NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 08/16/2019

August 16, 2019

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

 08/16/2019 edition:

By Jim Parsons on Aug 16, 2019 10:20 am

In today’s NHL rumor rundown there is trade speculation as it pertains to defenseman Shayne Gostisbihere, the Boston Bruins have a plan for Charlie Coyle, the Colorado Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen are talking the Los Angeles Kings may be moving players.

Gostisbehere Is Aware of Trade Talks

While speaking with Dave Isaac of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post, Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere acknowledged that not only does he feel fully recovered from his leg injury but knows he might be a trade candidate out of Philadelphia.

The blueliner saw his production drop from 65 points down to 37 and while he’d like to stay with the Flyers, that might be out of his control. He said his agent told him not to listen to the trade talks but he’s aware of them. He said:

If I get traded, I get traded. I obviously don’t want to. I want to be here and be a part of what’s growing here and the step we’re gonna take forward this year, but again, it’s not in my control so I can’t really say. Obviously you’re gonna think about it because you have a whole life here but it’s the nature of the beast. It’s the name of the game. It’s part of playing in the NHL.”

source – ”There’s definitely gonna be a fire inside me.’ A Q&A with Shayne Gostisbehere’ – Dave Isaac – Courier Post – 08/14/2019

Coyle to Get a Chance to Boost Value

Charlie Coyle of the Boston Bruins will become an unrestricted free agent next season and on the last year of any player’s deal, all they can ask for is an opportunity to up their value with quality playing time. It sounds like Coyle might get it.

According to NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty, Bruins President Cam Neely indicated Coyle could move into a top-six spot alongside David Krejci instead of just playing the third-line center role.

That the Bruins have a potential plan to put him with Krejci also says a lot about the rumors of Krejci being traded. It doesn’t seem terribly likely.

Fiala to Sit and Wait

According to a report by Dan Rosen of NHL.com,Kevin Fiala of the Minnesota Wild isn’t certain of his future in Minnesota. He was in negotiations on a contract extension with former GM Paul Fenton when Fenton was released and now he has to just “see and wait” for the Wild to name a new GM before his negotiations can continue.

More than just their time together in Nashville, Fenton and Fiala had quite the connection and whoever the Wild bring in next as GM will likely not be as keen to sign Fiala to a lucrative extension. Fiala still has tremendous upside but he took a bit of a step backward last season.

Update on Rantanen Negotiations

When asked at a celebrity golf tournament about the status of negotiations with Mikko Rantanen, Avs GM Joe Sakic said to Michael Chambers of the Denver Post he had personally agreed with Rantanen that a long-term deal is the way to go.

This is great news for Avs fans who now know, if nothing else, the team and the player are on the same page when it comes to term. Now it’s just a matter of determining the right salary and that could take seeing what Mitch Marner gets before knowing what the market price for a player like Rantanen is.

Kings to Start Sending Players Out

According to a report by NBC Sports Scott Billeck, Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake is still trying to rebuild his roster. Blake is aware that several players, including Tyler Toffoli, Trevor Lewis, Kyle Clifford, and Derek Forbort, will be after contract extensions next season and Billeck thinks those players could be shipped out at the trade deadline for assets.

As for players like Ilya Kovalchuk, Jeff Carter and Dustin Brown, don’t expect them to be moved as their contracts are too high to make them attractive assets for other teams.

By Jim Parsons on Aug 15, 2019 12:35 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are whispers on what Taylor Hall’s next deal might look like and there are some options floating around for the Calgary Flames who are in the market for a defenseman. Finally, there are updates on Ivan Barbashev out of St. Louis and Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau out of San Jose.

Taylor Hall Getting Panarin Money

Dan Rosen of NHL.com is of the opinion that Taylor Hall will eventually sign a long-term contract extension with the New Jersey Devils. He may not do so until halfway through next season but he believes it will get done.

Rosen also believes that if Hall can show he’s healthy and capitalize by finding chemistry with on some of the pieces the Devils added this summer, Hall could get a contract similar to Artemi Panarin’s seven years and $81.5 million.

Options for Flames on Defense

We reported a few days ago that the Calgary Flames are now in the market for a defenseman thanks the injury suffered by Juuso Valimaki. Jared Clinton of The Hockey News notes there are a couple of internal options between Oliver Kylington and Alexander Yelesin but the Flames may look outside to fill the spot.

Among the names mentioned are Ben Hutton who wasn’t qualified by the Vancouver Canucks, Derek Forbort from the Los Angeles Kings, Joel Edmundson and/or Carl Gunnarsson out of St. Louis, and Joe Morrow.

Edmundson and Gunnarsson would be acquired in trades, as would Forbort but Morrow is an unrestricted free agent who wouldn’t likely cost much money.

