NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 01/03/2020

January 03, 2020

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

 01/03/2020 edition:

By Jim Parsons on Jan 02, 2020 02:40 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown there is news on Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas going above and beyond for one of his forwards, but also unfortunate news that a few Maple Leafs are looking for a chance of scenery. There is an update on Justin Williams future plus news that the Pittsburgh Penguins might look at one of the NHL’s biggest trade rentals.

Dubas Earns Major Brownie Points

Word of Dubas’ good will is spreading fast when it comes to his treatment of forward Ilya Mikheyev. While he may have done what he did out of the kindness of his heart, Dubas has earned major brownie points with Mikheyev and his agent for sticking beside his injured forward the entire time he was in New Jersey recovering from surgery.

Realizing Miheyev didn’t speak English well, was away from his family and had just undergone emergency surgery, he figured Mikheyev could use a friend. His goodwill gesture was noticed by Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey and also Mikheyev’s agent. As Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports, Milstein has told many other Russian players, many of whom are his clients. Johnston writes:

The agent has KHL free agents currently drawing significant NHL interest for next season and has made sure they’re all aware of the humanity the Leafs exhibited with Mikheyev, telling them: “You should know how Toronto took care of this particular accident.”

For the Maple Leafs, this ups the odds Mikheyev will look to them when he goes to re-sign in the summer and it gives the organization better odds of being the first place KHL free agents look when entering the NHL.

Unfortunately, not all the news is good for the Maple Leafs. One player who is looking for a change is forward Jeremy Bracco. Bracco’s 79 points in 75 games should have probably gotten the prospect a look thanks to a rash of Maple Leafs injuries but because he plays right wing and the Maple Leafs have Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Kasperi Kapanen locked into the top three lines, he’s not getting a chance. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote yesterday in his 31 Thoughts column that the young forward has asked the organization to look at moving him.

Two other players are also looking for a different opportunity as Friedman suggests that both Dmytro Timashov and Ben Harpur have asked Toronto to be moved.

Justin Williams To Rejoin Hurricanes

We reported yesterday that Friedman noted a decision by Justin Williams was coming this week. Less than 24 hours later, Friedman was on NHL Network’s Morning Skate radio program and announced that Williams will indeed return and that he and the Hurricanes are merely working out the details.

Penguins Looking at Chris Kreider?

Rob Rossi of The Athletic writes that with Jake Guentzel now out four-to-six months with a shoulder injury, the Pittsburgh Penguins have about $6 million to go out and improve their roster. Rossi believes Penguins GM Jim Rutherford will do so before the trade deadline.

Rossi thinks Chris Kreider is the target and that the Penguins would be willing to move a first-round pick to land him. He writes:

With Poulin and 2019 third-round pick, forward Nathan Legare, in the Penguins system, Rutherford should feel comfortable exchanging his 2020 first-round pick — even if it is for a rental player.

His top target should be Chris Kreider, a left winger for the New York Rangers. Kreider would come with a $4.625 million cap hit, but he is on an expiring contract. Only 28, he is unlikely to pass up becoming an unrestricted free agent, so the Penguins would essentially be renting Kreider for the rest of this season.

If they could, they should.

source – ‘What creative ways could the Penguins make up for the loss of Jake Guentzel?’ – Rob Rossi – The Athletic – 01/01/2020

By Jim Parsons on Jan 02, 2020 07:10 am

Another week of the 2019-20 NHL regular season gone and the league steps into a new decade with a ton of discussion when it comes to trade options. One big name came off the board in Taylor Hall but is there more coming with players from organizations that are getting closer to officially becoming sellers like the New Jersey Devils are?

The below list is a combination of players who have often come up in trade talks over the past week:

12) Torey Krug Sami Vatanen

What’s next for the New Jersey Devils after moving their big-ticket trade piece? The Devils are clearly selling at this point and there could be a few names on the roster worth watching.

The moved Taylor Hall because they didn’t see a long-term fit and the Coyotes stepped up, but who on the roster might be the next to move?, The easiest way to figure that out is to look at expiring contracts; Vatanen owns one of them.

From there, take a look at the teams that are running into injury issues or need help on their blue line as they move up the standings and prepare for a playoff push.

11) Tristan Jarry Kyle Turris

Kyle Turris will continue to hold a spot on the list but he’s moved down one spot, only because he’s back in the lineup and he contributed in his first game back. Perhaps that means he should have been moved up more because a team may see him as an option, but his salary is still a concern.

The team and the player are saying all the right things publicly but it’s easy to see the underlying tension.

10) Jesse Puljujarvi Jean-Gabriel Pageau

The Edmonton Oilers didn’t trade Jesse Puljujarvi by the December 1st deadline so he’ll remain in Finland and finish out the season for Karpat. Taking his place is depth center Jean-Gabriel Pageau. There’s lots of talk surrounding him and ironically, the Oilers are at the forefront of those conversations.

The Senators don’t want to move Pageau but as a pending free agent and player that could get overpaid in free agency, the Senators aren’t necessarily prepared to give him what the market will offer.

There aren’t a lot of third-line centers making $4 million. That’s what Pageau may likely become.

9) Dustin Byfuglien

Dustin Byfuglien has moved down the list one spot because conversations around the defenseman are almost non-existent. This could be a deal that still happens but the off-ice stuff needs to take care of itself first.

8) Taylor Hall Sam Bennett

With Taylor Hall now moved and playing for the Arizona Coyotes until, at the very least, the end of the season, we can remove him from the list and put another potential trade candidate there. This week, we’ll give Sam Bennett his spot.

