NHL Rumor Mill – November 18, 2020
Could the Ducks trade Ryan Getzlaf? How will the Islanders free up cap space for Mathew Barzal? Find out in today’s NHL rumor mill.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: Jimmy Murphy reported Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray has been working the phones trying to get cap compliant for 2020-21 and leave some wiggle room during the season. The Ducks are above the $81.5 million salary cap by nearly $930K.
Could the Anaheim Ducks consider trading captain Ryan Getzlaf? (NHL Images)
Wingers Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg have come up in the rumor mill, but Murphy wonders if the Ducks would consider moving Ryan Getzlaf. A source told Murphy that three teams looked into the availability of the long-time Ducks captain. The 35-year-old center is entering the final season of his contract with an $8.25 million cap hit and a full no-movement clause.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Anything’s possible and Murray could be considering all his options. However, the Ducks GM might not have to go the trade route to become cap compliant.
Center Ryan Kesler could remain on long-term injury reserve if he’s still sidelined by a nagging hip injury. That would enable the Ducks to exceed the cap limited by the equivalent of his $6.875 million annual average value for 2020-21.
Trading a veteran like Getzlaf (if he agrees), Rakell or Silfverberg is an option. However, that could be based more on their performance in the coming season and where the Ducks are in the standings leading up to the 2021 trade deadline.
Murphy also reported the New York Islanders only have around $3 million in salary-cap space and must find more in order to sign first-line center Mathew Barzal. Isles general manager Lou Lamoriello was reportedly attempting to trade defensemen Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy but couldn’t find any takers in part because of their salaries.
Murphy wondered if Lamoriello might try moving a forward instead. A source suggested Josh Bailey as an option. He’s owed $5 million annually for the next three seasons but could be a fit on a young club with salary cap room like Detroit or Ottawa.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lamoriello would probably find more takers for Bailey than for Boychuk or Leddy. The 31-year-old winger is a versatile two-way forward who can skate on either wing and netted 40-plus points in five of the last six seasons. He played a key role in their run to the 2020 Eastern Conference Final with 20 points in 22 games.
Those traits, however, also make Bailey a valuable member of the Islanders. I think the Isles GM will instead consider other trade options.
Man, a few of these teams with cap room should make a killing. I hope its the Devils….
Re Murphy and Ducks
They are cap compliant …. Kessler LTIR …. and I highly doubt he comes back
Getzlaf isn’t waiving until TDL (and it’s a maybe then)
There may be other teams that are in Cap hell that would love to trade for Kessler and his nigh $7M of LTIR Cap room
If TJ had Ana on his list given to BrisBoise, I’m confident that swap (Kessler for TJ plus sweeteners would have already occurred)
Kessler should embrace the trade and waive if in fact he will retire on LTIR …. won’t have to move fam but Sal paid from way better tax situation (big uptick in take home)
Ducks advantage…. currently paying ~ $1.35 M in ins. Premiums (guessing at 20%). TJ with 20% escrow…. only $3M…. so $1.65 M for a player replacing a non roster player; and with the previously pondered end game for TJ to his home state of Wash…. Ducks could get him to waive to be exposed to Kraken… thus only having him 1 year; and Ducks get the bonus
sweetener(s) in the trade
Bolts gain the valuable LTIR Cap space
Logic tells me that TJ does NOT have Ducks in the list provided to BriseBrois
Pengy re “There may be other teams that are in Cap hell that would love to trade for Kessler and his nigh $7M of LTIR Cap room”
Whereas Anaheim could well have need of Kessler’s LTIR this coming season, neither Detroit (Zetterberg & his $6,083,333) nor Ottawa (Gaborik & his $4,875,000) figure to use their LTIRs – both of which have only this coming season to run.
Frankly, I’m a bit surprised neither have been moved yet. Toronto, for example, taking on Zetterberg would obviate the need for roster shuffling, while the Blues, with Gaborik’s contract, wouldn’t need to make another roster moves in order to accommodate Dunn.
@Pengy…..Hope all is well Pengy and you are safe. I still think the Penguins should go after Chara to help build the character, toughness, and leadership on this team…despite what nyr4life Chara still way better than Johnson and he now has jack Johnson….
I honestly think if Chara was going to go back to Boston don’t you think he would have done so by now???.
Look the Penguins defense in the near future looks way better than people think.
