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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 07/29/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
07/29/2019 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Jul 28, 2019 11:27 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown there is more on the New York Rangers trying to clear cap space, the Nashville Predators might considering trading veteran center Nick Bonino and are the Minnesota Wild trying to trade Zach Parise?
Rangers Won’t Trade Kreider
We wrote yesterday that two Rangers scribes were suggesting the New York Rangers might make Chris Kreider, Vladislav Namestnikov or Ryan Strome available to clear the cap space they needed to get under the salary cap ceiling. Going the opposite direction, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests the team won’t trade those players but buy out Kevin Shattenkirk, saying it “should be an open-and-shut case.”
Brooks says while Kreider might head into the season without an extension, there is no evidence the Rangers are shopping him and Rick Carpiniello of The Athletic suggests if the Rangers do trade Kreider, it will be at next year’s trade deadline because they aren’t interested in re-signing him to a seven-year, $7 million per season extension.
Carpiniello writes:
If a trade for Kreider doesn’t materialize, and Gorton can find another way to get under the cap (he will), then holding onto Kreider perhaps until the trade deadline is a possibility. Kreider would probably bring a first-rounder plus from a contender before the deadline, as did Hayes and Rick Nash the year before that.
Predators to Move Nick Bonino?
During a recent mailbag segment, The Athletic’s John Glennon wrote that while the Nashville Predators might attempt to move center Nick Bonino during training camp or early in the season.
An expensive bottom-six center for the Predators, Bonino is making $4.1 million per season and the belief is that Colton Sissons can come in and fill his role for much less.
Glennon writes:
He [Sissons] does many things well for the Predators. He can play pretty much any forward position, evidenced by what he did in the 2017 Western Conference-clinching game against Anaheim (hat trick) when replacing Ryan Johansen in the lineup.
Meanwhile, Bonino played well enough with 17 goals and 35 points that there will be teams interested should he become available.
Wild Trying to Move Parise?
The Athletic’s Michael Russo writes that Minnesota Wild general manager Paul Fenton has discussed the possibility of trading Zach Parise. The team apparently tried to do so at the draft and in the weeks since then.
At 34, Parise still has six years remaining on a $7.53 million per season contract. He would be tough to trade considering his recent production and he would have to waive a no-trade clause, the team would have to retain salary and try to get something back in return.
When Parise was asked if he would waive for a trade, his response was:
“But you get to that point where you want to win. That’s all you want to do. Trust me, we’d all love to win here. I think this place would be absolute insanity if we won here. So that’s the goal. I mean, I just don’t know. Let’s put it this way, they haven’t come to me asking if I want to get traded somewhere.
Engelland Waited for Golden Knights
That veteran defenseman Deryk Engelland re-signed with the Vegas Golden Knights isn’t much of a surprise. What might have been a bit surprising was how long it took to announce the extension.
Engelland told Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he received one-year offers from other teams this summer but ultimately waited for Vegas to clear out David Clarkson’s contract before signing a one-year, bonus-laden deal. He also said not viewing the upcoming campaign as his final season and would like to stay in Vegas.
Gotz quotes comments from Engelland saying:
You talk to a lot of guys that have retired after long careers, they wish they played longer,” Engelland said. “They just tell you, ‘Play as long as you can.’ I think the body is holding up well, so I’ll keep going and try to help the team to achieve our ultimate goal of winning in any way that we can.
The post NHL Rumors: Rangers, Predators, Wild, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jul 27, 2019 12:38 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is more news out of Buffalo that Rasmus Ristolainen might be moved for a top-six forward. In Toronto, there is speculation Mitch Marner could miss training camp, but will he miss any of the regular season? In New York, the Rangers signed Pavel Buchnevich but now have a lot of work to do to get under the salary cap. Finally, a report from a former Montreal Canadien suggests the Habs had some strange things going on in their locker room.
Ristolainen Likely to be Dealt
Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News discusses trade speculation surrounding right-handed defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. He suggests it’s likely the team trades Ristolainen for a top-six forward.
He mentions a potential trade between the Sabres and the Winnipeg Jets for Nikolaj Ehlers but notes Ehlers plays the left side. Or, Buffalo could look at Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli.
Lysowski writes:
Buffalo Sabres General Manager Jason Botterill has built a surplus of right-shot defensemen this offseason, intensifying the trade speculation surrounding Rasmus Ristolainen.
Marner to Miss Training Camp?
Per a report by James (@Account4hockey): Renaud Lavoie on Sportsnet 590 said he expects Mitch Marner will likely miss Toronto Maple Leafs training camp but still believes “Marner will be a Maple Leaf for a long time.”
Lavoie also said that he thinks missing training camp won’t mean he misses any of the actual season. One thing to keep in mind, Cap Friendly notes that if Marner doesn’t sign before the start of the season, the AAV of the first year of his contract will increase thanks to the use of LTIR.
