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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 06/29/2020
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
06/29/2020 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Jun 28, 2020 01:50 pm
In today’s NHL rumors rundown, there are serious chicken-or-the-egg style questions surrounding the New Jersey Devils coaching search. Which hire should come first, the head coach or general manager? Meanwhile, will Bryan Little of the Winnipeg Jets be back with the team this season? Would the Ottawa Senators consider trading one of their first-round draft picks? And, what will teams like Buffalo do with their No. 8 selection?
Devils Heavily Considering Lindy Ruff
It was mentioned earlier this week that Lindy Ruff was being considered as an option for the vacant head coaching job with the Devils but with candidates like Peter Laviolette, Gerard Gallant, Mike Babcock, John Stevens, Bruce Boudreau also on the list, it didn’t appear Ruff was a favorite. In fact, he might be.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that Ruff is hardly an afterthought but what’s more interesting about the potential hire is that the organization is still looking for a general manager and candidates who have been interviewed for that job want some say as to who the coach becomes. It begs the question, why hire a coach first? The feeling is that the Devils are high enough on Ruff or have gotten the feedback from their GM candidates that they feel Ruff is a safe hire regardless of the GM.
Senators Would Listen to Trade Offers on First-Round Pick
Despite dropping spots in the draft lottery and their excellent combined odds of picking first-overall not helping them at all, the Senators are now slated to pick third and fifth at this year’s NHL Entry Draft.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun says that Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion noted that the organization will listen to trade offers for the No. 3 and No. 5 pick but added that he’s 99.9 percent certain that they will keep those picks. This is a deep draft and Dorion is confident the team will get a good player.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Dorion is cool to the notion of trading down. He indicated it would have to be “a special player coming our way” to make that happen.
Speaking of the draft lottery, there are more than a few insiders and media personalities trashing the NHL over the way the lottery took place. Perhaps the most vocal of them is Sportsnet analyst Brian Burke who called the whole thing a disgrace. He said:
“This makes no sense. It should’ve been just the seven teams that weren’t in the play-in round in the lottery. Give the teams who need the most help the best players.”
Sabres to Trade No. 8 Pick?
Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News believes Sabres new general manager Kevyn Adams should trade his club’s first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Perhaps because he’s new and wants to put his stamp on the club early, or because the Sabres need immediate help, the argument is that the team has more to gain by grabbing a strong player that can help today.
The Sabres aren’t in a situation where they can wait two or three seasons for a prospect to develop. He writes that the Sabres might want to package the pick with defenseman Brandon Montour. He writes:
This team needs help. Especially down the middle. See what’s out there for a No. 2 center. You wonder if Brandon Montour can sweeten the pot. You don’t know who might be willing to deal until you put up that “For Sale” sign.
Jets Will Not Get Little Back
Paul Friesen of The Winnipeg Sun writes that Bryan Little will not be back with the Winnipeg Jets this season. Whether the season starts or not or regardless of how far the Jets might advance, his injury situation will keep him out of the lineup.
The Jets have stated that Little will not return to action even after the league’s pause comes to an end and the postseason tournament begins. Little suffered a perforated eardrum and concussion and Friesen writes:
He had surgery to repair his ear in March, and said he’s feeling “pretty good” these days.
The Jets have already announced Little’s season is over, and that’s not expected to change if the NHL finds a way to stage a playoff tournament.
The post NHL Rumors: Devils, Senators, Sabres, Jets, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jun 27, 2020 01:05 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the Montreal Canadiens will be getting back a top-tier prospect just in time for the play-ins, while the Philadelphia Flyers appear to be losing a possible black ace. There is talk about which goaltender the Golden Knights might want to keep, and the Edmonton Oilers are bringing a high-end defensive prospect to camp.
Kotkaniemi to Return for Canadiens
According to reports from Arpon Basu of The Athletic, Montreal Canadiens center Jesperi Kotkaniemi has been cleared to play in their upcoming play-in series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is great news considering there were questions about his availability and this timeline for a return is much earlier than the initial, according to a team source. Kotkaniemi suffered an injury to his spleen on March 6 while on assignment with AHL Laval.
Whether coach Claude Julien decides to insert him or not is still uncertain. will be up to him, but Kotkaniemi would be available to play.
Basu writes:
It remains unclear whether Kotkaniemi, Artturi Lehkonen, Joel Armia and players returning from the United States would have to submit to the mandatory 14-day quarantine in place for all people entering Canada. Friday would have been the final day a player could arrive and serve that quarantine to be ready for the proposed July 10 start of training camp. Carey Price remains in place in Kennewick, Washington awaiting the conclusion of negotiations on the return to play protocol.
Flyers to Lose Vorobyev
Philadelphia Flyers forward Mikhail Vorobyev appears to be leaving the NHL and heading back overseas. It was first reported by Gorozbor in Russia that he might be signing in the KHL and it has now been confirmed by Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer Vorobyev is expected to sign a three-year contract with Salavat Yulaev.
Vorobyev didn’t get a lot done with Flyers, but for the Phantoms he was arguably one of their best players. With 12 goals and 28 points in 45 games, Coach Scott Gordon said he was the team’s most consistent player, to say the least.
Carchidi writes:
NHL teams are allowed to recall extra players as they attempt to restart the season this summer. Vorobyev had been expected to be recalled, but that is not going to happen, a source said.
In other Flyers, news, the window of exclusive negotiating rights with prospect Wyatt Kalynuk has passed. The defenseman will now become a free agent. The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor tweets:
He’s now free to speak with and sign with other teams. But the Flyers have been told they’re still in consideration. Kalynuk will definitely test the waters, though.
