NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 04/10/2019

April 10, 2019

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

04/10/2019 edition:

By Jim Parsons on Apr 09, 2019 01:22 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on a battle starting to take place for one specific coach, the Minnesota Wild have decided not to remove their bench boss and the Canucks are weighing options on Brock Boeser.

A Battle for Todd McLellan?

Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period is reporting that the Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres may be two of the teams battling it out for a chance to hire former Edmonton Oilers head coach Todd McLellan. Speculation is that the Kings already made an offer to McLellan.

“I’m hearing that Todd McLellan is closing in on an agreement to replace Phil Housley as the next coach of the Buffalo Sabres and that an announcement could come as early as tomorrow.”

These may not be the only two teams interested and Todd McLellan clearly is in demand.

Bruce Boudreau to Return in Minnesota

It looks like despite many of the changes going on in Minnesota the Wild will not make one of the biggest changes they could make this offseason. GM Paul Fenton spoke with reporters today and made it very clear that Bruce Boudreau will be back next season.

Fenton also explained that he will try to “fix this on the fly” instead of trying a full rebuild, and noted that players like Matt Dumba, Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise will be ready for training camp.

Brock Boeser Open to Any Kind of Deal

One of the stories to watch this coming summer will be what kind of negotiations and deal takes place between the Vancouver Canucks and Brock Boeser. According to comments by his agent Ben Hankinson, Boeser is reportedly “open to anything”.

Hankinson was on Sportsnet radio this morning (via Rick Dhaliwal) and said:

We will figure it out, whether it’s a one-year deal or eight-year deal, something is going to happen in between now and six months from now. I don’t know if there is a big rush, I would like to get it done with Jim [Benning], that could happen in the next week or later on. We are both open to discussing all options. Overall Brock is open to anything.

Boeser’s agent seems to think this whole process should be painless but there are a number of ways the Canucks can approach this. Injuries suggest they may want to proceed with caution and go short-term while there is value in locking him up long-term. There is now also precedence of a mid-length term like five years (something Auston Matthews proved teams are willing to try).

Senators Willing to Let Some Players Leave, Keep Others

According to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, the Ottawa Senators are not likely to bring back winger Magnus Paajarvi and center Oscar Lindberg for next season. But reports are they are interested in qualifying winger Anthony Duclair and may attempt to keep winger Brian Gibbons.

Duclair wound up with 33 points on the season and scored 14 of them in 21 games for the Senators. That should be enough to have other teams interested in a deal that would be under $1 million for next season if Ottawa chose to let him walk.

Blackhawks Looking to Free Agency

Speaking with reporters, including NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis, GM of the Chicago Blackhawks, Stan Bowman indicated that he expects his team will be a lot more active on the open market than they have been in recent years.

By Jim Parsons on Apr 07, 2019 02:48 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is potentially good news on Connor McDavid’s injury, news on Jonathan Quick out of LA and joel Quenneville landing in Florida.

McDavid’s Injury Not as Serious as Thought

While there’s little yet to go on with Connor McDavid’s nasty run into the goal post last night, it looks like the best news possible is coming out of Edmonton.

He walked in to the facility today with no crutches and this is after X-rays showed his leg was not broken.

Some people took to social media on Saturday night and somehow tried to connect the dots between his injury and his desire to stay in Edmonton. He said in response, “They pay me $100-million to play my game. I’d be a complete loser if I wasn’t frustrated (about this season). I want to be here. If I didn’t want to be here I wouldn’t sign an eight-year deal.”

He has no intentions of ever asking to get out of his long-term deal with the Oilers.

LA Kings Will Not Bring Back Desjardins

 According to Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, the Los Angeles Kings have informed head coach Willie Desjardins that he will not be brought back to the organization. Pagnotta also says that the team will look for a new head coach immediately. The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman confirmed the report, saying that Desjardins was informed of the team’s decision this morning.

Panthers to Announce Hiring of Joel Quenneville?

After letting go of their coach Sunday morning, it appears the Florida Panthers are already close to locking up a replacement. Multiple media scribes are reporting and among them Pierre LeBrun that sources confirm Florida has asked Chicago permission to talk to Joel Quenneville.

Before the myriad of Twitter updates started to roll in, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman set the stage by saying a potential deal between Quenneville and the Florida Panthers was much closer than anyone realized. “While it’s not a done deal, they are close.”

Following that, ESPN’s Greg Wyshinski writes that the Florida Panthers have offered Quenneville a multi-year contract in excess of $6 million per season, including bonuses.

The New York Post’s Brett Cyrgalis reports that the deal between Florida and Quenneville is done with an announcement coming tomorrow. He also adds that former New York Islanders general manager Garth Snow, is going to be hired by the Panthers as well.

