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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 07/10/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
07/10/2019 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Jul 09, 2019 12:37 pm
In today’s NHL rumors there are rumblings as to why the Dallas Stars chose Joe Pavelski over Mats Zuccarello, updates on the Vegas Golden Knights and Nikita Gusev, changes to the offer sheet situation with Mitch Marner and questions surrounding Jesse Puljujarvi and if he’s reconsidered his trade request out of Edmonton.
Marner Offer Sheet Situation Changes?
We reported not long ago that teams were eyeing up the idea of submitting an offer sheet to Mitch Marner and The Hockey News Ken Campbell believes two teams might have already done so.
Campbell says Marner may have rejected those two offers because he didn’t like the destinations and he suggested the forward is looking for either a one-year deal at $14 million or a five-year deal at just over $11 million.
Campbell suggests that things have changed slightly and there might be a hold on any future offer sheets making it so that both the player and the Maple Leafs don’t have so much time to decide their future. By pitching in July, it gives the Maple Leafs too much time to match the offer or make other moves.
It’s also a case that there are few teams who can outright afford to make an offer without sacrificing some of the internal housekeeping they need to do with their own clubs.
Jesse Puljujarvi Doesn’t Care About Oilers Changes
As per a report by TSN, Jesse Puljujarvi’s agent, Markus Lehto said the Edmonton Oilers hiring a new general manager and a new coach hasn’t changed Puljujarvi’s mind about his future.
Early in the offseason, it was made public that Puljujarvi had requested a trade from the Oilers through his agent who said he didn’t see how the two sides could possibly still be a fit after everything that’s happened. Lehto stayed strong on that stance and said, “Sometimes a player and a team are not a fit. This seems to be the case here. Nothing radical about it.”
The Oilers are sticking with their stance as well that they won’t trade Puljujarvi without getting a decent return and are willing to let him go to Europe if that’s what he decides to do.
There was a report linking Puljujarvi to the Los Angeles Kings but that doesn’t seem likely considering their new head coach is Todd McLellan.
Why Dallas Chose Pavelski Over Zuccarello
Mike Heika of NHL.com believes there were a couple of reasons the Dallas Stars chose to go hard after Joe Pavelski instead of Mats Zuccarello. First was the term given to Pavelski; it didn’t require more than a three-year commitment. Second, the ability to hang onto their 2020 first-round pick was key in their willingness to let Mats Zuccarello walk.
The Stars wanted Zuccarello, but when they knew they had a good shot at Pavelski, the focus shifted to the shorter term with less to lose.
Five Teams For Nikita Gusev?
We’ve touched on the situation between Nikita Guzev and the Vegas Golden Knights before, and according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, the two sides are still about $2 million per season apart on a two-year deal.
Granger writes that with Gusev wanting $4 million per season the Golden Knights don’t have enough cap space to make that offer:
Not only is the $2.575 million not enough to sign Gusev, but Vegas is also closing in on deals to bring back unrestricted free agent Deryk Engelland, and restricted free agents Malcolm Subban and Jimmy Schuldt.
There’s not enough money to go around, so Vegas has two options.
Suggesting either they trade the pieces to make room or move Gusev (which they don’t want to do), The Hockey News’ Steven Ellis names five teams that might be trade partners with the Golden Knights in this situation: the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, and Edmonton Oilers. Ottawa, New Jersey, and Columbus don’t have any cap issues and seem like the most logical scenarios.
The Golden Knights are extremely fearful that they might move Gusev and he’ll become a huge explosion on offense for another team.
The post NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs, Oilers, Stars, Gusev, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jul 08, 2019 01:27 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are updates out of St. Louis where Patrick Maroon is finding he may not get what he wants, the Chicago Blackhawks feel they are a much better team in better salary cap shape but might not be done yet and the Calgary Flames are looking for the right deals, just not finding them. Are the Vancouver Canucks and Brock Boeser closer to a deal and did something go down between the Islanders and Robin Lehner?
Maroon Wants to Stay
Lou Korac of NHL.com is reporting that unrestricted free agent forward Patrick Maroon really wants to stay in St. Louis. Maroon went home to St. Louis and signed a one-year contract last summer. It was for a lower value than he wanted but the hope was that he’d impress and get a longer-term deal. Despite playing well in the second half of last season, it appears that plan hasn’t worked out.
Korac reports that limited salary cap space is going to see Maroon exit the Blues organization. There are too many restricted free agents on the Blues that need to be locked up and the risk Maroon runs by waiting is having what happened last offseason happen again. He waited too long and lost millions of dollars.
Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports Maroon has several one-year offers from around the league but is waiting for the right fit and at least a “couple years.”
Sticking with the Blues, they have no plans to trade goaltender Jake Allen this offseason, according to Jeremy Rutherford. Allen has two years left on his deal and even with the emergence of Jordan Binnington, Allen is a part of the Blues future.
Chicago Blackhawks Not Done
Despite being one of the busier teams so far in the offseason, the Chicago Blackhawks are not necessarily done making moves. Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago reports the Blackhawks still have three open roster spots, some restricted free agents and a player who might be a bit easier to trade now.
Artem Anisimov received his $2 million bonus last week and he no longer has a modified no-trade clause. He carries a $4.55 million cap hit but only $5 million in salary for the next two seasons. For a team that isn’t in cap trouble, he could be a viable option.
Flames Haven’t Found the Right Deal
We reported a couple days ago that one of the reasons the Calgary Flames haven’t been active in signing free agents is because they are looking to take care of some internal business first.
Flames GM Brad Treliving’s acknowledged to reporters, including Postmedia’s Kristen Anderson, that the team hasn’t found a deal that makes sense just yet.
Anderson writes:
Treliving said they’ve been “active to try to create” cap space, but haven’t been able to find things that fit and expects this “internal business” to take up the “lion’s share” of the summer.
Boeser Interested in a Four-Year Deal
During a spot on TSN Radio Vancouver, Ben Kuzma said regarding the negotiations between the Vancouver Canucks and restricted free agent Brock Boeser, “I’ve learned the Boeser camp will do a 4 year deal with the #Canucks”
Lou and Lehner Had Something Go Down
It surprised many when Robin Lehner didn’t re-sign with the Islanders and when the team then went and signed 31-year old Semyon Varlamov to four years at $5 million per season.
Larry Brooks of NY Post is reporting there is some belief that something personal may have happened between GM Lou Lamoriello and goaltender Robin Lehner during contract talks. What that something was remains unclear, but it might explain why a goaltender that played so well for the Islanders and was key to their season wasn’t really welcomed back and at the same time, the goaltender happy enough to leave.
The post NHL Rumors: Blues, Blackhawks, Flames, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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