NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 10/09/2019

October 09, 2019

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

 10/09/2019 edition:

By Kyle Gipe on Oct 08, 2019 01:39 pm

For the Oct. 8 edition of NHL Rumors, what’s the latest regarding the Winnipeg Jets defense? Are the Ottawa Senators poised to make another trade? Is Michael Hutchinson the solution for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ backup goaltender role? Plus, the latest on the Alex Pietrangelo extension negotiations.

Solving the Jets’ Defensive Woes

The problem that keeps on going. To recap, the Jets hemorrhaged defensemen this offseason when they traded Jacob Trouba and lost Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot to free agency. Despite getting Neal Pionk back in the Trouba trade, the Jets were going to be forced to rely on unproven defensemen even if everyone was present and available. But then Dustin Byfuglien, their minutes-eating, top-pair blueliner announced that he was taking a leave of absence and it’s been reported that he’s considering retirement. Add to that Josh Morrissey’s one-game absence due to injury and the Jets’ blue line is in shambles. It’s a unit that allowed 14 goals through three games as the team went 1-2-0.

According to Winnipeg Free Press writer Mike McIntyre, the Jets have to find a solution as the team’s only led for 143 seconds thus far in 2019-20. (from ‘Jets’ blue line a going concern,’ Winnipeg Free Press, 10/07/2019) Their issue is that unless Byfuglien retires they find themselves in a cap crunch and quality reinforcements on the blue line will only occur if they can move money out.

A money in, money out trade seems to be the only tangible option at this point.

Mike McIntyre

However, that kind of trade would also strip the team of forward depth with someone like Bryan Little or Matthieu Perreault having to go the other way. According to The Athletic’s Murat Ates, one possible way for the Jets to address their defensive woes is by pursuing Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. (from ‘Sorting through possible solutions to improve the Jets’ suddenly unrecognizable defence,’ The Athletic, 10/07/2019) The right-shot blueliner appears to be nearing the end of his tenure in Buffalo and could be a solution for the Jets. But, because his contract has three years left on it with a $5.4-million cap hit, the Jets would have to either part with a large contract or wait for Byfuglien to announce his retirement. Ristolainen also won’t be cheap asset-wise given his skillset and talent level.

Until the Jets can add another blueliner, it’s not going to get any easier anytime soon. This morning the Jets announced that they have granted defenseman Dmitry Kulikov a leave of absence for a personal matter. Additionally, they’re taking preventative measures with Morrissey and not playing him in tonight’s game versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Will the Senators Make Another Trade?

Yesterday, Oct. 7, the Senators acquired forward Vladislav Namestnikov from the New York Rangers. What position he plays with Ottawa is up in the air at the moment. With the Rangers he primarily played on the wing but has experience playing down the middle. However, if he does play center, how does head coach D.J. Smith handle the surplus of pivots and what kind of shuffling will take place? The Senators also have Colin White, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Chris Tierney, and Artem Anisimov as centers.

The Ottawa Sun’s Ken Warren wonders if the Senators may make another trade to shed some of their excess at the position. (from ‘Warrenspiece: Taking centre stage, White hot about faceoffs and Shark watch is on,’ Ottawa Sun, 10/07/2019) This comes after the team was abysmal in the faceoff circle in their most recent game, which happened to be against the Rangers.

The trade comes after the Senators went a woeful 20-for-60 in faceoffs against the Rangers, including only five of 25 in their own zone.

Ken Warren

As Warren rightly points out, it’s difficult to possess the puck when you don’t win faceoffs. Due to the team’s struggles at winning faceoffs, perhaps Smith gives Namestnikov an opportunity to play center. If so, will this result in a simple reshuffling or is there another move coming, as Warren asks?

Do the Maple Leafs Still Have a Backup Goaltending Problem?

