NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 02/03/2020

February 03, 2020

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

 02/03/2020 edition:

By Jim Parsons on Feb 02, 2020 12:40 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is good news about Chris Kreider and possibly bad news about Kasperi Kapanen’s status with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Plus, what is the asking price for Ilya Kovalchuk? Finally, will there be any discipline handed out to either the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames after the rowdy game on Saturday?

Kreider’s Injury Not As Bad as Feared

The New York Rangers seem to have gotten lucky when it comes to a scary moment out of last night’s New York Rangers versus Detroit Red Wings game. Chris Kreider took a nasty hit to the head from his own teammate Mika Zibanejad early in the second period and did not return. The concern was a concussion or major head injury.

Head coach David Quinn told the media, including The New York Posts’ Brett Cygralis, “He wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I thought he would be. After the game ended, we talked, and it’s a lot better than I anticipated.” Quinn added Kreider did not suffer a concussion and is day-to-day.

Not only is this good news for Kreider but good news for the Rangers who can now make whatever decision is best for the team in terms of keeping or trading Kreider before the deadline. If he’s not seriously injured, other teams will remain interested in adding him before February 24.

The Latest on Kapanen’s Healthy Scratch

When Kasperi Kapanen was scratched from the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup on Saturday, a news of that scratch fell just minutes before the game, speculation ran rampant as to why. Many believed a trade might be coming considering no news was released related to an injury. It was revealed after the game that Kapanen was sitting because of an “internal accountability” issue.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke with the media, including TSN’s Kristen Shilton, and called it a one-time thing and the decision was only made yesterday morning. He would not go into more detail and speculation is that Kapanen was late for practice or some other team meeting. Kapanen will have a media availability on Monday, so there may be more details coming including a hint as to whether or not he’s in the doghouse in Toronto.

There is some speculation that Keefe and his staff are less-than thrilled with Kapanen and while that doesn’t necessarily equate to an upcoming trade, with Kapanen’s name is in the rumor mill so often it will be an interesting story to watch over the next two weeks.

What’s the Kovalchuk Asking Price?

According to Pierre LeBrun, belief from some teams is that the price to rent out Ilya Kovalchuk from the Montreal Canadiens is no less than a second-round draft pick. LeBrun is also hearing the Canadiens have discussed wanting to keep Kovalchuk because they see him as a positive impact both on ice and in the room.

With three weeks to go before Feb. 24, it will be intriguing to watch if any team ponies up that kind of an asset considering they could have had Kovalchuk for free just over a month ago.

Jake Muzzin Negotiations Could Get Tricky

As was pointed out in last night’s rumor update on Jake Muzzin, his early contract negotiations with the Maple Leafs are proving to be a bit tricky. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston says that it is not as simple as knowing Muzzin would like to stay and the Maple Leafs would like to keep him.

Salary cap constraints and the potential market value of Muzzin around the NHL is slowing things down. Muzzin knows that he could be among the top free agent defensemen in this summer’s crop of blueliners and while he may be willing to take a slight discount to stay in Toronto, that still leaves him in the driver’s seat when it comes to what his salary will be. This is especially accurate if Alex Pietrangelo and Torey Krug sign extensions with the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins respectively.

What does the top defenseman get on the UFA market every year? That’s what the Maple Leafs are competing with here.

Oilers and Flames Supplemental Discipline?

Considering the insanely entertaining but rowdy game the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames played in on Saturday, some are wondering if there will be any supplemental discipline by the NHL? Remember, head of the NHL Player Safety Committee, George Parros was in the crowd, still in town from when these two teams last met.

Elliotte Friedman was asked this question last night on Sportsnet and immediately shook his head no. This game, while a donnybrook, is being considered just two teams settling things on the ice. No action or suspensions will come from anything that happened.

By Jim Parsons on Feb 01, 2020 09:37 pm

In an NHL rumor rundown update, there was a lot to come out of the Saturday Headlines report with Chris Johnston and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The news includes updates on Dustin Byfulgien, Kasperi Kapanen, Jacob Markstrom, Chris Kreider and others.

Dustin Byfuglien Not Likely to Play

Elliotte Friedman noted that Dustin Byfuglien’s playing future is getting clearer. Friedman said he’s not skating yet and that while the news isn’t 100%, “it does look like the most likely scenario is that he doesn’t play this season and they revisit his future in the summer and see where everything stands at the particular point in time.”

As for the Jets, if this is how this situation with Byfuglien gets finalized in the next few days, it would allow the Jets to do a few things at the deadline as it would free up a ton of cap space.

