coach. If Julien should be replaced, he thinks Guy Boucher should be the successor and Riberio would like to be an assistant coach. In the meantime, he wants to speak to young teens and help them understand that partying and the NHL don’t mix.

Potential CBA Modifications

The NHL and NHLPA are close to signing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that would carry through until the 2025-26 season. The salary cap seems to be on the forefront, where the cap will remain flat for next season at $81.5 million and could stay there until revenues reach $4.8 billion. This season’s playoff fund – bonus money players earn the longer their teams are in the playoffs – will be increased to $32 million due to the extra number of teams involved.

Olympic participation in 2022 and 2026 are guaranteed pending agreement with the IOC. The minimum salary will rise to $750,000 and again to $800,000 by the end of the agreement. Other modifications are players with no movement or no-trade clauses will have those clauses move with the player if they get traded to another team. Players who are 35 and older can sign multi-year deals and if they retire before the contract is over there will be no cap hit to the team. finally, there will be no changes to signing bonuses.

The Habs can benefit greatly from these changes, especially the cap hit being flat. Marc Bergevin’s frugal ways have put Montreal in a good spot to make trades with cap-strapped teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs to improve the Canadiens roster.

Will Alexander Romanov Be Able to Play in the Play-ins?

The question still remains whether or not the players signed from the KHL will be eligible to play in the play-ins/playoffs. The NHL and NHLPA are still in discussions about this but according to Bob McKenzie, its highly unlikely that Romanov, as well asKirill Kaprizov with the Minnesota Wild and Ilya Sorokin with the New York Islanders will be eligible to play when the league returns to play.

This is bad news for the Habs but not unexpected, Romanov would have provided a nice spark for the team and give the fans a good look at the future blue line star. There is still a lot of work to be done before the season restarts but the players have been making their way back to Montreal for camp and if all goes well should have a great series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Habs Birthdays: Artturi Lehkonen, 23 – July 4th, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, 20 – July 6th, Xavier Ouellet, 26 – July 26th

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