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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 09/18/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
09/18/2019 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Sep 18, 2019 08:50 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on the Boston Bruins moving on to negotiate with defenseman Torey Krug, there is potential the Pittsburgh Penguins will offload a goaltender on the cheap and Mikko Rantanen is literally getting farther away from joining the Colorado Avalanche. Finally, is there more to Laine’s negotiations than just money? It sure sounds like it.
Bruins Set to Talk With Krug
Now that the big-ticket restricted free agents are signed in Boston, the Bruins can turn their attention to soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Torey Krug. Krug has been waiting for the Bruins to conduct their other business but now wants to get negotiations started on a new deal.
Bruins GM Don Sweeney told NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty that he expects to start extension discussions with Krug’s camp soon. He just needs to do some salary-cap forecasting first.
The reason the Bruins can’t just jump into a new deal with Krug is because the organization back-loaded Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo’s new deals. Doing so guarantees the Bruins will pay more later by paying less now and the team has $56 million committed to the 2020-21 roster. Krug won’t come cheap so the Bruins have to work the numbers to ensure they can handle his sizeable raise.
Related: Torey Krug’s Long Road to Boston
Peguins to Move Jarry for Almost Nothing?
According to Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review he Pittsburgh Penguins tried to trade goaltender Tristan Jarry this summer. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to do so and receive a suitable return.
Rorabaugh writes:
General manager Jim Rutherford might explore that option again if only to get something in return, even if its only a late-round draft pick, instead of losing Jarry for nothing through waivers.
Other NHL teams will limit their offers knowing there’s a good chance Jarry will be available for close to nothing, if not for free over the next couple of weeks. Why pay when the Penguins will have to move him?
Related: Ranking NHL Teams By Goaltenders
Rantanen to Join Up With Laine
It appears things have turned another interesting corner in the storyline that is the Colorado Avalanche trying to work out an extension with Mikko Rantanen. Because the two sides aren’t close on a deal, Rantanen is taking off to stay in shape.
According to a report out of Finland, Rantanen will join Patrik Laine with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA to train until things are figured out with the Avs. Rantanen played for their head coach Kari Jalonen in the 2016 World Championship so there is some familiarity for the player.
That Rantanen is taking off to play, where he knows, makes sense but it’s not a good sign that negotiations are getting closer. Ironically, SC Bern looks like they are icing a team that could be a Stanley Cup contender.
Sticking with Laine, he told Iltalehti writer Pekka Jalonen in Finnish, (translated by Jalonen): “In contract negotiations, one thing is always who I play with. With the merits I’ve got, in somewhere else I’d play with the best players. Everyone who understands something about hockey knows it.”
It sounds like Laine isn’t pleased about where he often slots in the Winnipeg depth chart. Most of last season he was on the second line and when captain Blake Wheeler was asked about Laine’s comments and his feelings on Laine wanting to be slotted higher, Wheeler said he liked that the young winger was “hungry for more.”
The post NHL Rumors: Bruins, Penguins, Rantanen, Laine, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Sep 17, 2019 11:50 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are updates on some of the biggest restricted free agent names yet to sign their deals. What’s the latest on Brayden Point? Where are the Winnipeg Jets at with the Patrick Laine negotiations? What did the GM’s of the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars say about moves and deals they are working on? What is the big holdup in getting Mikko Rantanen signed?
Optimistic on Brayden Point
According to video released by Joe Smith of The Athletic, Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois spoke to fans Sunday and noted he is “very optimistic” about getting Brayden Point re-signed.
He said he didn’t believe there was a reason to panic, that things have been cordial, there is an ongoing dialogue and both sides really want to make it work in Tampa.
According to Luke Fox of Sportsnet, Point’s agent, Gerry Johannson has said that Point is open to a variety of contract terms, anything from a two-year bridge deal to a five-year Matthews-type deal to an eight-year lockup.
Related: Ranking NHL Teams By Forwards
The Latest on Mikko Rantanen
Finding ways to save money when it comes to Mikko Rantanen is not something GM Joe Sakic is concerned with thanks to a ton of cap space in Colorado. “It’s not something we’re worried about. He’s going to be here a long time,” Sakic said.
What appears to be more the concern is if Rantanen signs for a high-priced deal that is well beyond what Nathan McKinnon is making. While McKinnon is a steal of a deal in the NHL, if you sign Rantanen for $10.5 million, the concern out of Colorado is, are you really ok with indirectly asserting that Rantanen is 40 percent more valuable?
The players on the Avalanche know this is a tough spot for Rantanen because he wants to be in Colorado but has to get fair value for the production he’s been providing the team. Captain Gabriel Landeskog told the Denver Post Sunday. “As much as he’d like to be here, he can’t go out and sign an eight-year deal at $1 million a year just to be nice.”