Kapanen Pulled From Maple Leafs Lineup

Chris Johnston noted that Kasperi Kapanen’s story is a developing one and that he was very much a surprise scratch from the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. He was at the game watching the Maple Leafs and the expectation was the Sheldon Keefe would address the story post game.

Kapanen was a full participant in Friday’s practice and was at the team meeting on Saturday morning. It was then revealed after the game that Kapanen was pulled as part of an “internal accountability” issue.

In other Leafs news, Johnston confirms that Jake Muzzin and the Maple Leafs have begun preliminary discussions about extending his contract. A pending unrestricted free agent, the sense Johnston is getting is that this has been a difficult negotiation so far. Muzzin loves playing in Toronto but has to weigh that against what he could get on the open market.

Jacob Markstrom Update in Vancouver

Certainly there are contract talks going on now between the Vancouver Canucks and Jacob Markstrom says Johnston. Word is that Markstrom doesn’t want things to play out publicly but that a two-year offer might be out there for the goaltender.

The Thatcher Demko situation and the expansion draft creates a bit of an issue there and there are a number of ways this could go for the Canucks. It’s a tough one to get a read on says Johnston.

Barkov and Kreider Injured?

During the Florida Panthers game against Montreal, Aleksander Barkov might have been injured. George Richards of the Miami Herald said that Barkov appeared to hurt his left knee going into the back boards. “The #FlaPanthers star center expected to have an MRI on Sunday to determine the severity of injury.”

This would be a huge loss for the Panthers but the latest appears to be that the Panthers believe the injury is not serious.

Chris Kreider was hurt in the second period of the Rangers game on Saturday when his teammate Mika Zibanejad accidentally hit him in the head when trying to jump over him during a play. The Rangers announced he would not return to the lineup and questions about his status will now linger over the trade deadline in a major way.

Kreider was the hottest potential rental at this year’s trade deadline and a serious injury could drastically change the outlook of the deadline.

By Jim Parsons on Feb 01, 2020 01:25 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the Montreal Canadiens have sent a high-end prospect to the minors and there’s speculation as to how long, Will the Winnipeg Jets go for a big-time rental for the third straight year? What happened to Edmonton Oilers forward James Neal? He was supposed to play on Friday night and was pulled from the game last minute? And, what is Jean-Gabriel Pageau really worth at the NHL Trade Deadline?

Canadiens Demote Kotkaniemi

Since being drafted third overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Jesperi Kotkaniemi has never seen the minors. That changed when the Montreal Canadiens announced they assigned the 19-year-old to Laval of the AHL.

TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie notes this move is indefinite as the forward has struggled (eight points in 36 games) and because he’s still eligible to play because he wasn’t drafted out of the CHL. On Friday, the Canadiens also sent defenseman Cale Fleury down and it appears the Candiens are looking to get both more ice time until the trade deadline comes and goes and Montreal has moved out a few contracts.

Maurice Doesn’t Want the Jets to Rent Players

Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice told reporters, including Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun, that he hopes the Winnipeg Jets take a different approach than they have in year’s past at the trade deadline. Maurice wants the Jets to hang onto their young assets instead of grabbing a high-quality rental.

After paying big prices for Kevin Hayes and Paul Stastny and losing them in free agency, Maurice said:

So paying a high price for a rental, I don’t know that that makes a whole lot of sense for us. If we get a guy that can come in and play maybe more than the rest of the season, you’d think about doing that.

Maurice may get his way but not because Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff doesn’t want to add. He just may not be able to with the tricky cap situation the Jets are facing and the uncertainly around Dustin Byfuglien’s contract.

James Neal’s Injury Status Revealed

James Neal was removed from the Oilers roster Friday night just minutes for Edmonton was set to face the St. Louis Blues. Details about Neal’s injury were sketchy but it’s been revealed he’s dealing with a foot injury.

There’s no clarification on when he suffered the injury or how serious but speculation is that it’s only day-to-day. As of this writing, there is no announcement from the Oilers that Neal will be back in the lineup Saturday night as Edmonton gets set for their fourth meeting against the Flames.

Who Are the Dallas Stars Targeting?

In a recent mailbag segment, Mike Heika of NHL.com wrote that he can see the Dallas Stars targeting a few offensive players prior to the Feb, 24 trade deadline.