One of the storylines out of Toronto in recent seasons has surrounded the Maple Leafs backup goaltending role. Last season they attempted to address it by trading for Michael Hutchinson. He is the team’s backup netminder for the 2019-20 season and played in his first game of the season on Saturday, Oct. 5, allowing six goals in a shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens. With the Maple Leafs having Stanley Cup aspirations in 2019-20, they need strong goaltending from both starter and backup. According to The Star’s Dave Feschuk, perhaps the Maple Leafs still haven’t solved their backup role. (from ‘It’s early, but the Leafs might not have the backup goaltending they need to reach their goal,’ The Star, 10/05/2019)

Feschuk points out that the Maple Leafs’ loss on Saturday wasn’t entirely on Hutchinson. He played very well through two periods and entered the third with a 4-1 lead. Still, blowing a three-goal lead in the third period is a tough pill to swallow. Head coach Mike Babcock was quick to point out that the blame for the loss can’t be placed exclusively on Hutchinson:

I felt bad for Hutch,” Babcock said. “In the end, we hung him out to dry … It’s unfortunate

But, as Feschuk points out, the Maple Leafs have 13 more sets of back-to-backs this season and need to be able to trust in their backup to give them a chance in each of them. If Hutchinson can’t give them that chance on a consistent basis, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Maple Leafs look elsewhere to address the issue.

Rutherford’s Thoughts on Pietrangelo

The last rumor is brief but comes from The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford on Twitter. Rutherford, who covers the St. Louis Blues, recently tweeted out what captain Alex Pietrangelo’s extension may look like. With recent rumors pointing to a progress being made on an extension, he wonders how term and cap hit intersect on Pietrangelo’s next contract.

With Brayden Schenn signing an eight-year extension and Justin Faulk signing one for seven years, both with lower than market rate average annual values (AAV), Rutherford asks if the Blues will offer Pietrangelo an eight-year contract with an AAV lower than one might expect. With Pietrangelo turning 30 in January, going eight years will be risky for the team, however, it would ensure the team’s ability to stay competitive for the foreseeable future. With the Blues in Toronto last night to play the Maple Leafs, it’s believed that Blues general manager Doug Armstrong met with Pietrangelo’s representatives, which are based in Toronto.

By Kyle Gipe on Oct 07, 2019 01:50 pm

In today’s NHL Rumors rundown, we look at the 2020 restricted free agency (RFA) class, including Chicago Blackhawks center Dylan Strome. Plus, is Alex Goligoski a trade candidate, and why didn’t the Edmonton Oilers take a chance on Josh Ho-Sang. Also, it should be noted that with the St. Louis Blues in Toronto to face the Maple Leafs, progress could be made on an extension between the Blues and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo.

Which RFAs Will Sign Early?

As has been discussed many times over the past few weeks, there’s a strong feeling around the league that teams, and perhaps players, are looking to avoid lengthy negotiations when it comes to RFAs coming off their entry-level contracts. The prolonged standstills of William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Brock Boeser, Patrik Laine, and Mikko Rantanen, among others, has left a bad taste in many mouths, especially general managers. It’s resulted in players like Samuel Girard, Clayton Keller, Thomas Chabot and Alex DeBrincat signing extensions well in advance of free agency. All were paid well, and now none will have to endure the discomfort that comes with the possibility of missing training camp and the preseason.

These developments have led many to speculate on the 2020 RFA class that still includes Mathew Barzal, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Nico Hischier at the top. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that preliminary talks have already begun between those three and the New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New Jersey Devils, respectively. (from ‘As 2020 RFA list dwindles, how did this summer’s drama change the market?,’ The Athletic, 10/04/2019) All three teams have the cap space to get extensions done now, and considering that all three are top-six centers, it’s vital for extensions to be signed as soon as possible.

LeBrun also points out that other RFAs including Mikhail Sergachev, Vince Dunn, and Jake DeBrusk may have to wait to negotiate until their teams (Tampa Bay Lightning, Blues, and Boston Bruins) figure out what their cap situation looks like. It will certainly be interesting to see how each player’s negotiations play out from now through season’s end.