Rantanen’s absence doesn’t seem to be a distraction though. Mike Chambers of the Denver Post writes:
Rantanen, 22, has missed the first three days of Avalanche training camp, including Friday and Saturday’s on-ice sessions, because he doesn’t have a contract as a restricted free agent coming out of the three-year, entry-level deal. But he’s the last guy who would ever disrupt the Avs’ locker room over a salary dispute.
Matthew Tkachuk Wants a Five-Year Deal
If what Tkachuk said in February still holds true today. Fox reports that Tkachuk is looking for a five-year deal out of the Calgary Flames similar to the one Auston Matthews signed.
GM Brad Treliving has confidence that he will get his player signed but it will likely end with Tkachuk becoming the Flames’ highest-paid player. That means, because of limited cap space, Treliving has reportedly entertaining trade offers for roster players like Michael Frolik and T.J. Brodie.
Treliving noted that the Marner contract would not impact the Tkachuk talks.
Patrick Laine Goes to Switzerland
Laine is currently training in Switzerland with SC Bern as his agent and Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff try to find a contract solution. The Jets are rumored to have offered a bridge deal of three years at around $5 million per season. Laine said of his decision, “Obviously a great organization and great city, so it was an easy choice to come here.”
Speculation is that Laine is not opposed to a shorter-term deal banking on the fact that two or three strong years will set him up to hit a home run on the next deal.
Nill Comments on Julius Honka Situation
As Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports and as we’ve already reported, the Montreal Canadiens are a team interested in acquiring the services of defenseman Julius Honka from the Dallas Stars. GM of the Stars, Jim Nill commented on the trade request from his player.
“Did we handle him right at times? Yes or no, we don’t know.” Nill said that Honka needs to take some responsibility here too. “You get an opportunity, you’ve got to grab it. Sometimes, things don’t work out. There’s different personalities, but that’s sports and that’s life.
Of the trade and the Stars working to move Honka, “Some people fit in, some people don’t, and away we go.”
The post NHL Rumors: Lightning, Jets, Avs, Flames, Stars, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Sep 16, 2019 12:50 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown there is news out of Colorado that the specifics of Mikko Rantanen’s next deal are becoming clearer, Mitch Marner turned down two different offer sheets and Brian Boyle is waiting for the smoke to clear so he can sign with one of the many teams interested.
Avs Will Have to Pay For Rantanen
Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey New writes that he’s been told the Colorado Avalanche won’t be “reacting” based on Mitch Marner‘s new contract. This despite the fact that Marner’s deal likely gives a better indication of the value of Rantanen’s next deal.
Dater adds that Marner’s deal in Toronto is not great news for Colorado considering it will now cost significantly more money to extend Rantanen and Mike Chambers of the Denver Post writes Marner’s deal puts Rantanen around $10.5 million per season.
Chambers writes:
Rantanen doesn’t want the attention. But for himself, his family, his future family and his peers, he needs to get what he’s worth. The NHL Players Association and his agents don’t want him to take a “nice-guy” discount. His teammates are probably rooting for Rantanen among themselves.
Marner Given Offer Sheets to Consider
Mitch Marner’s agent Darren Ferris told Sportsnet radio that two offer sheets were presented to his client during the offseason. Marner declined both of them, instead wanting to get a deal done with Toronto.
Marner himself confirmed the accurate of the report, explaining his decision not to accept any deal to Kristen Shilton of TSN:
As soon as Darren mentioned [offer sheets], I told him right away I don’t want to explore that option. But I didn’t want to miss training camp…or any games this season, so that’s why I really forced the issue with Kyle [Dubas] to get something done and get me here.
Marner and Ferris wouldn’t confirm which two teams made the offers but speculation is that the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild were the two teams.
Brian Boyle Has Teams Interested
Scott Burnside of The Athletic notes that Brian Boyle is skating in Foxboro while he waits for the NHL marketplace to open up a spot for him to sign somewhere. The logjam of contracts and restricted free agents with teams trying to figure out their salary structures have made it hard for him to find a home.
Burnside writes:
It’s believed as many as five teams, including Nashville, Florida and the New York Rangers, are interested in Boyle’s services if the right circumstances presented themselves.
Update on Brandon Carlo
The Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy reports there is no update as to when Brandon Carlo will return to the Boston Bruins. GM Don Sweeney offered no timetable for his return to training camp as the defenseman is the last big piece of the Bruins’ restricted free agent puzzle that needs to be put in place.
Speculation is that Sweeney feels he can get Carlo under contract despite only having $3.2 million in cap space remaining to sign him. If so, that would be a pretty big win for the Bruins.
The post NHL Rumors: Avalanche, Bruins, Marner, Boyle, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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