Among the players listed, Heika mentions New York Rangers winger Chris Kreider, Los Angeles Kings winger Tyler Toffoli, and Chicago Blackhawks winger Brandon Saad. More unlikely, but possible, he also notes there might be some interest in Montreal’s Ilya Kovalchuk or Pittsburgh’s Alex Galchenyuk if they can be acquired without having to give much up in return.

Pageau Might Not Fetch a First-Round Pick

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic recently took a closer look at the potential trade value of Jean-Gabriel Pageau of the Ottawa Senators and wonders if he’ll be able to fetch the Senators a first-round draft pick.

LeBrun is skeptical the Sens could get a first-round pick in return because many GMs are reluctant to part with such picks this year. He looked at a number of the teams rumored to be interested and had a hard time finding a scenario where a first-rounder was involved.

LeBrun added that most contending teams see Pageau as a second-line or third-line player and they don’t want to part with their top-end picks. He explained:

I enjoy going through that exercise above is to demonstrate the challenge that Sens GM Pierre Dorion will have in getting a straight-up, no-strings-attached first-round pick for the pending UFA centre. I’m not saying it won’t happen, but right now I see a number of teams that would want to attach conditions to it.

What he could see is a scenario where a team like the Edmonton Oilers does a conditional second-round pick that could become a first if the Oilers make deep into the playoffs.

By Jim Parsons on Jan 31, 2020 12:50 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on how many teams are in the race for Chris Kreider, the Edmonton Oilers weren’t able to escape their game against the Calgary Flames without a couple of injuries, and are the Toronto Maple Leafs wondering about throwing in the towel on this season and getting the best asset back they can for next season?

Eight Teams In on Kreider

According to Pierre LeBrun on latest edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, Chris Kreider is garnering interest from “at least eight teams” in the NHL. LeBrun couldn’t name the teams but speculation is the price on Kreider is climbing, likely having reached similar levels to what the Rangers received for Kevin Hayes last season — a first-round pick and a young forward.

Kreider has 17 goals and 32 points in 48 games this season. His offense is good, but what teams seem to like most is his speed, experience, and physical play. Kreider holds 11-team no-trade clause and considering he’s said in the past he’d like to stay a Rangers player, it will likely come into play and it’s not known at this time if any of the eight teams interested are on his list.

The New York Post’s Brett Cyrgalis asked Kreider about the talk of him being moved at the All-Star Game. Kreider said:

“It really doesn’t [cross my mind], and I know people probably roll their eyes when I say that, but I’m really trying to focus on things — I’m not trying, I am focusing on the things I can control.”

LeBrun also notes the Rangers haven’t written off the idea of a contract extension with Kreider still but none of those talks have happened to date.

Two Out, Two In For Oilers

Oilers’ forward Joakim Nygard was hurt blocking a shot in the game against the Flames on Wednesday. He left at the end of the first period, didn’t return and now it appears he has a potentially serious injury. Unfortunately, Kris Russell also went down during the game and is being looked at under the NHL’s concussion protocol.

In their place the Oilers will call up Tyler Benson who has been working towards his NHL debut for a long time. A 21-year-old forward who was drafted No. 1 by the Vancouver Giants in the 2013 WHL bantam draft dealt with injury issues and dropped in his NHL draft class. The Oilers ended up grabbing him the start of the second round and he’s slowly progressed into a skilled, high-end forward. Edmonton is hoping Benson can do for them what Kailer Yamamoto has done for them since his call-up.

The Oilers have also called up William Lagesson in place of Kris Russell.

Maple Leafs Hunting for a First-Round Pick?

The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently out of the playoff picture and there have been comments made about the team deciding the future with their play and GM Kyle Dubas only grabbing assets before the deadline that have term, even if it means passing over some of the best rentals. All of this has led to speculation the Maple Leafs might consider dumping some big names and trying to land a first-round draft pick at this year’s draft.

Rory Boylen of Sportsnet wonders if Toronto would move some key defensemen to get that first-round pick. He writes:

“But say Toronto gets to Feb. 24 and are four or more points out of the race — do they sell Tyson Barrie to the highest bidder? Cody Ceci would move, if possible. And though Jake Muzzin said last week he’d like to stay in his hometown , if an extension isn’t signed by that time/and/Toronto is chasing? GM Kyle Dubas may have to explore trade options.

He called this idea the worst case scenario for the Leafs but not out of the question. The idea would be to open up cap space or move that first-rounder in a trade for a defenseman with term during the off-season.

When the team recalled defenseman Kevin Gravel from the AHL’s Marlies on Friday morning, this added to the speculation there might be a trade coming.

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