Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – March 7, 2021

by | Mar 7, 2021 | Rumors | 52 comments

The Sabres are reportedly open for business plus the difficulty in trading Carey Price or moving Brent Seabrook’s contract in the Sunday NHL rumor roundup.

LATEST ON THE SABRES

SPORTSNET (via KUKLA’S KORNER) Elliotte Friedman reports the Buffalo Sabres are wide open for business and are listening to all options. They join the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings among the teams out there in the trade market.

Friedman said there have been questions asked about Sam Reinhart and Eric Staal. Chris Johnston pointed out only Taylor Hall and Jeff Skinner have no-movement clauses.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Staal and Hall appeared on both TSN’s recent trade-bait list and The Athletic’s trade deadline big board. Defenseman Brad Montour also appeared on both boards while Jack Eichel and Casey Mittelstadt were other Sabres appearing on The Athletic’s list.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said Eichel had not requested a trade. However, it wouldn’t be shocking if Adams was at least listening to calls about his captain. Given Eichel’s status among the league’s elite players, he would fetch a significant return. However, that type of move usually takes place during the offseason when teams have the cap space and available assets to move.

Reinhart could also fall into the category of an offseason move but we can’t dismiss the possibility he could be shopped at the April 12 trade deadline. The 25-year-old winger is on a one-year, $5.2 million contract and has arbitration rights this summer.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (NHL Images).

Staal, Hall and Montour are slated to become unrestricted free agents this summer. Hall has indicated he’s willing to discuss a new contract with the Sabres. Given his poor performance this season, however, Adams could peddle him at the trade deadline if he’s willing to waive his no-movement clause.

Staal must submit a 10-team no-trade list but I daresay he’d be open to going to a contender. Montour lacks no-trade protection.

COULD THE HABS TRADE PRICE THIS YEAR?

SPORTSNET: In a recent mailbag segment, Eric Engels was asked if there was any possibility of the Montreal Canadiens trading goaltender Carey Price to the Seattle Kraken. Price is from British Columbia and lives in Kelowna during the offseason with his family. His wife is from Washington State and Price played his junior hockey there with the Tri-City Americans.

Engels points out the difficulty in moving Price’s contract. His no-movement clause means the Canadiens must protect him in the Seattle expansion draft. If Price agreed to waive that clause a trade would be difficult to pull off due to salary-cap implications, the current economic climate, and the way Price’s contract is structured.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: So, short answer: no.

Price’s struggles this season have prompted some Canadiens followers to suggest the Habs try to expose him in the Seattle expansion draft or trade him to the Kraken this summer. Engels does a nice job breaking down why that’s not going to happen. Sure, anything’s possible and perhaps a complex deal could be made to trade Price, but there are simply too many factors working against it.

COULD THE BLACKHAWKS ATTEMPT TO TRADE SEABROOK’S CONTRACT?

THE ATHLETIC: Scott Power looked at the Chicago Blackhawks options with Brent Seabrook’s contract. The 35-year-old defenseman announced the end of his playing career last week due to injuries but he hasn’t officially retired. He has three years remaining on his contract with an annual average value of $6.875 million.

Because he cannot play anymore due to injuries, the Blackhawks cannot buy him out. They will place Seabrook on long-term injury reserve. They could attempt to trade the contract to a budget team that needs to reach the salary-cap minimum but Powers suspects the $15.5 million in actual salary remaining on that deal make it difficult to move. The flattened salary cap would be another stumbling block.

Powers suggested shopping Seabrook’s contract to a team already in salary-cap hell that could use his LTIR status to garner some extra cap room. It could also cost the Blackhawks a first-round pick to tempt a team into taking that contract off their hands.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Moving Seabrook’s contract would be easier if this were a normal time when the salary cap was guaranteed to rise by $3 million or $4 million each year. But it’s not, and there might not be many teams willing to do so now.







52 Comments

  1. Re

    “ Elliotte Friedman reports the Buffalo Sabres are wide open for business and are listening to all options. ”…

    Kevyn baby… it’s Hexy…. what do you want for Staal?

    This call must happen

    • Given the number of coaching and management failures Buffalo has endured over more than a decade time, I can’t imagine them having any less success in improving their team by turning over player personnel decisions to a committee of 10 of their longest suffering season-ticket members.

      Seriously though, Jack Eichel should not be traded. I would guess however that ship has sailed. He has listened to enough golden handshake conversations which ensured him he would get the opportunity to play for a better hockey team. Mentally, he’s already somewhere else so that hockey team won’t be Buffalo in all likelihood.

      For Buffalo to get better through any future player moves, IMHO, it will have to happen after Krueger is terminated. Whether or not the players like him, it would be very difficult for most of them to endorse someone who leads this caliber of talent pool to such a dismal record And, let’s not forget the players do talk to others around the league. Nobody is looking to join the Boulevard of broken dreams. There has to be a new narrative to prevent a carousel of new names to add to the current level of disappointment.

