NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 04/06/2020

April 06, 2020

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

04/06/2020 edition:

By Jim Parsons on Apr 05, 2020 01:35 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, defenseman Andy Greene has made it clear he wants to play another season in the NHL. Does that mean he’ll return to the New York Islanders? Vegas Golden Knights head coach Peter DeBoer commented on the possibility of his team getting a bye in the playoffs and he’s not a fan of the idea. Finally, will the Philadelphia Flyers trade Shayne Gostisbehere and the Pittsburgh Penguins trade Matt Murray?

Greene to Continue His NHL Career

Of the many names that have popped up in rumors that this may have been their last season in the NHL, remove Andy Greene’s name. He’s made it clear he wants to play another season in the league whether this season resumes or not.

Newday’s Andrew Gross writes, Greene has no intention to retire at the end of this season and said, “Oh, yeah, for sure, in my mind, I’m definitely going to play.” What he didn’t say was where.

Gross writes:

“Greene said he has had no discussions about his long-term future with Lamoriello, who signed Greene as an undrafted free agent out of Miami (Ohio) in 2006. He went on to play 923 games over 13-plus seasons with the Devils.”

source – ‘Islanders defenseman Andy Greene says he ‘definitely’ plans on playing next season” – Andrew Gross – Newsday – 04/04/2020

Greene also said that he’s planning to wait and see what happens with this season and the direction the NHL goes before having those discussions. In respect to another contract, he said, “I’m not going to worry about it. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Flyers to Trade Gostisbehere

Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sam Carchidi writes that it’s extremely likely the Philadelphia Flyers will trade Shayne Gostisbehere within the next year. He says that due to the expansion draft in 2021, and with the team likely to only protect three defensemen, Gostisbehere is the odd man out.

Carchidi notes:

“Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, and Phil Myers would probably be the defensemen the Flyers protect. That would leave Shayne Gostisbehere available, though he could have a bounce-back season in 2020-21 to give the Flyers a reason to pause.”

source – ‘Next year’s expansion draft for Seattle will affect moves made by Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher this offseason’- Sam Carchidi – Inquirer – 04/04/2020

Penguins to Move Matt Murray

Matt Murray could be the odd man out among the Pittsburgh Penguins’ goaltenders says Luke Fox of Sportsnet. Noting that Tristan Jarry lacks arbitration rights so his contract extension should be easier to achieve, goaltender Casey DeSmith is also already under contract for next season.

With over $68.2 million already committed to 15 players, the Penguins can’t afford to keep both Murray and Jarry. Jarry is likely to stay.

DeBoer Doesn’t Want a Bye in First Round Playoffs

While the NHL is discussing options for possible playoff formats, one idea that has been tossed around is more than 16 teams being included and those teams sitting in first in their divisions to get a first-round bye. Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer is not a fan of that idea.

DeBoer relayed, via SinBin’s Ken Boehlke, “I don’t want to be the team with the bye, sitting there after being off for a month or two months or three months.” He added that it’s one thing to get a break right after you finish a full season, but it’s another to have rested for a long time and then other teams get a chance to get warm by playing out two-out-of-threes and play-in games while you’re sitting there.

He explained:

“There’s a huge advantage to having actually played games. I know the bye sounds like an advantage. And it is an advantage if you’ve been playing an entire 82-game season and you roll into that and you have 10 days to prepare for the next round. But when you’ve been sitting around for months, it’s a disadvantage. From a fairness point of view, that would be a concern for me.”

By Jim Parsons on Apr 04, 2020 03:07 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the Calgary Flames have said they won’t be looking at signing any deals on players during the NHL pause. The Winnipeg Jets could get a valuable player back if the season resumes and the San Jose Sharks seem to be leaning one direction with their coach. Are the New York Rangers still working on a Lias Andersson trade? Finally, could Donald Trump get involved in the NHL’s decision to pause the season?

Flames Are Making Decisions on Contracts Right Now

This pause in the NHL season gives general managers time to reassess their rosters and carefully plan out what they intend to do with upcoming free agents, some even talking to their pending players now.

The Calgary Flames are not one of those teams.

Flames GM Brad Treliving, told TSN’s Jermain Franklin who reports that Calgary won’t be making any decisions with regards on their pending unrestricted free agents. While the team has players like defensemen T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic coming up for renewal. Franklin said Treliving won’t make a move until the NHL shows a clear path as to how they will move forward and resume the NHL season.

This also includes removing the interim coach tag from Geoff Ward.

Jets to Get Little Back?

Winnipeg Jets center Bryan Little was ruled out for the rest of the season while recovering from surgery to repair a perforated eardrum. But, if play resumes on the 2019-20 season, NHL.com’s Tim Campbell suggests the Jets could get Little back.

This would be a huge addition to the Jets lineup if there’s any season left to be played and the Jets are part of it. Little had five points in seven games this season but was a 40-point and more player in six straight seasons.

Andersson Could Be Used in Trade Package

Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes that the New York Rangers did have some teams interested in 2017 first-round draft pick Lias Andersson at the trade deadline but were unable to make a move. The Rangers are still hoping to use him in a trade package this offseason.

