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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 07/19/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
07/19/2019 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Jul 19, 2019 07:40 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is speculation the Washington Capitals might be pondering the idea of a Braden Holtby trade, there are some notable unrestricted free agents still on the market but not much action surrounding them and the New York Rangers are having trouble finding trade partners. Finally, what’s the status of Charlie McAvoy and the Boston Bruins?
Would the Capitals Really Trade Braden Holtby?
J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington said during a mailbag segment there is a bit of uneasiness in Washington when it comes to the future of Braden Holtby in a Washington Capitals’ jersey.
Regan notes that Sergei Bobrovsky just received $70 million from the Florida Panthers and Holtby is the same age, has better playoff numbers and has won a Stanley Cup. There’s a good chance he’ll fetch similar pay on next year’s open market and the Capitals know it.
Washington isn’t likely to shell out huge money and term to Holtby when their prospect pipeline includes Ilya Samsonov and Vitali Vanecek. So, does that mean a trade is coming? Speculation is Washington will wait to see how they do this coming season but that he’s the kind of player to keep an eye on.
Still with the Capitals, Lucas Johansen might find himself on the trade block as a high-end defensive prospect who has now been passed on the depth chart over the last couple of seasons. Regan figures Johansen could be of interest to some teams and might be made available at some point next season.
NHL UFA Updates
Luke Fox of Sportsnet provided some updates on some of the more notable unrestricted free agents still out there on the market. He says Jake Gardiner’s option to stay in Toronto likely closed when they acquired Tyson Barrie but other doors are slowly opening. The delay is his asking price of $7 million per season in this current market. Few teams can afford to give that kind of money to a player who might have back injury concerns.
Regan also touched on Joe Thornton who he expects will re-sign with San Jose. Head coach Peter Deboer has no doubt that the 40-year-old will be back in the fold next season.
The Carolina Hurricanes are still waiting on a Justin Williams decision regarding retirement and Fox labels Ben Hutton, Derick Brassard and Patrick Maroon as players who aren’t going to get the deals they want and will have to take discounts to land work.
Rangers Need to Find a Way to Make a Move
Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that Brendan Smith has yielded no interest on the trade market and the team is having trouble shipping out Kevin Shattenkirk without another albatross contract coming back. So too, the Rangers have been trying to move winger Vladislav Namestnikov with no luck.
Brooks says due to a slim buyout window, Rangers GM Jeff Gorton will certainly be active in the coming days trying to free up the cap space he needs.
Bridge Deal for Bruins’ McAvoy?
NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty suggests that a bridge deal might be the best option for defenseman Charlie McAvoy. His offensive upside is huge but he’s been inconsistent and struck by a few injury issues.
Because he’s not eligible for an offer sheet, he doesn’t have much leverage and a shorter-term contract gives them more room to try and re-sign another restricted free agent on the team, Brandon Carlo.
There are a number of teams with current salary cap issues and those teams are actively trying to free up space. The problem is, not a lot of teams are willing to take on salary.
The post NHL Rumors: Capitals, Rangers, Bruins, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jul 18, 2019 12:16 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown there is news out of Edmonton where the Oilers might be interested in a forward from the New York Rangers. The Oilers also have some options for Milan Lucic and Jesse Puljujarvi but what are they and how realistic would they be?
In Chicago, the Blackhawks are trying to determine the right course of action when it comes to Brendan Perlini and are the Winnipeg Jets more interested in Rasmus Ristolainen or Jake Gardiner for their blue line?
Oilers Interested in Buchnevich?
David Staples of the Edmonton Journal wrote that the Edmonton Oilers might consider taking advantage of the salary cap troubles the New York Rangers are in and trading for Pavel Buchnevich if made available.
Staples writes:
… the Rangers aren’t in much of a position to bargain hard. They have about $7.0 million left in cap space this year, but have three expensive players to sign in Jacob Trouba, Anthony DeAngelo and Buchnevich. They also have to sign RFA Brendan Lemieux, whom I would love to see the Oilers offer sheet.
Buchnevich scored 21 goals and 38 points in 64 games and the consensus seems to be that he would have put up close to 50 points last season if he wasn’t hampered by injuries.
Could Ken Holland move someone like Jesse Puljujarvi or would he be better served trading something else to get a top-six scorer?
Teams Have Looked at Milan Lucic
Still with the Oilers, Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic writes that despite his bloated salary, several teams have looked at forward Milan Lucic. He doesn’t think the returns are strong but the Oilers have options.
We wrote earlier another scribe suggested a potential deal between the Calgary Flames but most Flames fans were all over that saying, ‘no way’. Nugent-Bowman didn’t mention if the Flames were part of the group of teams showing interest.