More on Rangers Shedding Salary
After the New York Rangers re-signed winger Pavel Buchnevich yesterday, there is a lot more talk today about the team needing to shed salary. Both Brett Cyrgalis and Colin Stephenson of the New York Post and NewsDay.com took a look at ways the team could become cap compliant by October.
Cyrgalis thinks the team might trade Chris Kreider while Stephenson suggests Kreider, Vladislav Namestnikov or Ryan Strome might be on the trade block.
The Rangers might have to make more than one move because they are over the cap by over $4.1 million and still have restricted free agents Brendan Lemieux and Anthony DeAngelo to re-sign.
Anti-Russian Attitude in Montreal?
In a strange story, Igor Eronko is citing comments from former Montreal Canadiens forward Nikita Scherbak. Scherbak said of his time in Montreal, it was mired by unfair rules towards himself and an anti-Russian bias.
He added there is a reason Russians aren’t playing for the Montreal Canadiens any longer. He said:
“We were not allowed to speak Russian in the Habs dressing room while many guys spoke French. Even if Markov and Emelin tried to help me. And there were some strange moments with Bergevin”
There have been plenty of rumors that Andrei Markov has an interest in returning to Montreal and while this claim by Scherbak doesn’t mean the Habs aren’t interested because Markov is Russian, it isn’t the best look for the team and hopefully, this isn’t true of the organization.
The post NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs, Rangers, Canadiens, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jul 26, 2019 11:05 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, we start with an answer to the question, ‘Was Milan Lucic ever going to get traded to Vancouver?’. From there, rumors surround the New Jersey Devils who are not done “wheeling and dealing” and the Boston Bruins who may have to put trading one of their hefty contracts on hold. Finally, what’s taking so long with Ben Hutton? Why isn’t he signed yet?
Oilers Were Never Trading Milan Lucic to Vancouver
Prior to Milan Lucic getting traded to the Calgary Flames, there was widespread speculation the Oilers were looking at sending him to Vancouver for Loui Eriksson. Lucic had declared publicly his interest in going back home and that he would love to play for the Canucks one day.
Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet 650 asked Lucic if he was ever approached last year about waiving his no-trade clause for a trade to the Canucks: “No never. There was never a trade to Vancouver as far as I’m concerned.”
The Oilers would have had to ask if there was a trade there due to Lucic’s no-trade clause.
Bruins to Circle Back to Backes
Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston is writing that the Boston Bruins might have to hold off on trying to trade David Backes until next season. The team has been working hard to move his contract but to date, has had no luck.
Haggerty says the reason the Bruins are rethinking trading Backes now, is because it’s going to be “very difficult to find a deal for another problem contract where the B’s aren’t inheriting more years indebted to the player coming back in a trade.” The alternative is sending a first-round sweetener to take on Backes’ contract. The Bruins don’t want to do that.
It sounds like the Bruins will hope Backes has a better season and that they find more suitors next summer or towards the end of the 2019-20 campaign.
Devils Not Done Dealing
New Jersey Devils’ owner Josh Harristold the media that the team is “not done” and that GM Ray Shero is “wheeling and dealing.”
The Devils had some restricted free agents to sign but they have around $17 million in cap space and if the team is looking to spend up to the cap ceiling this year they could still add in a major way. Some of the names being tossed around are Nikita Gusev, Jason Zucker and Chris Kreider. All have been mentioned in possible trades from their respective teams.
What’s Taking So Long With Hutton?
We’ve previously reported that Ben Hutton will likely be moving on from Vancouver and that he’s got multiple teams interested. His agent, Andy Scott of Octagon Hockey, spoke to Rick Dhaliwal on Sportsnet radio, and explained that he has no doubt the free agent defenseman will be signed before the year starts.
He says, Hutton has “plenty of offers” but nothing has been worked out so far. It seems the player is taking his time and being picky, trying to get the best deal.
The trick here is being cautious of any offers that may go away if a team goes in a different direction deciding not to wait for Hutton to make up his mind.
Erikkson for Kesler Deal in the Works?
After watching the Toronto Maple Leafs get creative with the salary cap and trade for David Clarkson, there is some talk Vancouver took note and might be looking for a creative way to trade Loui Eriksson. One option is taking on a contract for a player who may never play.
The name Ryan Kesler has come up and Harman Dyal of The Athletic proposes pitching Eriksson to the Anaheim Ducks for Kesler and picking up half of Eriksson’s salary in the process.
Dayal writes:
… the Ducks would be on the hook for just $4.5-million total with Eriksson. Just like with Columbus, they’d go from wasting cash on someone who wouldn’t play for them to virtually spending the same money on someone who’ll at least suit up and contribute in the bottom six. For their part, the Canucks would create $3-million per year in cap space after retaining half the contract.
The post NHL Rumors: Oilers, Bruins, Devils, Canucks, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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