NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 03/09/2019

March 09, 2019

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

03/09/2019 edition:

By Jim Parsons on Mar 08, 2019 01:09 pm

In today’s rumor rundown, there is news on the LA Kings and their search for a coach. So too, out of Ottawa, candidates for the new coach continue to emerge and in Detroit, the Red Wings may lose one of their prospects and they can do nothing about it. Finally, will the Philadelphia Flyers go for a huge fish in free agency?

Kings Management and Coaching Updates

Dennis Bernstein is reporting there are some updates when it comes to the coaching situation in Los Angeles. He says names to keep an eye on are Sheldon Keefe (Toronto Marlies head coach), DJ Smith (Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach), and Todd McLellan (former Sharks/Oilers head coach).

Todd McLellan (James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports)

In other news, Assistant General Manager of the Kings, Mike Futa is on the Edmonton Oilers radar as a possible GM candidate in Edmonton.

Senators News and Coaching Updates

TSN is reporting that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said there’s no reason to be concerned about the Ottawa Senators moving after the LeBreton Flats proposal revealed itself to be in jeopardy. Bettman explained:

“Teams go through ebbs and flows and with their fan bases and Eugene Melnyk is doing what he has to do as an owner in terms of meeting the team’s obligations – and management, ownership for any franchise, at any given point in time, may think it’s time for a rebuild and that’s what has to be done and teams go through cycles.”

There will be many who believe this to be spin since Bettman never wants to publicly declare a franchise is in trouble.

As for current priorities, the Senators still need to figuring out their coaching issue and Joshua Clipperton tweeted that Senators GM Pierre Dorion would like to have a new head coach named by the draft at the very latest. The panel of Insider Trading at TSN listed a number of names outside of the already popular Alain Vigneault and Joel Quenneville as choices.

Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks, Nov. 9, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Darren Dreger said that Sweden’s Rikard Gronborg interviewed with the New York Rangers and is on the Senators radar and said former Edmonton Oilers head coach, Ralph Krueger could be interested in returning to the NHL. The panel said the team could have as many as 30-40 names on their list that they’ll need to widdle down by the end of the season.

The consensus seems to be that the Senators will focus on younger guys, targeting AHL coaches and NHL assistants with some head coaching experience.

Red Wings May Lose Axel Holmstrom

While the Detroit Red Wings go through some pretty big changes over the summer, one Red Wings prospect who looks like he may never play again for the team is Axel Holmstrom. It appears he’s set for a return to Europe, specifically Sweden.

A recent report from Swedish news source Kvall Posten makes it appear there is some doubt about his long-term future with Detroit and that the NHL nor KHL are not options.

Axel Holmstrom, Grand Rapids Griffins, Jan. 2019 (Jenae Anderson / The Hockey Writers)

Instead, it seems as though Holmstrom is destined for Sweden and several SHL teams are looking to acquire his services, preparing to battle it out to land him. The bidding war has gotten so high, it seems two well-known teams are out of the running — Skelleftea AIK and Vaxjo Lakers HC.

Lulea HF and HV71 appear to be ready to pay the most to get him and because of this, there’s no reason for Holmstrom to come back to the NHL.

Panarin to the Flyers?

NBC Sports is reporting that Blue Jackets star Artemi Panarin may be the top target for the Philadelphia Flyers this summer. The Flyers have a ton of salary cap space and speculation is the team feels it’s missing a true scorer.

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin and Anaheim Ducks defenseman Josh Manson (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

The article states that the Flyers may be prepared to offer up a second- or third-round draft pick to the Blue Jackets in June for Panarin’s exclusive negotiating rights and would have no issue paying the rumored $10 million-plus per season to sign him.

Listen to the Latest Edition of The Hockey Writers Podcast

By Jim Parsons on Mar 07, 2019 12:11 pm

In today’s rumor rundown, we look at the injuries on defense for the Toronto Maple Leafs and ask if they should have done more at the trade deadline, are the Florida Panthers working on an extension with Riley Sheahan, will the Nashville Predators sign a couple of their own free agents or let them walk and there are a few updates on the Mark Stone situation in Vegas.

Did Maple Leafs Make Deadline Mistake?

Post Media writer Michael Traikos is reporting Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas may be regretting his lack of additions on the blue line now that he’s dealing with injuries to defensemen Travis Dermott and Jake Gardiner. Dubas said, had he known, he’d have done more to add a defenseman at the deadline.

Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)

Michael Augello wonders if that is true because Dubas knew he might be short-handed to close out the season. He said, “Gardiner, Rosen & Borgman were all hurt before 2/25, Holl had played 2 games, Ozhiganov had been idle for a month & Marincin is an unmitigated disaster on D.”. He adds that, seeing as how the Winnipeg Jets got Nathan Beaulieu and the St. Louis Blues got Michael Del Zotto for 6th round picks, the Maple Leafs could have added at little cost to the team.

Panthers and Sheahan Working on Extension?

George Richards of The Athletic is reporting the Florida Panthers are interested in re-signing pending unrestricted free agent Riley Sheahan and that Sheahan is interested in coming back to the Panthers.

Richards writes:

“We would like to sign them or else we would have moved them,” Tallon said of the likes of Sheahan and Troy Brouwer. “I’m real happy with Riley, he has played real well for us. He’s a piece we would like to keep… He’s a guy who brings a lot to the table, plays hard and can play up and down the lineup. He brings physicality, size and skill and is an aggressive player. I think those are some things we missed in the first half of the season.”

source – ‘Once thought to be a trade-deadline casualty, Riley Sheahan would like to stay with Panthers’ – The Athletic – George Richards – 03/06/2019

When asked whether or not he’d like to come back to Florida next season, Sheahan said “It’s a good possibility” and “Everything is good here, and it’s a great spot to live. I think it’s a great fit.”

