NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 03/06/2019

March 06, 2019

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

03/06/2019 edition:

By Jim Parsons on Mar 05, 2019 01:25 pm

In today’s rumor rundown, we look at the Edmonton Oilers search for a new GM, the New York Rangers bringing over a high-end prospect, the Dallas Stars having issues with Alexader Radulov and the Columbus Blue Jackets perhaps regretting some of their trade deadline decisions.

Oilers Getting Closer In GM Search

Darren Dreger was on TSN 1260 and said that the Edmonton Oilers and getting closer to taking the next steps in their search for a new general manager. Dreger called it the “next phase” of the search.

KELOWNA, CANADA – OCTOBER 25: Head coach Kelly McCrimmon of Brandon Wheat Kings could be Oilers next GM. (Photo by Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)

Dreger commented, “I expect that the timeline is probably the next 10-14 days where Nicholson starts to finally reach out, seek permission, from some of the candidates, and there could be as many as 10 on this list.” On his list, Dreger believes is Kelly McCrimmon, Dave Nonis, Sean Burke, Mike Futa, and Mark Hunter. He also thinks current interim GM Keith Gretzky gets a good long look.

If the Oilers decide to reach out to teams in the next two weeks, they may not get permission to speak with everyone, thus it’s difficult to assume a decision is coming soon. The organization may want to wait until they can speak with all of their leading candidates.

McCrimmon Wanted by Two Teams

While McCrimmon is garnering interest from the Edmonton Oilers, that the Oilers can’t and won’t likely get a chance to speak with him for some time is fine by the new Seattle franchise as they have McCrimmon at the top of their GM candidates list.

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun said on TSN Insider Trading that, “… while Seattle hasn’t officially decided that they’re going to hire their first GM this summer that’s where they are leaning.” The speculation is that they are prepared to give him the paid gig two year before the puck drops in 2021-22.

Rangers Close to Signing a Key Prospect

The New York Rangers are closing in on a contract with one of their top prospects, Russian forward Vitali Kravtsov. According to Sportsnet’s Mike Johnston, Kravtsov is expected to sign his entry-level deal right away.

Vitali Kravtsov could be heading to New York, KHL, 2018. (Photo: HC Traktor)

KHL insider, Aivis Kalnins was the first to share the news but it is unclear if Kravtsov will come and join the Rangers right away. His current club Traktor Chelyabinsk has been knocked out of the KHL playoffs, so the Rangers could bring him in now or wait until next season.

Kravtsov was the ninth overall pick in last year’s NHL Draft. He’s got size, skill, speed and as a winger, has 21 points in 50 games this season. that’s very strong production from a teenager in the KHL. He may even make a jump this season the NHL club, skipping over the minors before he does.

Trouble in Dallas With Alexander Radulov?

There always seems to be something going on in Dallas. The drama that surrounds the team is never ending and today, it looks like Alexander Radulov will be left out of the lineup after showing up late to practice.

Alexander Radulov and Stars not seeing eye to eye? (Jerome Miron-USA)

Sean Shapiro who covers the Stars for The Athletic tweeted, “Monty: “Radulov’s going to be out. He was late this morning. That’s all I’m going to talk about it.” Radulov declined to speak to media after skating.”

This could be as simple as the Stars enforcing a rule that if you’re late you don’t skate but this is now the second time the team and Radulov have had their issues and it sounds like some people get the sense there might be a problem between the two sides.

Blue Jackets Already Regretting Trade Deadline Moves?

While the Columbus Blue Jackets haven’t exactly been on fire since the NHL trade deadline and are hanging onto a playoff spot (barely), one player the team already seems to regret trading for is defenseman Adam McQuaid.

Adam McQuaid, former New York Rangers defenseman, September 27, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

A healthy scratch in the Blue Jackets loss to the Winnipeg Jets, it appears McQuaid will be sitting out again when the team takes on New Jersey. “I have to make decisions on who I think is our best six, and right now [McQuaid] isn’t that,” Tortorella said on Monday. “I don’t know what he is; I know the character of this guy, that is a big reason why we got him, he is a high character guy. Little concerned about the speed of the game with him, so we went back to the other guys.