Oilers Bringing Two Prospects to Camp
According to The Athletics’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman, two of the Oilers main prospects will be attending Phase 3 of the NHL’s ‘Return to Play’ plan. Those players are defenseman Philip Broberg and goaltender Olivier Rodrigue.
Phase 3, which is training camps, is slated to begin on July 10th and it’s unclear if either player will be ready in time since quarantines may still be required for European players returning.
Golden Knights to Move Fleury Instead of Lehner?
Sean O’Leary of The Score wrote an article looking at the top UFA goaltenders of the offseason and listed Vegas’ Robin Lehner at the top spot. Citing Lehner’s better stats, he wonders if the Golden Knights would consider moving Fleury if Lehner outperforms him in the playoffs.
That’s not a terribly easy thing to do considering what Lehner will likely be asking for on the open market, Fleury carries two more years on his contract, he’s 35, and has a 10-team no-trade list. A $7 million annual average value deal this offseason might be tricky to move considering news that the cap might stay flat for two more seasons.
No NHL Hub City Announcement
As per John Shannon, “At ease everyone. There will be no announcement of NHL Hub cities this weekend. Hoping it happens before Wednesday, which is a holiday in Canada.”
The post NHL Rumors: Canadiens, Flyers, Golden Knights, Oilers, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jun 26, 2020 01:50 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news out of Boston that forward Jake DeBrusk could be a trade candidate. At least one player is severely unhappy with the CBA negotiations and disputes could threaten a return-to-play delay. And, the Seattle arena gets a name and for some pretty cool reasons.
Could DeBrusk Be Moved By Bruins?
Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston believes Jake DeBrusk could be moved by the Bruins due to the money he’s about to receive as a 23-year-old restricted free agent. Haggerty suggests DeBrusk could command between $4.5 million and $5.5 million and with Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara, and several others to re-sign, the Bruins might not have room.
Haggerty speculated Bruins management might have to consider moving DeBrusk and getting a strong return before his production declines (he didn’t have a great season), especially if the choice comes down to DeBrusk or Krug. Haggerty writes:
These days DeBrusk is going to command a big jump in salary to the $4.5-5-5 million average annual value and he still hasn’t quite developed into a consistently productive top-6 offensive threat on the second line. If there was a time to deal away DeBrusk in the midst of salary cap constraints, this would be the time to do it while getting back pretty close to maximum value for a young, still-developing player.
CBA Holding Up an NHL Return To Play?
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet is reporting that there is potentially a big issue between the players and the league when it comes to a return to play. It all has to do with the CBA negotiations.
Friedman notes:
“According to multiple sources, the potential agreement between the NHL and NHLPA caps escrow at 20 percent for the 2020-21 season. Original guesstimates were escrow at 35 percent if this year did not finish, 27-28 even if it did.”
That’s a huge drop.
Friedman adds that there would be a one-season-only 10 percent salary deferral by every player which feels a lot like a “payment plan you might negotiate with your credit card company.” Players would get that money back, but the escrow would be lower when repaid.
The big news for teams is that as part of the agreement, the salary cap will be kept close to the current $81.5 million for the next three seasons with it possibly rising up $1 million in 2022-23.
The players will get a vote on these changes and there are some, like New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin, suggesting players hold out until the CBA is agreed upon. What could hold up the process is that different groups of players will want different things.
While not everyone agrees with this take, player agent Allan Walsh described it in the following way:
The inherent insidiousness of the NHL’s salary cap system on full display. Player with an $11.6M cap hit (salary of $14M) is rightly outraged by escrow. However, a player pending UFA this summer wants the highest possible Upper Limit for the most robust market for his services.
One group of players want escrow eliminated, the other wants highest Upper Limit possible (which will bring with it higher escrow). The salary cap pits players with competing self-interests against each other. Player v. Player…Just the way the NHL likes it!
Seattle Arena Gets New Name
On Thursday, it was revealed that the naming rights to the refurbished KeyArena where the NHL team will play home games were purchased by Jeff Bezos of Amazon. The new facility will be called Climate Pledge Arena and is billing itself as the first zero-carbon certified arena in the world.
Tim Leiweke, the CEO of Oak View Group, the company behind the $1 billion construction project, said the name was Bezos’ idea, and the point was to make the building represent a need to address global warming and sustainability. There is also an agreement to commit $100 million to charities focused on sustainability and ecology in the coming years, Leiweke said.
As per an article by Scott Burnside of The Athletic:
The arena will use reclaimed rainwater in the ice-making system.
The arena will be a zero-waste facility for all operations and events, and by 2024, single-use plastics will be eliminated.
The all-electric arena will be powered by 100 percent renewable electricity via the use of on-site solar panels and other renewable energy sources.
At least 75percent of the arena’s food options will be from local sources to help support regional farms and producers, and more
5 Years Today Since McDavid Was Drafted
On June 26th, 2015, the Edmonton Oilers franchise changed forever. The team selected Connor McDavid as the first overall pick. The Oilers won the draft lottery with only an 11.5% chance.
Tonight, the NHL will hold Phase 1 of this year’s draft lottery and it is being billed as The Frenzy For Lafrenière! It will air live tonight at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m on Sportsnet but could be rebroadcast is any of the top sports are not won by the seven non-play-in teams with the best odds.
Amazingly, that could include the Oilers…
The post NHL Rumors: Bruins, Oilers, Seattle Arena, CBA Issues, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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