The Calgary Flames don’t want to move Bennett but Elliotte Friedman has noted that interested parties are calling about Bennett to see if the Flames will move him considering he’s not necessarily finding his footing in Calgary.

If the offers are good enough, the Flames might consider a deal.

7) Jason Spezza Miles Wood

Another New Jersey forward, Elliotte Friedman has noted that Wood is available. A forward who showed grit at one time is struggling and a change of scenery might be the right medicine to get him going again.

6) Travis Hamonic Brandon Saad

Friedman has also noted in his 31 Thoughts article that Brandon Saad is getting attention from teams and that there’s a potential he’s moved once he recovers from his injuries.

Friedman noted the Edmonton Oilers kicked tires but quickly let that idea go because they weren’t interested in taking on salary or trading a draft pick to acquire him.

5) Andreas Athanasiou

The Detroit Red Wings are almost certainly going to move Andreas Athansiou. MLive’s Ansar Khan suggests that Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman could be reaching a point where he’s frustrated with Athansiou’s inability to get things figured out and as the Red Wings drop in the standings, more and more names will become available.

Expect other names from the Red Wings to eventually appear on this list, including someone like Mike Green.

4) Julius Honka Lias Andersson

Lias Andersson has asked for a trade from the New York Rangers and refuses to report to the AHL roster. He feels he deserves more of a chance than the Rangers have provided. Unfortunately, trading him is easier said than done.

There won’t be a lot of consideration for a player who feels entitled and hasn’t produced at the NHL level.

3) Chris Kreider Ryan Strome

For lack of putting someone better in this spot, Ryan Strome will stay on the list and he’s currently on fire right now. The Rangers are on this list in a lot of ways but keep watching Strome because the Rangers could get an offer too good to refuse.

Strome is the kind of player the Rangers want to sell high on. If he starts to drop in production, the possible return he could garner may fall off a cliff.

2) Carey Price Penguins Goaltender

The Toronto Maple Leafs are badly looking for a backup goaltender as are a few other teams. And, while the Penguins have great depth, one of either Tristan Jarry or Casey DeSmith could be on the move if a team like Toronto steps forward with a strong offer.

Unfortunately, with all the injuries piling up for the Maple Leafs, and for that matter, the Penguins, it would hard to predict what the trade pieces might include.

1) Nic Petan Chris Kreider

The interest in Chris Kreider is at an all-time high with Hall now off the table for teams that want to boost their offense. He’s got some control as to where he goes so a team like Montreal may not be a fit. That said, there are plenty of other candidates.

“There’s a lot of interest — believed to include contenders who might be happy to wait for cap reasons (Boston, St. Louis) and others who aren’t worried about that (Colorado). ” Friedman noted.

By Jim Parsons on Jan 01, 2020 02:15 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are appears to be more unrest in Buffalo where another player is looking for a change of scenery, there is good news out of the Team Canada World Junior team and there is buzz around the Edmonton Oilers on a few fronts. Finally, are teams ready to sign some one-year players and is Justin Williams news on the horizon?

Evan Rodrigues Looking for Fresh Start

First it was Zach Bogosian who requested a trade out of Buffalo. Now, it’s Evan Rodrigues, according to Darren Dreger of TSN who reports Rodrigues has also “made his interests in a trade known.” Joe Yerdon of The Athletic tweets that Rodrigues “does not see a future with the organization.”

Unhappy with his usage for the Sabres, Rodrigues, 26, has played fewer than nine minutes in three of his past four games and was a healthy scratch on New Year’s Eve for the Sabres. With no goals and only three points in 24 games this season, new coach Ralph Krueger hasn’t used him.

While there won’t be much of a trade market for him, the Sabres probably won’t qualify him next season and as such won’t hesitate to move him if there’s anything even remotely decent offered in return.

Contract Extensions to Watch For

As of today, players on one-year contracts are allowed to sign contract extensions with their respective organizations. Names worth watching on this list include Ottawa Senators winger Anthony Duclair and Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Robin Lehner.

Friedman notes that he’s not heard much in the way of talks about a Duclair extension but says there’s time. He also added that it would be an interesting arbitration case to watch if it ever got to that point since Duclair has exploded on offense this season.

One team to watch is the Edmonton Oilers. They have nearly a half-dozen players they signed to one-year deals in the summer and some of them have earned a look. The Oilers aren’t looking to take on big salaries for the next couple of seasons which is why they apparently looked into a trade that would include Brandon Saad but there’s probably nothing there.

The Oilers are also not keen on moving draft picks and one-year contracts are easy to sign and get completed with no assets moving out and no large commitments required.

Justin Williams News Coming?

Elliotte Friedman notes in his most recent 31 Thoughts article that there could be developments on Justin Williams future by the end of the weekend.

Fans in Carolina and throughout the NHL have been closely watching what Williams might do since leaving the Hurricanes at the end of last season but not officially announcing his retirement. There were whispers he was ready to return and wanted to come back with the Hurricanes but also talk they’d have trouble fitting him in. As such, he’d consider looking at other teams.

Friedman Says to Watch Calgary’s Situation

According to Friedman, “There is interest in Mark Jankowski, who needs a fresh start. There is interest in Sam Bennett, who was scratched on Sunday.”

The insider suggests that Calgary doesn’t necessarily want to move Bennett but if there is a good return to be had there might be a deal there.

Lafreniere Set to Return

Team Canada is expected to get their explosive forward Alexis Lafreniere back for Thursday’s quarter-final game against Slovakia at the World Junior Championship, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. Lafreniere was back on the ice today at practice after suffering a leg injury earlier in the tournament.

This is great news for Team Canada as there was some legit concern he’d miss extended time.

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