If not, there is some expectation that the team might give him another look and see if he can play in their lineup next season.

Could Sharks Keep Boughner As Coach?

Speaking on a recent conference call, GM of the San Jose Sharks, Doug Wilson told reporters, including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News that interim head coach Bob Boughner Boughner has the inside track to stay full-time head coach.

The Sharks intend to do a thorough review once the season officially comes to an end but Wilson felt there was some progress made in the second half of the year even if the record didn’t reflect it. Pashelka writes:

“I was pleased to see some of the overall play improve over the last half of the year,” Wilson said. He added, “There were times more often than not that we were playing the game the right way.”

source – ‘Sharks GM says Bob Boughner has “upper hand” to be coach next season’ Mercury News – Curtis Pashelka – 04/02/2020

Trump Holds Conference Call With League Commissioners

Mike Florio of NBC Sports writes that United States President Donald Trump held a conference call with sports league commissioners and that call included a couple of names you might not expect. Both Dana White of the UFC and Vince McMahon of WWE were be part of that call and there’s were rumors that Trump’s messaging could be, “Find a way to play your games.”

From what we understand, that is not an accurate report.

Both McMahon and White have been holding their events in buildings with no fans but the big difference here is that the NHL and other leagues like it have too many players on the ice at one time to not violate CDC regulations and health codes. What UFC and WWE does cannot and would not apply to leagues like the NHL.

In the end, it sounds like Trump held the call to encourage the pro sports leagues and teams to continue to help those in need during the COVID-19 Pandemic. And, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN:

“He also told commissioners that he hopes to have fans back in stadiums and arenas by August and September, sources said, though it is currently unclear if medical experts find that to be a realistic timeline amid the current coronavirus pandemic.”

By Jim Parsons on Apr 03, 2020 02:05 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are rumors the New York Rangers have been trying to trade for Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. How realistic is that deal? There is some college free agent buzz and are the Columbus Blue Jackets looking to trade one of their No. 1 goaltenders?

Nugent-Hopkins to the New York Rangers?

Larry Brooks of the New York Post noted in a recent mailbag segment, that he’d heard lots of rumors about the New York Rangers trading for Edmonton Oilers center/winger Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

While it seems clear the Oilers would not want to move Nugent-Hopkins, he does have one more season on his current contract, will likely seek a raise and the Oilers may have salary cap issues moving forward. Brooks added that the Rangers will attempt to bulk up at center for next season.

If Ryan Strome leaves in free agency and if Filip Chytil isn’t quite ready, the Rangers could dangle defenseman Tony DeAngelo as trade bait.

All that being said, Brooks isn’t buying into the rumors. He doesn’t believe the Rangers will pursue Nugent-Hopkins and for salary cap reasons. The Rangers certainly can’t afford to pay whatever new salary Nugent-Hopkins will command.

Could the Blue Jackets Trade a Goaltender?

Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports the Columbus Blue Jackets believe they have two top-level goaltenders in Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins and may elect to trade one of them this summer. Both are restricted free agents this summer and pending UFA’s next summer.

Portzline writes:

With one year to go before they hit their “unrestricted years,” expect the Blue Jackets to accept nothing less than a two-year term. It’s unlikely either player would want to go longer than three or four years, but we shall see.

source – ‘Reading the goalie market: When should the Jackets deal Merzlikins or Korpisalo?’ Aaron Portzline – The Athletic – 03/31/2020

There’s not really a rush to move either player since the Blue Jackets can protect Korpisalo during the summer’s expansion draft, and Merzlikins is exempt.

College Free Agent News

There are some updates when it comes to potential college players who could enter the NHL sooner that later:

Kawaguchi Getting Tons of NHL Interest

Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalist and undrafted center Jordan Kawaguchi. recently told Postmedia’s Steve Ewen that he has had interest from a “handful” of NHL teams. That said, the 22-year-old noted that he is considering returning to North Dakota for his senior year as well.

Wit 45 points in 33 games, he was the second-leading scorer in the NCAA behind only Jack Dugan, a fifth-round pick of Vegas back in 2017. His size, or lack thereof, might be part of the reason that Kawaguchi is considering staying at North Dakota for his final season. He may want to try and prove this past season wasn’t the ceiling for what he can do, but the baseline.

Ryan Shea Not Signing With Blackhawks

According to Rinkside Rhode Islander reporter Mark Divver, Ryan Shea will not sign with the Chicago Blackhawks and instead will become an unrestricted free agent later this summer. The left-handed defenseman recorded 31 points in 34 games this season. He was a fourth-round pick of the Blackhawks back in 2015 but played a year in the USHL before heading to college. Shea recently completed his senior season at Northeastern University, where he served as captain.

Luke Martin Not Expected To Sign With Hurricanes

Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest reports that Luke Martin will likely not sign with the St. Louis Blues. Martin, 21, is a defenseman drafted 52nd overall in 2017 and has played for the University of Michigan.

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