It sounds as though the Panthers have already scheduled a press conference for Monday morning and that on the top list of new items will be announcing Quenneville as the new bench boss.

Latest on Jonathan Quick

Josh Cooper of The Athletic asks if Jonathan Quick will get traded this summer? He goes on to say, most signs point to yes but wonders where and how?

Trading Quick presents challenges considering he has four more years at $5.8 million per season left on his deal. Los Angeles would have to eat a good portion of that deal to facilitate a move.

Cooper does suggest there are teams that might be interested including Carolina, Columbus, Edmonton, or even Philadelphia. But, Cooper also adds, Los Angeles may wait for the market to open up to see if more suitors become available.

Cooper writes:

Quick makes $5.8 million for the next four seasons and doesn’t have trade protection in his contract. A contending team could use him, but his fit on the Kings may make less sense. In our player poll, seven percent of respondents said they would want Quick starting for them in Game 7 of a Stanley Cup final. This ranked fourth among NHL netminders.

source – ‘Examining Jonathan Quick trade scenarios and why a deal this summer makes sense’ -Josh Cooper – The Athletic – 04/05/2019

Jordan Weal on Oilers Radar?

Edmonton Oilers reporter Jim Matheson writes the Oilers may have interest in Jordan Weal.

The Oilers tried to acquire Weal at the trade deadline but were unsuccessful. Matheson says, he becomes a forward target that would be cheap to sign and not cost a lot of cap space. His speed would be an asset plus there is some finishing ability in those hands.

By Jim Parsons on Apr 06, 2019 02:15 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are updates on Chris Kunitz in Chicago and whether or not he’ll keep playing while the Vancouver Canucks need to make a couple of important decisions on two fairly key players.

Kunitz Calling it Quits?

Chicago Blackhawks winger Chris Kunitz has yet to decide whether or not he wants to play another NHL, notes Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago. At his age and lack of production, retirement might make sense.

At 39 years old, Kunitz didn’t play much this season for the Blackhawks and collected only 10 points in 55 games. Unless he can find a team that will give him more than nine minutes per night, he would likely want to move to a sure thing as far as a playoff contending team go. He does have a history of providing offense in the postseason and has won four Stanley Cups.

There may be teams interested in him this summer if he decides that he wants to keep playing but he won’t see much on an increase on his $1 million salary should he choose to keep going.

Edler Wants a No-Move Clause in Vancouver?

It is clear Alex Edler wants to remain with the Vancouver Canucks. He refused to waive his no-trade clause prior to this year’s NHL Trade Deadline and Canucks didn’t really push him to. That said, Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre suggests that there will likely be one significant hurdle that needs to be cleared for the pending UFA to remain with the team.

The issue between the Canucks and Edler probably won’t come down to a matter of money or term but whether or not GM Jim Benning’s includes another no-move clause.

Because Edler invoked his no-trade clause this season, Benning might not want to get into a situation where he can’t trade the player should he need to. The expectation is that Edler would not waive if asked. With the Seattle expansion draft now two years away, the odds of him declining to go up even more and the consequences of not having options for the Canucks become greater.

Edler would want to assure he’s protected for the draft so as not to get plucked by Seattle. It is expected discussions on an extension for Edler should pick up again in the coming weeks.

Brock Boeser Wants His Money

Still with the Canucks,Postmedia’s Ed Willes speculates that winger Brock Boeser’s will be asking for around $6 million per season on a new deal coming out of restricted free agency. With 55 points in 68 games, this is the second time he’s reached this mark.

Typically a player like this would be worth this kind of money and probably more in today’s NHL salary structure but the trick for Vancouver is to try and predict how he’ll cope with injuries, which to date, have hampered his short tenure in the NHL. battled multiple groin issues throughout the season as well.

It is the injuries at only 22 years old that might keep him from making what he could otherwise make.

Luongo Happy to Serve as Backup in Florida

The Athletic’s George Richards got the sense from talking to Roberto Luongo recently that he believes he’s not quite ready to call it a career in the NHL. His game is in decline and injuries are certainly an issue but Luongo seems accepting of the idea of playing a backup role next season and possibly beyond if needed.

Richards writes:

Luongo still has three years left on the 12-year deal he signed in Vancouver and there will be salary cap implications for both the Panthers and Canucks if he retires before the contract expires when he is 43.

He has said that if he did not feel he could play at a high level, he would hang them up. That has not been the case of late.

source – ‘Is Saturday the end for Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo? Maybe, but probably not’ – The Athletic – George Richards – 04/05/2019

Listen to the Latest Episode of the Hockey Writers Podcast

On this episode we look at what a number of teams who missed the NHL playoffs this year will do over the summer. The Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Anaheim Ducks, LA Kings and others were expected to have better seasons. Can they fix their problems?

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