Our top 20 prospects under 25
Pierre Oliver Joseph #6 almost made the club last year out of camp.
Cam Lee- #9 big, solid, good skating LHD
Joshua Maniscaclo # 10 really good skater, passer, sees the ice well, offensive defenseman
William Rielly- # 17 the sleeper of the group captain of RPI hockey team well rounded..
Ceci, Chara and Matheson all are one year stop gaps.
Pretty sure Rutherford and X penguins great Ron Francis the Kraken Gm have a hand shake deal that we leave Matheson exposed in the draft and Seattle takes him.
I thought Kesler was done and done so there should be no cap issue for the Ducks. Worse case buy out Getzlaf or hold salary and trade. But even at 50% that could prove difficult.
Flames bought out Stone and signed him back. That could also be an option for Anaheim
Hi SilverSeven
See my post above re Getzlaf and Kessler (yes I believe he is basically on track to retire in LTIR)
Buyout window is closed so Getzlaf will be in NHL through season unless he retires (still owed $3M…. so that’s $2.4 M with escrow… hard to retire from that when it’s guaranteed)
A move a TDL would still need to be to a team with space AND at 50% retained ; and he would still need to sign off on it
Man, if hockey writers had their way the Wings would have every bad contract in the league and be about 20M over the cap.
Yep Garth. You manipulate your cap wisely while re-building and automatically become a dumping ground for the most glaring mistakes made your confrères. Oh yeah, but you’re building up your store or picks, they say. Sure, while the team you just bailed out remains stronger thanks to your generosity. LOL. Stuff that where your proctologist does his best work!
You want to dump Joe$$$ – fine, then I want your top C or D-man along with him. No? Then squirm.
Until the abdlekater buyout I thought Detroit had all the bad contracts in the league…
I’d grab Nick Leddy in New York minute very very fast good d the bruins could use him
At $5.5 million per Leddy not going to happen, Jacobs won’t spent the $$ right now and say goodbye to DeBrusk …. that would be about $10 million per for both …. Nope
It would have to be Leddy or DeBrusk not both and probably not either one the way it looks now
The Leafs are definitely looking into Getzlaf and Dubas is working on juggling his lineup.
Makes quite a fourth line 🙂 tongue firmly in cheek
Was just looking at the Kraut line. Not familiar with any of them but apparently the real deal during their era.
Leafs can form a new one nicknamed the Geriatric line. Thornton Spezza and Simmonds
The Kraut line was one of the best trio’s of all time.
Check out the old footage of the Habs players lifting them upon their shoulders and carrying them off the ice ( after all three insisted to go fight overseas)in one of the greatest displays of respect ever shown in sports history.
SilverSeven – when you mentioned The Kraut Line it brought back a memory from the “old days” right after the war when my dad – who had returned from duty in Aug 1945 (when I was 7 – hadn’t seen him since Dec 1939) – took me to the old Ottawa Auditorium to see an exhibition game between Army & the Boston Bruins. For a while, the Army and Air Force teams had been stacked with pros, but by this time many had returned to their NHL teams, including members of the Kraut Line.
To bolster the Army team, several members of the Ottawa Senators – then in the Quebec Senior Hockey League – were loaned, including goalie Legs Fraser. Didn’t register then, but years later I learned that Boston had won handily but I do recall my dad and an uncle were killing themselves laughing at one stage and when I was older they related what happened.
From our vantage point we could hear a lot of the on-ice chatter and after the Kraut Line had scored a few goals and with the puck consistently in the Army end, Fraser at one point took the puck and skated it to the blue line before shooting it away, skated back to his net and was leaning on it when the Kraut Line was making another rush, whereupon Fraser was heard to exclaim “aww for f*&k’s sake, here they come again …”
https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=16171
http://www.hockeycentral.co.uk/nhl/movers/Hockey-in-World-War-II.php
Good one, Silver Seven, but the Leafs had an entire team of geriatrics once upon a time, starting with the ageless wonder Johnny Bower and on through the lineup, and they were pretty good then.
Maybe young Mr Dubas took a look back and decided to give it a shot – Back to the Future.
Works for me.
Dear, Sir. You cannot have Chara. He will either retire a Bruin prior to this season, or directly afterwards. There is no rush to sign a contract until the league figures out the best course of action going forward.
Thank you for your continued interest.
Kind regards,
SOP