NHL Rumors Update

NHL Rumors Update for 03/23/2020

March 23, 2020

The latest NHL rumors from The Hockey Writers.

 

03/23/2020 edition:

By Jim Parsons on Mar 22, 2020 02:20 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, comments from Lou Lamoriello reveal his plans for re-signing center Mathew Barzal. Meanwhile, in Boston, Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask talks about his plans after his contract is up. Finally, James Mirtle of The Athletic takes a look at a number of NHL players who might retire as this NHL pause continues on.

Islanders to Match Any Barzal Offer Sheet

New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello recently told fans during a recent Q&A that he doesn’t plan to let the contract talks for Mathew Barzal linger too long and that they shouldn’t worry about an offer sheet from a rival GM.

Any offer the 22-year-old center might receive, Lamoriello said, “It is our intention to not allow it to get to that point, but should that happen, the answer is yes.” It shouldn’t be as large a concern this offseason as many NHL clubs will feel the financial squeeze from this pandemic, and an offer sheet to a player of Barzal’s magnitude is just not an affordable option for most teams.

When it came to fellow restricted free agents Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews re-signed, the GM said, “We have every intention to sign all three.”

Lamoriello also noted that both defenseman Johnny Boychuk and fourth-liner Casey Cizikas should be ready to play whenever the season resumes.

Bruins’ Rask Hints at Retirement

NBC Sports shares the comments from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe who spoke with Boston Bruins veteran goaltender Tuukka Rask about his NHL future. The netminder hinted that he may play out the final year of his current contract and then retire.

Noting that the addition of goaltender Jaroslav Halak was helpful in him having a lessened workload, he said about calling it quits, “I have one year left in the contract, so we’ll see if I even play.” When asked about going to Europe he said, “No, no, I wouldn’t”, adding that retirement would be about “Family time.”

A Number of Players Set to Retire?

James Mirtle of The Athletic took a look at 15 players who might call it a career and played their last game in the NHL if the regular season doesn’t resume. Among the names were New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, Anaheim Ducks goalie Ryan Miller, and Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu.

In compiling his list, Mirtle explains:

This piece was compiled based on talking to several players and teams, in addition to many of our NHL reporters based in these markets. Also taken into account: a players’ age, where their team is in the standings (non-playoff teams are much less likely to play games even if the season does resume) and their contract status, among other factors.

source – ‘Is this the end? 15 NHL players who might have played their last game’ – James Mirtle – The Athletic – 03/19/2020

Rounding out the list of 15 names is:

  • Justin Williams

  • Jay Bouwmeester

  • Brent Seabrook

  • David Backes

  • Craig Anderson

  • Dan Hamhuis

  • Ron Hainsey

  • Andrew Ladd

  • Jimmy Howard

  • Trevor Daley

  • Roman Polak

  • Jonathan Ericsson.

Mirtle also mentioned that NHL players like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Jason Spezza have all expressed their desires to return next season and Mirtle believes they will all get contract offers from teams, many of them from the teams they currently play for.

By Jim Parsons on Mar 21, 2020 02:45 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news that the Vancouver Canucks have arguably their best player back and ready to roll if the season resumes, but there are questions about his contract situation. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, there are questions about what the team should do with goaltender Corey Schneider. NHL owners will get together for a conference call on Monday to talk financial concerns and, in some good news, the Boston Bruins have finally done the right thing for their arena employees.

Update on Jacob Markstrom

According to GM Jim Benning, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom has fully recovered from his knee injury and is ready to go in the event the season resumes. Unfortunately, there are no certainties the Canucks will be in the playoffs this season and there are questions about extending Markstrom during a time of salary cap uncertainty.

Benning spoke about his goaltender during a spot on Sportsnet 650 (audio link) and reiterated his desire to get the pending UFA signed to a contract extension. The only problem is, with speculation the salary cap won’t jump nearly as much as early projections estimated it would, it’s unlikely that there will be much in the way of negotiations for the foreseeable future.

Schneider’s Future in New Jersey Uncertain?

Abbey Mastracco of NJ.Com took a look at at the future of goaltender Corey Schneider in in New Jersey and suggested the Devils might try to move on from the 34-year-old netminder.

five questions facing the New Jersey Devils while the season is paused. Goaltending was the Devils’ Achilles heel over the past two seasons, in part because of the 34-year-old Schneider’s struggles between the pipes. They need a reliable backup for Mackenzie Blackwood. Buying out Schneider is an option, but promising Gilles Senn isn’t expected to be NHL-ready next season.

