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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 08/24/2020
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
08/24/2020 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Aug 23, 2020 12:55 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin updates the status of Brendan Gallagher and notes the forward was already injured before his run-in with Matt Niskanen. In Vegas, something is going on between the Golden Knights and Marc-Andre Fleury and it appears (thanks to a post from his agent) there is unrest as far the veteran netminder goes. And, what are the New York Rangers going to have to do to fix their goaltending cap issues.
Fleury’s Agent Hints Goalie Unhappy
Marc-Andre Fleury’s agent Allan Walsh posted a ridiculously graphic photo on Saturday to social media that has a lot people asking what’s going on between the team and Fleury.
The photo depicts Fleury trying to make a save for the Golden Knights, but with a massive sword going through his back. On the sword the word DeBoer is written which seems to clearly hint that Fleury is being stabbed in the back by the coach and is upset about not getting in starts in net for the team.
There is a ton of speculation as to whether or not Fleury knew about the photo as most assume his agent wouldn’t have posted this without his client’s consent and the timing of the photo is incredibly awkward because the team is still in the thick of the playoffs. Robin Lehner is doing his best and is being heavily leaned on by the team and this, if nothing else, is a major distraction.
The photo was removed from Twitter at the request of Fleury on Sunday and the goalie said of his agent’s actions, “he’s just trying to defend me a bit.”
What does this mean as far as Fleury’s future with the team go? He said in a media availability on Sunday:
“I’ve known these guys for a little while now. I just want to put this behind and move on. All I care about is winning and what’s best for the team and I think they know that.”
Fleury said he met with head coach Pete DeBoer and GM Kelly McCrimmon yesterday. “It was good to talk and see where we’re at. The bottom line is, we all want to win, and that’s why we’re here. I don’t like being a distraction for my team.”
Speculation is that this has to put Fleury in an awkward spot with the franchise who was likely thinking about offering an extension to Lehner this offseason. Considering Lehner has outplayed Fleury up until this point, the assumption is that he’ll be shopped in the trade market.
Gallagher Had Other Injuries
Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin provided an update on Brendan Gallagher’s status, saying the forward underwent successful surgery in Toronto and is returning to his home in British Columbia today. But, the broken jaw wasn’t the only injury Gallagher was dealing with.
Bergevin also revealed that Gallagher had suffered a hip tear in Montreal’s qualifying round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. played through the injury and it was solely that broken jaw that kept him from playing in the Canadiens’ season finale.
Rangers Not Getting Offers for Georgiev
Rick Carpinello of The Athletic write that the New York Rangers are going to have to make a difficult decision in goal this offseason because it looks like buying out Henrik Lundqvust will be one of few available options to the team with a flat salary cap.
One of the problems is that teams are not making strong offers for Alexandre Georgiev. The market is not there.
Caprinello writes;
Expect the Rangers to save $3 million off Lundqvist’s $8.5 million with a buyout that will carry $5.5 million of dead cap space next season and another $1.5 million cap hit in 2021-22.
While unlikely, there is also some talk that the Rangers would consider listening to offers for the first-overall pick and one has to wonder if any deal that could be made for that pick would have to include a goaltender to help alleviate some of the cap space issues.
The post NHL Rumors: Canadiens, Rangers, Golden Knights and Fleury, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Aug 22, 2020 02:45 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, Braden Holtby admits that his time in Washington might have come to an end. The Montreal Canadiens have reasons to feel good about their season, but they still have concerns and there could be possible trades. The St. Louis Blues need to talk business with Alex Pietrangelo and what will the Chicago Blackhawks do with their goaltending?
Holtby Admits His Last Game For Caps May Have Happened
Braden Holtby, when asked if the Game 5 loss to the Islanders could have been his last game with the Capitals said, “Certainly a chance it is, but who knows. You live one day at a time and go from there.”
The Capitals are expected to stick with starter Ilya Samsonov and don’t have the cap room to give Holbty what he’ll probably be looking for in free agency. Where he winds up in a market flooded with goaltenders is uncertain and with some teams potentially moving those they have under contract it is tough to predict what Holtby will have to choose from as a netminder who struggled this past season.
Unless Holtby is willing to finish out his career signing one-year deals with the Capitals, he’ll probably have to move on.
Montreal Canadiens Have Issues to Address
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.com writes that the Montreal Canadiens have to look at their core group of forwards, specifically Jonathan Drouin, Tomas Tatar, Brendan Gallagher, Max Domi, and Phillip Danault and make decisions on whether or not they are parts of the roster moving forward.
With the improved play and progression of youngsters like Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, there could be decisions to move one the previously mentioned forwards and Wyshynski feels the Canadiens need more size on the wing and must sort out the left side of their blueline.
The most likely trade candidate is Max Domi, a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He’s been in the rumor mill often and there was talk of how little he was relied upon during these playoffs and how far down the depth chart he’d fallen.
Chicago’s Goaltending Situation a Question Mark
Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers of The Athletic took a look at the Chicago Blackhawks goaltending situation and said there are certainly questions in respect to what the team will do for next season.