Flames GM Brad Treliving admitted to Eric Francis of Sportsnet that the rest of the league obviously noticed the Flames situation and said, “30 other GM friends certainly have a lot of ideas for [him].”

Could Barbashev Go Overseas?

We wrote yesterday that there was no update on Ivan Barbashev and the St. Louis Blues according to Jeremy Rutherford. That may have changed on Thursday morning.

Rutherford tweeted early in the am that Barbashev’s agent Dan Milstein has confirmed Barbashev is “looking at options on both sides of the ocean”. Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest said he woke up this morning to a similar text message from Milstein.

Both are suggesting this is likely Barbashev’s side trying to get what little leverage they can in negotiations even if the agent is saying that’s not what they’re doing.

Sharks and Marleau, Thornton Situation

The expectation around San Jose is that the Sharks will sign Joe Thornton at some point this offseason. But, according to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, the same can’t be said for Patrick Marleau who is skating with Thornton these days and would like to return to San Jose.

Kurz suggests Thornton is completely committed to the team and is just waiting for them to finish reshaping their roster. As for Marleau, Kurz writes:

It’s pretty clear that there is no handshake-type agreement here between Marleau and the Sharks like there is with Thornton. And, really, that shouldn’t surprise anyone. Wilson doesn’t owe Marleau anything after he requested a trade early in the 2015-16 season, departed as a free agent two years ago, and then stepped in and helped recruit John Tavares to Toronto after the Sharks were one of the final two or three teams bidding for the top-line center’s services.

source – ‘A Joe Thornton contract extension is inevitable, while a Patrick Marleau return looks less likely’ – The Athletic – Kevin Kurz – 08/14/2019

At best, it sounds like Marleau might be a last-resort option for the Sharks as they try to find a way to replace the 30 goals that walked out the door when Joe Pavelski left.

By Jim Parsons on Aug 14, 2019 01:50 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on Patrick Maroon’s actual ability to land a job this coming season in the NHL, a new leading candidate for the Minnesota Wild GM job has emerged and two players from the Boston Bruins are in the trade rumor mill. One could get moved, one likely won’t.

Patrick Maroon Will Find Work

Despite the fact that it seems like Patrick Maroon is spending another summer having trouble finding an NHL contract, Michael Russo notes that the unrestricted free agent has at least six ‘job opportunities’ on the table for this season.

The issue seems to be the length of term being offered. Maroon is looking for more than one year and most teams, if not all, are only offering a single season. The big power forward would like some stability.

There has been some debate about how interested the Blues are in bringing Maroon back but St. Louis is one of the teams still keeping the door open. The offer to stay is just not a lucrative one.

Still with the Blues, Jeremy Rutherford notes that as of yesterday, there is no update on restricted free agent forward Ivan Barbashev according to his agent. It is expected a deal will get done.

Guerin Leading Candidate for Wild GM Job?

There was speculation that while Don Waddell wasn’t really considering leaving Carolina, until the Hurricanes gave him an extension as their GM, the Minnesota Wild were seriously considering him as a candidate for the Wild GM opening.

Dan Kingerski believes Pittsburgh Penguins assistant GM Bill Guerin is now the leading candidate. Nothing is imminent, but there is talk behind the scenes. Guerin’s name has come up in a number of conversations regarding GM openings and seems like a strong option for the Wild.

The Wild had also requested permission to speak with Bill Zito out of Columbus and Chris Drury out of the New York Rangers organization and were denied their request.

Bruins Won’t Trade Krejci, Krug News

Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston wrote a piece about two specific Boston Bruins players, David Krejci and Torey Krug. Haggerty noted how Krug had been the topic of trade speculation because he had a strong season, the Bruins have some cap issues, there would be demand for Krug’s services and he’s a year away from unrestricted free agency where he’ll see a significant bump in salary.

Haggerty wondered if Krug might be traded if the Bruins could land a top-six winger. Neely said of the rumors:

“[Krug] had a fantastic playoff…there’s no question. It’s the delicate balance you have. You’ll have players on expiring contracts and we talk internally about what we’re going to do and how it’s all going to pan out.

Haggerty also noted that Krejci’s name has popped up in trade speculation. At 33, Krejci is older and expensive ($7.25-million AAV). His no-move clause recently turned over into a modified no-trade which opens the door to move him if the Bruins felt it would help to do so.

That said, it doesn’t sound like Bruins’ President Cam Neely thinks such a trade would be wise. Neely said:

“I thought David had a fantastic year. … “To your point, I think we’ve got some centermen in our pipeline. But to step up to be a No. 2 in the National Hockey League, they are not quite there yet. And David is filling that role quite nicely for us.”

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