NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 04/17/2020

April 17, 2020

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

04/17/2020 edition:

By Jim Parsons on Apr 16, 2020 12:25 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, Donald Trump held a call with the NHL, Justin Williams talked about possibly retiring and Bill Peters’ new KHL team is already having drama. Plus, there is news on this year’s crop of free agents having a hard time settling into the idea they may have to take a pay cut over last year’s free agent class.

Trump Has Phone Call With NHL About Season

TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that President Donald Trump held a call with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and discussed the season, getting games back and more.

Dreger writes:

President Trump’s call today with several sports leaders, including NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is believed to have focused in number of issues/possibilities. 1) restarting with no fans. 2) availability of testing. 3) travel concerns. Obviously, everyone agreed they want to bring sports back as soon as possible and as soon as it’s safe to do so. No timelines, yet. Bettman, Silver, Manfred and Goodell all on the call today as were owners Mark Cuban, Robert Kraft and Jerry Jones.

Unfortunately, that call doesn’t tell fans much and it appears there is just more of the same, which is no real news at this point.

Nigel Dawes Leaving Team After Peters Hiring

We reported yesterday that former Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters was hired again, this time in the KHL with Avtomobilist. Well, the hiring is already having an effect on the team as reports are surfacing that Avtomobilist leading scorer and captain Nigel Dawes (A Canadian of Jamaican descent) will be leaving the team because of the Peters hiring.

A Spittin’ Chiclets writer Rear Admiral has noted that Dawes contract was set to expire in two weeks and the Peters hiring has ruled out any chance that he will re-sign with the club, Dawes stating that this hiring is the reason he’ll be moving on.

That said, speculation is that the Peters hiring comes after star forward Pavel Datsyuk — who also plays for the team — recommended him as the team’s next coach. It is expected Datsyuk will stay with the team based on the hiring.

Justin Williams Set to Retire?

Justin Williams spoke with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic about whether or not he’s going to retire if the season doesn’t resume. Unlike Joe Thornton who said he’s got many years left, Williams didn’t sound as confident.

“If that was my last game, which I really don’t want to think about it, then that was my last game and I’ll deal with it. It would be awful, but there’s a lot worse things out there. Life will go on.

Four Teams In On Melnichuk

Darren Dreger of TSN reports that, as of last week, KHL Goaltender Alexei Melnichuk had his list of teams he’s willing to sign with down to four U.S. based NHL teams. Russian Prospects reports that those four teams are the San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Colorado Avalanche.

Free Agents to Go Backwards in Pay?

Frank Seravalli of TSN has posted his latest UFA free agency list and rankings and Seravalli reports that players, specifically the pending unrestricted class of free agents, hasn’t quite grasped the severity of financial losses possibly facing the NHL this and next season.

“I don’t think players truly grasp just how much the world has changed,” one prominent agent said Tuesday. “One thing I’ve learned working with players is that they have a hard time accepting going backward financially, but that’s what is going to happen.”

Should the salary cap remain at $81.5 million next season, which many believe will happen, not only will free agents not get what they’re looking for, many will have to settle with getting less than last year’s free agents made.

Seravalli reports that one agent said:

It’s the bottom feeders that will have the most money to spend, but they usually aren’t attractive to top free agents, and their owners don’t like to spend dumb money anyway. How many teams are going to be able to give you what you want? So many players are kicking themselves, wishing they had signed last year.”

That means Taylor Hall likely won’t get anywhere near the $10 million per season he might be asking for, at least not by a team he’d want to play with. What about names like Alex Pietrangelo in St. Louis, defenceman Torey Krug in Boston and goaltender Jacob Markstrom in Vancouver? Their own teams may have trouble keeping them.

It may wind up that players will have to trade term for dollars, risking security in the event they get injured.

By Jim Parsons on Apr 15, 2020 05:56 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are questions about who the Anaheim Ducks might trade away this offseason, are the Calgary Flames looking at moving Johnny Gaudreau, what are the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and other Western Conference teams doing, and is Mikko Koivu ready to walk away from the Minnesota Wild?

Ducks To Move a Few Players?

Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon took a look at some Western Conference teams and wondered if the rebuilding Anaheim Ducks might shop a defenseman like Josh Manson or Cam Fowler. Both have modified no-trade lists, Manson has a 12-team no-trade list, while Fowler has a four-team trade list.

Dixon said Manson’s name, “churned pretty heavily through trade talk leading up to the deadline in February, but any move involving Manson was always more likely to happen in the summer.” It will be interesting to see if he’s a focus for some teams this summer.

What Will The Flames Do?

Dixon also took a look at the chances of the Calgary Flames shopping Johnny Gaudreau, He notes, “If Calgary puts him on the market, something tasty would be coming back to Southern Alberta.”

Dixon states that Sean Monahan has left people wanting, too, but because he’s a big centre he’s probably safe. This isn’t the first time Gaudreau’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors and if he were made available, surely a team would be interested.

Other Western Conference Notes

Dixon believes the Colorado Avalanche might be a good fit for Taylor Hall and he thinks the Chicago Blackhawks will be looking for goaltenders. As far as the Edmonton Oilers are concerned, Dixon wonders what Ryan Nugent-Hopkins will cost on an extension and believes the Oilers may let Mike Smith walk. The Dallas Stars will look for young forwards and the Los Angeles Kings may try to trade Dustin Brown or Jeff Carter.

Bill Peters Hired in KHL

Avtomobilist in the KHL has hired former Calgary Flames and Carolina Hurricanes coach Bill Peters. The team announced a two-year deal for the coach who was released earlier this season after it went public there were incidences in the past with former NHL’er Akim Aliu, back when Peters was head coach of the Rockford IceHogs in the 2009-10 season.

Mikko Koivu to Leave Minnesota Wild?

According to a report from Minnesota Wild insider Michael Russo of The Athletic, Wild captain Mikko Koivu is ready to walk away from his team in free agency and return to Finland to finish out his hockey career.

Russo adds that Koivu says he doesn’t have a “clear answer” as to what he’ll do and where his future will be but that “he’d be lying if he hadn’t thought that this could be the way his NHL career ends.” Apparently, while some days he believes the NHL season will resume, other days he’s not too sure.

Koivu is finishing the last of a two year, $11 million contract and there are serious questions about what the salary cap might look like next season. As a veteran, he may be one of those players teams can’t afford to give too much money to. Still, he’s highly respected in Minnesota and holds a number of franchise records including games played (1028), assists (504) and points (709).

Can The Jets Re-Tool Their Blue Line?

There is buzz the Winnipeg Jest will try to completely rebuild their blue line this offseason after losing Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot and — likely — Dustin Byfuglien.

Noting Neal Pionk was a great piece coming back in the Trouba trade and 2019 first-rounder Ville Heinola will probably be a regular next year, what else can the Jets do? Dixon believes it’s time to pull the trigger on a move that sees a forward leave town for a defenceman.

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