Sheahan admits that he thought he might have been moved at the deadline and he would have understood it but he likes the fit and knows Tallon wants him around.

Predators and Internal Free Agents

What will the Nashville Predators do with pending free agents like Brian Boyle, Wayne Simmonds and Mikael Granlund?

Paul Skrbina of the Nashville Tennessean thinks the Predators will welcome back Boyle next season. His low cost and that he fits a need for the team makes for a good fit. The Predators will likely want to sign Granlund to an extension. He has one year left on his current deal.

That said, he believes Wayne Simmonds will likely cost too much money.

Brannstrom As Good as it Got For Senators

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet mentioned in his latest 31 Thoughts column that he thinks and has the backup of a few NHL executives that Erik Brannstrom was the best prospect the Ottawa Senators were going to get in any Mark Stone trade. One exec said, “Even if you think they should have gotten a first-rounder (from Vegas), they still weren’t getting a better young player than that. No one was going to beat it.”

Erik Brannstrom, Chicago Wolves, Dec. 2018 (Jenae Anderson / The Hockey Writers)

it sounds like the Senators had asked the Calgary Flames for Juuso Valimaki and trying to get a first-rounder out of Vegas, but neither option came to be. The backup plan for Ottawa was Anthony Beauvillier and a first-round pick from the New York Islanders.

Where Is the Mark Stone Extension?

Speaking of Mark Stone there has been a little buzz out of Vegas concerning why the official Stone extension hasn’t been announced. It was eligible to be officially done on March 1, 2019, and while everyone knew there was a deal in principle prior to that, people were waiting on the announcement.

The good news is, the delay does not equate to a problem or cold feet by either side. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that the only reason the deal isn’t done was a personal issue that kept GM George McPhee out of town and McPhee wanted to be there in person when the deal was signed.

By Jim Parsons on Mar 06, 2019 01:39 pm

In today’s rumor rundown, there is news on Niklas Kronwall out of Detroit, Mats Zuccarello out of Dallas and Dylan Strome out of Chicago. What will these three teams do with these three players? Also, is Jonathan Dahlen getting so many hate messages from Canucks fans that he had to quit social media?

Kronwall Undecided on His Future

Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News is reporting that Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall is not 100% sure on what he wants to do moving forward as far as his playing career goes in the NHL. At the NHL trade deadline he had no desire to move on from the Red Wings but lost a good friend in Gustav Nyquist when Nyquist was sent to the San Jose Sharks.

Niklas Kronwall #55, Detroit Red Wings – December 18, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets had reportedly shown some interest in acquiring Kronwall at the deadline and while he called it flattering that other teams would have an interest, his not wanting to leave was as much about being a Red Wing as anything else. “I told him this means – this is more to me than just hockey – being part of the Red Wings for all these years. It’s something few people get the chance to be part of and I’m extremely grateful for that chance.”

It sounds like, the more Kronwall thinks about his future, the more it seems the two choices are to either re-sign with the Wings or retire. He’s not sure if he has one more season in him. “We’ll sit down after the year and go from there,” Kronwall said.

Zuccarello Will Let Things Play Out

Mike Heika of NHL.com is reporting that newly acquired Dallas Stars forward and pending free agent forward Mats Zuccarello will not rush a decision on his status for next season. He has not determined if he’ll test free agency or sign an extension with the Stars.

Dallas Stars center Mats Zuccarello (Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports)

When asked if he’s thought about his status as a free agent much, he responded, “Not as much as you probably have.”

Saying he was sad when he realized last summer he was probably going to be playing his last season with the Rangers and that a trade was likely, he’s realized how good it can be somewhere else too. He’s loved his time with the Dallas Stars so far.

“I’m just excited to be here right now,” Zuccarello said, “and focus on getting healthy and coming back to play in the playoffs.”

Chicago Has a Decision to Make on Dylan Strome

The Chicago Blackhawks have some decisions to make this summer and one of them might be the future plans for a pleasant surprise that joined the club this season. Dylan Strome is on a fantastic run with the Blackhawks since coming over from the Arizona Coyotes and while he has one more season after this on his entry-level contract, it might be wise for the Hawks to lock him up sooner than later.

Chicago Blackhawks celebrate (AP Photo/LM Otero)

As John Dietz of the Daily Herald notes, both Strome and Alex DeBrincat can be signed as early as July but Strome may be more challenging of a decision. At only 22 years old, he has been quite productive since joining Chicago but he struggled in Arizona and not only will that play a role in negotiations, but it’s hard to know which version of Strome the Blackhawks might get over the long-term.

It sounds like both sides may hold off to see if the performances of Debrincat and Strome can be duplicated into next season.

Did Dahlen Ask for a Trade or Not?

According to a report by Scott Brown of The Score, former Canucks prospect Jonathan Dahlen has denied asking for a trade out of Vancouver and the fact that Jim Benning said one was requested, has left him the target of hateful Vancouver fans. The messages have been so bad, Dahlen said he had to quit Twitter and Instagram.

While Dahlen didn’t cite any of the social media posts specifically, it certainly sounds like there is a discrepancy between what the Canucks are saying happened on Dahlen’s way to San Jose and what the player is saying.

Listen to the Latest Version of The Hockey Writers Podcast

Recent Articles:

Latest News