Nugent-Bowman writes:
Now that his $3-million signing bonus for 2019-20 has been paid, Lucic is only owed $16 million in actual money of the remaining $24 million against the cap. I’m told that has intrigued some teams looking into acquiring him.
Of course, with a full no-movement clause, Lucic has the final say on any tabled trade.
In the end, GM Ken Holland thinks Lucic will be part of the Edmonton Oilers next season and perhaps more likely than trading him will be trying to figure out a way to get him closer to the 23-goal player he was in 2016-17.
As for Jesse Puljujarvi, Nugent-Bowman writes that he is a priority for Holland and is considering two types of trades. First is for a young prospect much like the trade that saw Buffalo acquire defenceman Henri Jokiharju from Chicago for winger Alex Nylander. The other is trading for an established top-nine forward.
Holland is hoping to find a team willing to trade young prospects. That would be his preference.
Latest on Brendan Perlini
Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman spoke with reporters including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago and part of the discussion related to the status of restricted free agent forward Brendan Perlini.
Bowman said of negotiations:
We had some roster things we had to take care of to be in a position to sign him. Negotiations are probably going to pick up as we go forward here. …I don’t have a timetable on when we’re going to get him signed.
There was earlier speculation the Blackhawks were shopping Perlini but that was before Artem Anisimov was traded to the Ottawa Senators. With an extra $1.3 million per season freed up thanks to that trade, the Blackhawks might be thinking re-signing Perlini is the best course of action. The limited cap space still makes this a signing that isn’t going to be easy.
Winnipeg Jets Going Ristolainen or Gardiner?
While on WGR 550, Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press discussed recent rumors linking Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to the Winnipeg Jets. He also mentioned there was some talk regarding offensive d-man Jake Gardiner.
Hamilton said Nikolaj Ehlers has come up in trade rumors going the other way but doesn’t think that makes sense for the Sabres. Instead, a combination of Jack Roslovic and veteran center Mathieu Perreault might make more sense.
The post NHL Rumors: Oilers, Blackhawks, Jets, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jul 17, 2019 12:03 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news out of New Jersey where the Devils might be ticking tires on David Backes, the Toronto Maple Leafs might be hoping for an offer sheet and Taylor Hall is going to take his time before he makes a decision on his long-term future citing the fact he’s only got so much playing time left in his career to win the big one.
Devils Interested in Backes?
Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now notes that with the challenges the Boston Bruins face in respect to their salary cap, they’ll be looking to move a player like David Backes. This will give them some additional space to re-sign restricted free agent defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo.
Murphy reports that league sources say the New Jersey Devils have shown some interest in Backes. He’s an expensive addition at $6 million but the Devils have space. If Backes has included the Devils as one of his teams on his modified no-trade list, there might be something there. The Devils are likely expecting a 2020 first-round pick as a sweetener to take Backes’ contract.
Don’t Expect Taylor Hall Decision Soon
Still with the Devils, Sportsnet is reporting that the Devils and Taylor Hall are moving at a snail’s pace when it comes to an extension and both sides are ok with that. Whatever Hall decides to do will probably drag into next season.
For Hall, it’s all about making the decision to stick with the right team long-term. “You want to play on the best team possible, and I’ve played nine seasons in the NHL and only won one playoff game,” Hall said. His big decision won’t be about money as much as it will be about being on a Stanley Cup contending team for years to come.
“I kind of want to make up for lost time, but at the same time want to be smart with everything that’s going on,” he explained.
For the Devils, that means showing without a doubt that they are a team that can win and remain a contender.
Any extension for Hall will likely be $10 million-plus. There haven’t been any in-depth contract negotiations yet.
Maple Leafs Begging For an Offer Sheet?
Perhaps begging isn’t the right term but TSN’s Bob McKenzie suggests the Toronto Maple Leafs might be wishing another team would just get on with an offer sheet so they can put some closure to this situation with Mitch Marner.
“As for Marner, my view from afar is that it’s probably close to or at the point where TOR hopes an offer sheet is tendered. That would allow/force closure, one way or the other. Match the offer sheet or take the compensation, but it would be done.
He added that he believes there is a huge gap between what the team believes Marner is worth and what the player believes he’s worth. Negotiations are only going to get more difficult as time passes.
Five Names to Watch
Josh Wegman of The Score writes that there are five names worth keeping an eye on when it comes to possible big trades still to come this offseason. Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen could be moved with the excess of defensemen on the Sabres roster, the Nashville Predators might moves center Kyle Turris and the New York Rangers could move winger Chris Kreider if the two sides can’t reach a deal. Rounding out the group are Minnesota Wild winger Jason Zucker and Vegas Golden Knights forward Nikita Gusev.
The post NHL Rumors: Bruins, Maple Leafs, Devils, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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