      Moving Eric Staal before the trade deadline might be the most viable thing they could do right away. Assuming Taylor Hall would re-sign, taking a chance that both he and Skinner would improve next season would probably be more viable than the return they would get now for either given their current stats. It would also be interesting to see if Taylor Hall, who went to Buffalo to play with Jack Eichel, would stay if the latter is gone.

    • Indeed.stahl gives strength defensively face off power and will get goals close to the net..leader

    • Stahl would be good..but iCalle jamkrok, 28 center Nashville got ,is 7th tonight affordable at $2.0 million.

      Signed two more years has consistent 15, 16, 17 goal seasons..

      Good third line center..
      Cheaper and younger than stahl

  2. Buffalo is listening and open for business but I’m not sure I’d want Kevyn Adams conducting that business …

    • @ed vanimpe You are 100% right but that’s what happens when you continue to hire rookie GM’s since firing Regier
      .
      Murray
      Botterill
      Adams

  3. Skinner is a huge mistake and a tough work around for any GM. Okposo before that. The O’reilly trade ?
    Too many major errors. They have also missed on a lot of drafts. Except Dahlin and of course Handsome Jack. They should have done something last year with that particular draft class.

    • Skinner would be just fine if he didn’t play 4th line with Lazar. Top 5 even strength goal scorer over 7 year span. Current coach ruined him. Take Ovechkin who’s played 20 minutes in his career on average then put him on Sabres 4th line playing 10-13 and see if he scores as well.

  4. Aren’t the Blackhawks in cap hell? Eventually Toews and Shaw will need to come off LTIR. Who is taking Seabrooke unless they’re able to send back salary?
    Buffalo: I don’t see why they’d move Reinhart. Staal and Montour for sure. At this point, an Eichel trade in off season seems inevitable. I think Halls status could determine which direction Buffalo chooses. They have some good young players, so if you keep Hall and Skinner, maybe trade Eichel for a couple top 6 players plus picks or prospects. Going full rebuild and selling everyone just guarantees more years of being a bottom feeder. Maybe team will all breathe a little easier with Eichel saga over with.

    • Seabrook just went on LTIR – so no longer cap hell. Blackhawks have a knack for this. It helps to be a big market city and the financial impact is not as large.

      • NHL has a salary cap. The financial impact is exactly the same in Chicago as it is in Columbus or Winnipeg.

      • Ron Jull…the point was Chicago’s revenues are significantly larger than many small market teams, thus enabling them to absorb mistakes and use LTIR as a tool. LTIR is above the cap limits. Its in the rules so fine with it, but really only certain teams can take full advantage is they are so inclined. And yes I was not surprised about the salary cap implications

      • Thats not true redmonsters. All but the most prone due to pre-existing injuries i.e. Nathan horton, are insured for LTIR players.
        Facts are important.

      • Red monsters. Exactly. So why do they need to trade him?

    • If I’m Adams, no way am I trading Eichel or Reinhart. They will never win any Eichel trade; they must keep trying to build around him. As for Reinhart, it makes no sense to trade the one guy who’s playing up to expectations, especially a young player. Staal has got to be traded – he has value. Same for Hall, who’s obviously not working out in Buffalo. The real problem is they’re on the hook for 6 more years of Skinner at $9m. and 2 more years of Okposo at $6m. They’ve combined for 0 goals and 2 assists this season. No one is trading for those contracts. Above all, they need a reliable goaltender.

    • Shaw will never come off LTIR. He’s done. Too many concussions. I hope he wisely decides to hang ‘em up and not risk permanent damage.

    • Buffalo has a glaring need in upper management. However, on the ice it’s in net.

      It’s rumoured the Rangers have interest. I checked the NYR roster and their recent high picks aren’t lighting the NHL on fire.

      Buffalo would have to start with Georgiev. Since they’re sending a #1 centre they’d need a C in return. Their #1 is Zabanejad. Their #2 is Strome. One of their young wingers would need to be included as well. Kakko or Lafrieniere.

      To NYR: Eichel, Hutton
      To BUF: Georgiev, Zibanejad, Kakko, 2021 3rd (BUF), 2022 1st (NYR)

      • Reality check :

        NYR Eichel

        BUFF Shesterkin Fox, Kakko, LaF, unprotected 1st.

        …and BUFF says go dump your excess Cap to fit Eichel elsewhere.

      • Dartl. There’s no way Rangers make that deal. 1st off, how many 19/20 year olds are lighting up the league? And what’s guarantee anyone does it every year? Zib had 40 goals last year, and though his post covid struggles are well documented, what’s Eichels excuse for having same total as Zib this season? Rangers also have no use for Hutton, who I believe is ufa anyways. Swap Strome in there for Zib and maybe that’s a deal.

      • Hahahaha. Needs more DeAngelo!

  5. Montreal and Florida. The only teams in NHL history with 10 million dollar backup goalies.

    • Bob has been decent enough

      Btw Coach Q jack adams?
      he lost alot of goals in hoffman and trouchek and team is better

      but carolina got vinny for nothing

      • Him, Evason or Keef would by my picks.