NHL Owners to Hold Conference Call Monday

According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, NHL owners will be holding a conference call on Monday to talk financial issues facing the NHL as the delay on the season grows longer.

Earlier this week, Dreger noted during a segment of Insider Trader, that the NHL is concerned about growing losses, which could raise to upwards of $1 billion, certainly around $500 million. This call will try to tackle concerns, including board financial projections and possibilities, CBA options and contingency financial planning.

IIHF Tournament Officially Cancelled

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IIHF officially announced today that they have cancelled the upcoming Men’s World Hockey Championship slated to take place in Switzerland in May. IIHF President Rene Fasel released the following statement:

This is a harsh reality to face for the international ice hockey family, but one that we must accept. The coronavirus is a global problem and requires major efforts by government bodies to combat its spread. The IIHF must do all it can to support this fight. We have to set sport aside for now and support both the government bodies and the ice hockey family.

The annual tournament featured numerous NHL players whose teams were eliminated from the playoffs early as well as a mixture of the some of the top international talents around the world that haven’t made it to the NHL yet.

Bruins Finally Helping Part-Time Arena Employees

After taking some public criticism, Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs is finally setting up a fund that will help support the arena staff hit hard as a result of the NHL suspending the 2019 – 2020 season. The fund is worth $1.5 million according to the Bruins official website.

Speculation is that this is finally happening with news of the owners meeting and right after Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey personally called out the Jacobs family for their failure to follow the example set forth by the rest of the NHL’s teams.

This also comes after Bruins’ forward Brad Marchand set up a GoFundMe account to help the employees.

By Jim Parsons on Mar 20, 2020 02:05 pm

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news the Chicago Blackhawks are keeping all key decision-makers which means the direction of the club is fairly clear. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Canucks are busy trying to sign college free agent and some of their own prospects. Plus, the NHL Coaches Association launched a program today to help develop coaches while the NHL is on pause.

Blackhawks to Retain Key Management and Coaching

Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun Times is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks will be retaining all three of their key leaders— president John McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman and coach Jeremy Colliton — in 2020-21. This report comes from Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz, who told The Athletic on Thursday that all three will “absolutely” return next season.

Pope also notes that the organization’s strategy to keep all three suggests the team is looking more to retool and not rebuild after a poor season. This means, keeping both Corey Crawford and Duncan Keith, while not contemplating the idea of moving Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad.

Pope writes:

He [Bowman] and Colliton spoke at length after the trade deadline about the importance of Dach and Boqvist’s development. Upcoming contracts for Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik presumably will flesh out the Hawks’ growing “young core,” which also includes players such as Alex DeBrincat and Connor Murphy. And rookies Nicolas Beaudin and Brandon Hagel impressed in their well-earned NHL debuts last week.

source -‘Bringing back Stan Bowman means Blackhawks committed to retooling, not rebuilding’ Ben Pope -Chicago Sun Times – 03/19/2020

Canucks Busy Trying To Sign Players

Thomas Drance of The Athletic writes that Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning said the team had a shortlist of college free agents that they were interested in. That proved to be accurate as the Canucks already signed Marc Michaelis on Thursday. They also signed Will Lockwood on a two-year entry-level deal.

 J.D. Burke notes that other sources were saying the Canucks were looking at Marc Michaelis’ teammate Connor Mackey but Rick Dhaliwal notes that is no longer the situation.

Drance also notes that Canucks GM Benning spoke to the agent for defenseman Jack Rathbone and quoted Benning who said the agent and the parents will talk and in the next week or so, will make a decision. “They’ll get back to us as far as what his intentions are going to be.”

Could Compliance Buyouts Return?

With questions surrounding the salary cap for next season and a longer delay likely to affect the numbers next year, buzz in some circles, including from Brian Burke, is that one solution could be the “compliance buyout” the NHL used last time the league went on a long break.

The compliance buyout follows the same rules as a standard buyout, only the compliance buyouts do not count against the salary cap. When the NHL offered this in the 2013 and 2014 off-seasons, 18 teams took advantage and names like Christian Ehrhoff, Brad Richards, Ilya Bryzgalov, and Vincent Lecavalier were on the list.

Coaches Program Launches Today

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun noted today that the NHL has launched its mentorship program early. He writes:

With the impact of #COVID19 being felt around the world, now more than ever we are committed to supporting the development of #hockey coaches. The #NHLCA Mentorship Program was slated to launch next #NHL season. We’re proud to announce it launches today!

The official statement by the NHL Coaches Association on the website reads that the program will include over 20 presentations from NHL head, assistant and goalie coaches over the coming six weeks, with representation from nearly every NHL team.

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