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NHL Rumors Update
NHL Rumors Update for 08/02/2019
The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.
08/02/2019 edition:
By Jim Parsons on Aug 01, 2019 12:54 pm
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is talk about who the Minnesota Wild might hire as their next general manager, the Calgary Flames might be looking at trading Michael Frolik, the New York Rangers probably aren’t done despite buying out Kevin Shattenkirk and there is news on the Edmonton Oilers search for young talent.
Wild on the Hunt for a GM
There is plenty of chatter surrounding the Minnesota Wild these days. After firing Paul Fenton, they’ll be on the lookout for a new GM. Dave Schwartz tweets that some of the initial candidates include Tom Fitzgerald, Dean Lombardi, Dave Nonis, Bill Zito, and Peter Chiarelli. It’s not known who has been contacted yet.
The early favorite is Ron Hextall. Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets that the Minnesota Wild didn’t end up meeting with Hextall yesterday but sources did say that they are close to setting up an initial interview.
Flames Might Trade Frolik
Kent Wilson of The Athletic writes that in their search to try and clear up cap space, the Calgary Flames might try to move forward Michael Frolik.
Frolik not only has some skill as a top-six/nine forward but he might be attractive to some teams who will look for additional salary cap but less money actually being paid out. He has one year left on his deal with a cap hit of $4.3 million but a salary of $3 million.
Wilson writes:
With the forward UFA pool dwindling to older, riskier players like Patrick Marleau and Jason Pominville, or uninspiring bottom-sixers like Brock McGinn and Tobias Rieder, any team looking to buff up their top-six or third line may be tempted by Frolik’s high utility and low-risk deal. Especially because the Flames won’t be asking for much in return.
Wilson then goes into detail on a few teams that might have some interest. Among them are the Ottawa Senators, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Still with Calgary, it appears with their second buyout window opening up, the Flames will buy out Michael Stone. Stone has been placed on unconditional waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, which and if a buyout follows, his $3.5 million cap hit will become a $1.166 ding against the cap for the next two seasons.
Shattenkirk Gone Doesn’t Eliminate a Possible Trade
The New York Rangers did buy out the contract of Kevin Shattenkirk yesterday and there is news he’s already received interest from other teams. There should be a number of options for the former Rangers’ defenseman because Shattenkirk doesn’t need to make much money from his new team on a one-year deal to earn more than he would have been paid by the Rangers. He’ll be a low-cost option for someone.
As for New York, simply buying out Shattenkirk doesn’t mean they won’t still have to conduct a cost-saving trade. Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post believes there’s still some trade possibilities on the table. Winger Chris Kreider or forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Ryan Strome are out there as potential trade candidates. All three we’ve talked about at great length.
Oilers News and Notes
According to Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal, the Edmonton Oilers are expected to invite undrafted prospect Jaxon Bellamy to their upcoming rookie camp.
Leavins writes:
The 6’4, 18-year old D-man plied his trade in CHL Sherbrooke last season (5-11-16 in 60 GP). His ice time went way up after a trade from Moncton the year previous.
Leavins also notes that when it comes to Jesse Puljujarvi, one of the reasons it appears the player and the agent are re-thinking their strategy to threaten a move to Europe was because Ken Holland has tried to rebuild this team under the assumption Puljujarvi won’t be a part of it. The optics of Puljujarvi not having a spot anywhere on the team has made it more real for the player and he’s changing his tone a bit.
The post NHL Rumors: Wild, Rangers, Flames, Oilers, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
By Jim Parsons on Jul 31, 2019 11:24 am
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are updates out of Toronto, news on Jake Gardiner possibly finding a home and another team that was in on Nikita Gusev before the New Jersey Devils landed him. The New York Rangers have put Chris Kreider’s name out there and are the Tampa Bay Lightning trying to trade Louis Domingue?
Gardiner Finds a Home?
The Athletic’s Michael Russo said episode 204 of the Russo-Souhan hockey podcast, Jake Gardiner may have a handshake deal with an NHL team and is merely waiting to sign his deal.
The unrestricted free agent defenseman may be the biggest name still out there waiting to be signed and speculation was he was asking a lot more than teams were willing to pay. No word on if the team that may have a deal on the table is meeting his ask but on the Russo-Souhan show, they noted this NHL organization is ready to bring Gardiner in, but need to move out a higher price defenseman first.
That has led to speculation as to which team Russo might be talking about with most of the comments leaning towards Buffalo and the Sabres moving out Rasmus Ristolainen. Other guesses might be the New York Rangers or Montreal Canadiens.
One thing to note here is that the market doesn’t move quickly when it comes to shedding high-priced salaries so Gardiner may still technically be a free agent for a while.
Blue Jackets Were in on Gusev
Jesse Granger of The Athletic writes that before the Vegas Golden Knights traded Nikita Gusev to the New Jersey Devils, they were trying to find homes for Ryan Reaves and Nick Holden in an effort to keep the Russian forward. Unfortunately, no other NHL franchises were willing to help them out.
A source noted there was a potential offer from another team to take Max Pacioretty but Vegas didn’t want to go there and before trading Gusev to the Devils, GM George McPhee had talks with the Columbus Blue Jackets about a trade.
Granger notes a quote from McPhee:
“There were two teams that made offers, and we went back and forth for probably a couple weeks. There’s a certain time when it’s time to pull the trigger. If there were 10 or 12 teams coming hard after us then maybe you take a little more time, but it was two and it’s been two for a long time, so it was time.”
Maple Leafs and Marner at Standstill
It was also noted on Twitter that David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period and Sportsnet 590 that both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch Marner remain dug in and at a standstill when it comes to negotiations.
There has been a lot of talk lately about Marner because the belief is he’s holding up all other restricted free agents by not getting his deal done and setting the market. Pagnotta believes the deal isn’t getting done because his terms are quite specific.
Marner is not interested in signing for more than five years and the Maple Leafs are concerned about Marner’s and Auston Matthews’ deal expiring at the same time. The latest speculation is that a three-year deal for Marner at $11 million per season is being discussed.
Kreider’s Name Is Out There
The New York Post’s Larry Brooks wrote on Twitter yesterday, “Cannot say that there is necessarily anything brewing but a couple of industry sources report that “Kreider’s name is out there everywhere.” Rangers’ buyout window closes at 5 PM tomorrow.”
Essentially, if Kevin Shattenkirk is not bought out sometime on Wednesday, there is a very good chance the Rangers will move Kreider. We reported in previous articles the Rangers are trying to find ways to get under the salary cap ceiling and Kreider is an option, even if not the ideal one.
Lightning to Move Dominque
After moving Ryan Callahan to Ottawa for Mike Condon, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois is trying to trade Louis Domingue.
Smith writes:
“(The goalie) market is fickle,” BriseBois said. “It can change in a hurry. You can go from no one looking for a goaltender to three teams looking for a goaltender. I’ve had ongoing talks with a couple of organizations, and hopefully something pans out over the next coming weeks here. I’m fairly confident he’ll find a new home prior to the start of the season.”
Speculation is that the teams who might be interested are the Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, and Colorado Avalanche.
The post NHL Rumors: Gardiner, Gusev, Maple Leafs, Rangers, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.
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