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By Jim Parsons on Mar 04, 2019 01:18 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on the Islanders negotiations with some of their own internal unrestricted free agents, the Minnesota Wild addressed their fans to make sure they knew the team would add this summer and be competitive and NHL GMs are getting together again at their annual March meetings and some interesting topics are being discussed.

Latest on Brock Nelson and the Islanders

From the sounds of a report by Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post, center Brock Nelson has yet to have any real negotiations with the New York Islanders about an extension. A pending UFA at the end of the season and with 43 points in 65 games, he’s looking for an increase on his $4.25 million annual salary.

Islanders center Brock Nelson (Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports)

It sounds like the fact he’s not really talked to the team about a new deal is bothering him, however. “There hasn’t really been any talks or any indication one way or the other. That’s a good thing for all parties, take it day-by-day. Everybody wants to win and we’re in a good spot to do that right now,” he said.

As for what that eventual deal might look like, Cyrgalis suggests that the Islanders want to avoid a long-term extension, hinting that the team would like to offer something much shorter than Josh Bailey’s six-year term. That would mean the Islanders increase the annual average salary and Nelson could get somewhere around $6 million per season.

On the same note, the Islanders haven’t really spoken with Jordan Eberle’s camp either.

Part of the reason some insiders think the Islanders haven’t spoken with their own players is that it is believed they might make a play for some really big-name free agents, namely Artemi Panarin and defenseman Erik Karlsson.

Minnesota Wild Will Not Rebuild

Despite some uncertainty around the future of the Minnesota Wild and what players they’ll be moving or keeping, Michael Russo of The Athletic is reporting that Wild owner Craig Leipold created a video and emailed it to season ticket holders last week saying that they won’t be going through a rebuild.

In the video, Leipold explains how excited he is to have a number of promising 22-year-old or younger players on the team to build around. He also touts how excited he is to have veterans like Eric Staal, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter who have been great for the franchise. “We plan to make some noise this summer. Just so we all understand, this is not a rebuild. To look at our team, we are ready to play right now. We are building on the fly.”

Heading into the offseason, assuming the salary cap ceiling is somewhere around $83 million, the franchise will have just under $20 million in cap space to make additions. It sounds like the No. 1 goal of the team is bring value to ticket holders and make a splash that fans can be excited about.

What Hockey-Related Items GMs are Talking About

As per a story by Pierre LeBrun on The Athletic, the NHL GM meetings in March may bring about some interesting items as far as changes or alterations to the game go.

Among the topics of discussion appear to be having clocks in the corner boards so that defenders, penalty killers and other players could see the time without having to look up. Adding more value to regulation wins than overtime wins as far as determining tiebreakers in the standings as well as items on the Seattle expansion and signing players out of the KHL.

Overall however LeBrun notes the NHL is pleased with the game. He explains:

But by and large, the NHL is in a good place. It has a game that’s fast, its got goals, its evolution has seen smaller, quicker players find a prominent place where 15 years ago that was next to impossible. Simply put, the on-ice game is fun to watch. Which is why when the GMs have met here the last few years it’s become about so much more than minor tinkering. There’s little desire for a facelift anymore.

source – ‘LeBrun: A look at the agenda items for the NHL GM meetings’ – Pierre LeBrun – The Athletic – 03/04/2019

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By Jim Parsons on Mar 02, 2019 01:14 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, we look at the leading candidates for the Ottawa Senators vacant coaching job, if the Red Wings will still be able to extend Jimmy Howard and if this offseason has the potential to be one of the busiest for franchise-altering player moves?

And the Next Senators Head Coach Is?

According to a report by the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch, there are a number of candidates that could be considered frontrunners for the vacant head coaching job in Ottawa. Garrioch lists former New York Rangers coach Alain Vigneault, Columbus Blue Jackets assistant coach Brad Shaw, and Belleville Senators’ coach Troy Mann as top candidates.

Alain Vigneault the next coach in Ottawa? (Photo: Jim Cerny/The Hockey Writers)

Outside of those three, he mentioned the man who has been given the interim coaching gig in Ottawa, Marc Crawford, former Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, Todd McLellan (formerly of the Edmonton Oilers), Sheldon Keefe of the Marlies AHL club and Mike Yeo, former coach for the St. Louis Blues. Garrioch considers a guy like Dallas Eakins an option but thinks he’s going to get the head coaching gig in Anaheim.