They write that while the netminding situation was obvious this season, it is anything but now. They explain:
They traded Lehner. Crawford is set to become an unrestricted free agent. Collin Delia, who is signed for next season, lost out to Malcolm Subban as the No. 2 goalie in the playoffs. Subban hasn’t started a game for the Blackhawks since being acquired for Lehner and will be a restricted free agent after the season. Kevin Lankinen was recalled to the NHL this season, but he’s yet to play an NHL game.
If the Blackhawks don’t re-sign Crawford, and there’s plenty of speculation he might move on to another destination, the Hawks will have to look to names like Anton Khudobin, Cam Talbot, Jacob Markstrom and Thomas Greiss.
There isn’t a lot of money available in Chicago because the team will need to keep funds available for Dominik Kubalik and Dylan Strome.
Related: Revisiting the Brayden Schenn Trade
Time For Blues to Talk to Pietrangelo
Now that the St. Louis Blues are out of the postseason, it’s time the club get down to business with pending free agent defenseman Alex Pietraneglo. ESPN.com’s Emily Kaplan wonders where the Blues will find the money to keep him, because of all the free agents available, he’s likely to get the most lucrative contract.
Kaplan says the cap-strapped Blues will have to move out some contracts to make it work and hints that goaltender Jake Allen could be shopped because his trade value has never been higher. Should that not get it done, the team might look at moving names like Tyler Bozak, Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Steen, or Carl Gunnarsson.
The post NHL Rumors: Capitals, Canadiens, Blackhawks, Blues, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Aug 21, 2020 02:08 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the Edmonton Oilers have loaned a few players overseas while there’s no hockey to be played in North America. In Columbus, there’s news that Brandon Dubinsky is done his NHL career and what that means for the Blue Jackets salary cap. Toronto might be looking at an interesting assistant coach, and Mike Milbury could be in hot water over comments he made about women and the NHL bubble.
Dubinsky’s NHL Career Likely Over
According to Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen, forward Brandon Dubinsky has likely seen his career in the NHL come to an end. Kekalainen told reporters including Aaron Portzline of The Athletic that Dubinsky that thanks to chronic wrist injury, he will “most likely” not play again.
If Dubinsky doesn’t return, the Blue Jackets will move him to LTIR and gain a bit of extra cap flexibility ahead of the 2020-21 season. With a year remaining on his current deal and with a significant cap hit, the Blue Jackets could also try to move his contract to a team that is looking to hit the cap floor without spending actual dollars as hockey-related revenues plummet.
The Blue Jackets have done these types of deals before with Nathan Horton and there should be plenty of options to move Dubinsky.
Oilers Loan Three, Plus Puljujarvi News
According to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, the news that Jesse Puljuajrvi has signed a contract in Finland does not mean there is any less of a chance he signs with the Edmonton Oilers. In fact, there is still a thought the Oilers will have Puljujarvi in training camp for November.
Spector says that Puljujarvi signing with Karpat was his backup plan and that the Oilers have a deal they are trying to finalize that will see Puljujarvi make around $1 million for a single season. That deal comes with a handshake agreement that if he flops in Edmonton upon his return, GM Ken Holland will trade him.
In other Oilers news, the team has loaned a few players overseas to get playing time before next season. The team announced today that they have loaned forward Joakim Nygård to Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League.
This comes after news that the team also loaned defenceman Philip Broberg to Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League and assigned defenceman Filip Berglund to Linkoping HC in the SHL for the 2020-21 season.
Maple Leafs Ask To Speak to Boudreau
According to James Mirtle of The Athletic, the Maple Leafs asked the Minnesota Wild for permission to talk to Bruce Boudreau and there is talk Boudreau has shown interest in the idea of joining the Leafs as an assistant coach. Specifically, he’s “intrigued” by the possibility of coaching for his hometown team.
Mirtle explains that this isn’t just a shot in the dark but there’s actually a chance Boudreau considers this. He writes:
Boudreau’s preference is for another chance – likely his last, given his age – as an NHL head coach. But it could be a crowded landscape this off-season in that department, with Gerard Gallant, Mike Babcock and Peter Laviolette all available and believed to be willing to come back.
Gallagher and Niskanen News
The injury news regarding Brendan Gallagher turned out to be as bad as people expected after taking a cross check to the face from Flyers blueliner Matt Niskanen. Gallagher will miss the remainder of the series and possibly more time if the Canadiens advance. He has officially be diagnosed with a broken jaw.
As for Niskanen, the defensemen was handed a one-game suspension on Friday by the Department of Player Safety. That suspension has not been well received by many as it could turn out Niskanen will miss less time than Gallagher.
Mike Milbury In Hot Water Over On-Air Comments
Former NHL player and coach and NHL on NBC announcer Mike Milbury is under fire on Friday for comments he made on air during the Islanders’ 4-0 win over the Capitals on Thursday night.
As his co-host John Forslund was suggesting the NHL bubble could actually be a good environment for team bonding, Milbury chimed in and said there are “not even any women here to disrupt your concentration.” Clearly, the comments were sexist and misogynistic and people are not pleased.
Needless to say, there are many who are calling for NBC to do something about what Milbury said.
The post NHL Rumors: Blue Jackets, Oilers, Maple Leafs, Milbury, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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