Blackhawks Turn Attention to Strome

Another pending RFA not mentioned above is Dylan Strome. After the Blackhawks extended DeBrincat last week, they can turn their attention to Strome, and according to NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis, GM Stan Bowman is set to begin discussions with the pending RFA.

“I don’t anticipate negotiating through the press with Dylan either and I think that was a nice thing with Alex, you guys kind of left us alone with that one, so I would suggest to do the same thing,” Bowman joked with the media. “But we have time on that. Certainly that’s the next order of business. Whether we do it now or in a month or in six months, I can’t say at this point, but certainly that’s something we’ll take a look at.”

Stan Bowman

It should be noted that the Strome and DeBrincat negotiations will be different because they’re different players. DeBrincat is a winger, Strome a top-six center. DeBrincat had two full seasons of production under his belt before signing, Strome has only played in 117 games in his career to this point. The latter was great with the Blackhawks after they acquired him from the Arizona Coyotes last season, but it was only 58 games, not exactly a large sample size.

So there’s certainly reason to think that his extension will come later in the season, if not the offseason. It’s likely beneficial to both team and player as Strome will have longer to increase his earning potential while the team can get a clearer read on who he is. That said, he and the Blackhawks could also decide that it’s better to get a deal done early and have it out of the way.

Will Goligoski Be Traded?

The Athletic’s Craig Morgan recently pointed out that Arizona Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski’s contract converted from a full no-move clause to a modified no-trade clause for the last two years, beginning with 2019-20. (from ‘Coyotes monthly mailbag: You asked, we tried to answer,’ The Athletic, 10/06/2019) Morgan, in a Coyotes mailbag, discussed the potential of the team trading the veteran defenseman. With Goligoski’s modified no-trade clause featuring an eight-team no-trade list, it makes moving him a possibility, however, would a team have interest in him?

Goligoski is a quality NHL blueliner of 800 career games and brings veteran leadership, but he also carries a $5.475-million cap hit, which isn’t cheap for a second or third-pair defenseman. If the Coyotes are willing to retain some salary, it’s likely they can find a suitor. Perhaps the answer will surface as the season progresses. If the Coyotes are out of playoff contention near the trade deadline, it will only strengthen the trade rumors.

Why Didn’t the Oilers Take Chance on Ho-Sang?

When the Islanders placed Josh Ho-Sang on waivers prior to the regular season, it was thought that the Oilers may have interest in him. They’re a team looking for scoring help, could fit him under the salary cap, and Ho-Sang was a teammate of Connor McDavid’s with the Toronto Marlboros. Instead, he went unclaimed, is currently in the American Hockey League, and recently requested a trade. The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins weighed in why the Oilers didn’t claim Ho-Sang, and his thoughts are intriguing. (from ‘When it comes to the waiver wire Oilers G.M. Ken Holland understands that you shouldn’t buy things just because they’re on sale: 9 Things,’ Edmonton Journal, 10/06/2019)

Leavins points out that the only way Ho-Sang, or any other forward for that matter, helps the Oilers is if he can slot into their top-six. So far in his career Ho-Sang hasn’t shown he can do that at the NHL or AHL levels. Leavins also mentions that for the Oilers to add Ho-Sang, a player would have to be sent down to the AHL. He lists Zack Kassian and Joakim Nygard as specific examples, but believes both are better fits for the Oilers right now.

The last thing Leavins mentions, and what I find most interesting, is that Oilers GM Ken Holland likely would have asked McDavid his thoughts on Ho-Sang before deciding whether or not to place a claim on him. And because he went unclaimed it seems reasonable to believe that McDavid passed on the possibility of reuniting with his former teammate. At this point, it seems more and more clear that Ho-Sang will have to play in the AHL and build his value before a team takes a shot on him.

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