Of those candidates, the question to ask is, who is the best developer of young talent, listener, and communicator, willing to take feedback? Those are the qualities GM Pierre Dorion said he wanted most in a new coach.

Wings Still Hope to Re-Sign Howard

Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News is reporting that Red Wings GM Ken Holland is still interested in re-signing goaltender Jimmy Howard even though there was little interest in Howard leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline. Because most of the contending NHL clubs had strong goaltending, Howard wasn’t high on many lists.

Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings, December 20, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The Red Wings are expected to sit down with Howard right away and talk contract extension. Howard has played well for the Red Wings this season but with little interest in him around the NHL, perhaps Holland can get him on a two-year extension that is not all that costly for the club. There is a chance he’ll take less than the $5.29 million per season he’s making now.

Busy Off-Season for Franchise-Altering Moves?

The New Jersey Devils might be looking at a franchise-altering decision when it comes to Taylor Hall and his future with the organization. With only one season left after this one on his current deal and the Devils not really a playoff contending team, could the Devils try and use an offer sheet to lure in someone to help Hall? Or, will the club elect to trade him?

The Devils aren’t the only team that might face big decisions this summer. The following are some of the teams where big moves were hinted at during the season and things could pop back up this summer:

Stars’ Benn and Seguin

In Dallas, one of the stories of the season was the public call-out of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin by Dallas CEO Jim Lite. That made front-page news and while things have calmed in recent weeks, there are still some question marks surrounding Benn.

Dallas Stars Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin (AP Photo/LM Otero)

If the Stars are unhappy with Benn’s production or they regret that they signed him to such a big eight-year deal, could the team try and find a taker for his contract in the offseason? If the Stars don’t make the playoffs, the chances of that happening go up exponentially.

Seguin has produced nicely since the public lashing but Benn has only 41 points in 61 games this season.

Blues Have Some Big Names

Before they went on a magical run and now find themselves in the postseason hunt, the St. Louis Blues were ready to tear the team apart and big names like Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Pietrangelo, Brayden Schenn and Colton Parayko were all potentially available in trade.

Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues, January 6, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Third in the central right now, what has to happen in St. Louis for these names to be back on the block? Should the Blues fortunes reverse over the last 15 games or should they be ousted in the first round of the playoffs, how long before these names go on the trade block again?

Tarasenko garnered interest from a number of teams including the Carolina Hurricanes, the Bruins were linked to Schenn and the Leafs to Pietrangelo and Parayko. Would these teams be interested over the summer?

Jets and Laine

It would be hard to imagine the Jets trading Patrik Laine but a few days prior to the trade deadline, there was a report that the Winnipeg Jets didn’t hang up the phone when a team asked about his availability. Winnipeg could be a team to watch during the playoffs because if they underperform, what kind of changes might they make?

Winnipeg Jets’ Patrik Laine (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

The latest rumblings are that the Jets want to keep him but do only a short-term deal because of his inconsistencies this season. On a recent episode of the Two-Man Advantage podcast, it was suggested the Jets would have been prepared to deal Laine if the team had acquired and signed Mark Stone at the deadline. This is the second year the team has moved its first-round draft pick for a rental and if they falter in the playoffs, they might want it back.

Blue Jackets Big Gamble

The Columbus Blue Jackets took some major gambles at this year’s trade deadline. What if these gambles don’t pay off? On paper, they look to be much stronger, but names like Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky and others are free agents. The idea behind these moves was to win at least one playoff round and right now the Blue Jackets are barely hanging onto a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. If things go sideways, how many of these players will be gone?

Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner

Questions still surround what the Maple Leafs will do this offseason with their tight contract situation. Could a name like Mitch Marner be more challenging to sign than the team thinks? What if he goes on a tear in the playoffs?

Kings and… Everyone

Finally, the Los Angeles Kings are still looking to move a number of big-name players. They were unable to move names like Jonathan Quick, Tyler Toffoli, Jeff Carter, Alec Martinez, and others prior to the deadline. These names are all names they’ll still try and move this summer.

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