      • And both H and T are and were defensive liabilities so no surprise there

    • Did Jake Allen get a pay increase that I missed?

      • Just a promotion to de facto starter.

  6. I could see price to kraken. Got to reach the floor. Immediate name recognition. What would mont have to give to get kraken to take? A 1st? Caulfield?

    • chrisms I agree I am a huge Hab fan and think a trade of Price colefeild and a second to the Kraken for a third is the only way out of that contract . Kraken get a young American kid a face in Price and easy to hit the cap floor

      • I think it would only take a 1st or a top prospect to facilitate the krakens interest. Price doesn’t have no value to kraken for reasons you listed. His contract is atrocious. A first or caufield seems reasonable to me.

    • It would take a minimum or Suzuki and 2 unprotected firsts for Kraken to be interested.

  7. Carey Price has a contract that both he and the team want, locking him in as a Hab. The pandemic has made this type of contract look bad but everybody knows this situation will end and a new environment will change things.

    He is highly regarded by his teammates, players, coaching staffs and GM’s around the league. Teams need to game plan around him regarding zone entry, dump ins and break outs.

    On the other hand there’s an internet class that enjoys pointing out all of his perceived shortcomings since he was drafted.

    Poor glove hand
    Poor attitude,
    Too fragile
    Coach killer
    Can’t win
    Chokes under pressure.
    The schadenfreude folks have been projecting their own insecurities on him for most of his career.

    The pros know his value but hey, if you know better, knock yourself out.

    • Interesting. So the goalie coach was fired cause of Bergeron projecting his insecurities on price? I never thought about it that way.

      • Interesting, the Habs made a coaching decision based on a Bruin centre’s insecurities.

        I never thought about that player being part of the internet class.

      • Whoops!

        It is interesting that Bergeron auto populates in my iPhone but not berg even. Berg even.

        Damn Guess my point will never be made.

    • So posters on here are projecting their own insecurities on Price?
      That is the strangest post I have seen on here.

  8. Trading Price is impossible, especially in this cap-crunch time. Best hope is getting Price to waive his NMC for the expansion draft and protect Allen. Highly unlikely he gets picked. If, miracle of miracles, he is picked, Primeau is the backup and Montreal’s goalie logjamis sorted.

  9. Leafs need at least two Defencemen. That’s their biggest weakness.

  10. Leafs. Do need another defenseman, 4 Sure !
    Leafs are a VERY mixed up organization …
    Was that Hutchinson in net last night , Anderson ..
    Going on 54 years , since we seen , Totally assanine !
    Matthews is obviously hurt , sit him , until he recovers ..
    Tavares needs Marner to get him out of his “funk”
    Only lines. Gong at this present time , is the 3rd and 4th lines ..
    Keefe should maybe reevaluate !
    Everyone talks of Buffalo , Nashville, Calgary , etc needing a shakeup , do you not think Toronto needs a shakeup !
    They are in the “weakest “ division in the NHL , and U thought it was a “cinch “ to reach the conference final …
    Now , I am in doubt , they can do that , perhaps at least get out of the 1st round !
    Winnipeg is the sleeper in this division , in my opinion ..
    Pierre Luc Dubois , almost single handily took out Toronto last year with Columbus !

    • Ken, i do agree they absolutely need another Dman to replace Dermott. As well as moving Marner back down with Tavares. But by no means they need a shake up. They do need couple of more rugged players up front for different match ups in the playoffs, but suggesting they need a shake up is absurd. Vancouver played the Leafs perfectly. They stifled the Leafs by skating and minimizing space. You have to remember they played 5 games in 9 days with first game being back to back with travel. Vancouver took full advantage of that. I don’t forsee any team in the North beating the Leafs in 7 game series. Dermott is their weakest link at the back end. He lacks size, speed, hands and iq. Definitely not a NHL material. Sometimes, you improve as a team by subtraction. Give Sandin a chance. He lacks size, but he has decent speed, excellent hands and very high hockey iq. But, even then you still need a physical dman with size and grit. Someone who can provide Scott Steven’s like fear into the opposing forwards as they approach the blueline. Then, you can alternate between the two depends on the match up of teams. Nylander on the hand, has all tools to work with. Problem is, he’s lazy. He only opens his tool box when he feels like. That leads to inconsitency,
      and bad tendencies. Sure that will be fine, if he makes say $3 mill a year, but not at $7mill. At this price tag, you need to produce and produce consistently. They need trade him while he’s stock is still acceptable in the eyes of other GMs. Don’t wait till when his laziness turns his tools to rust out and become completley useless. At that point, no GMs will take a chance on a player at that price range. Dubas has to excercise his duties as his job title suggests. He can’t let his personal engagement distract his judgement. He need to manage the to be as most optimal and effiecient as possible. You are the Admiral of the battleship, if you see one of your engine not running efficient or to its full potential, you must make an immediate decision and remedy that engine. No different running a hockey team. No body expects, the team to run full throttle at all times. But, after awhile you can see the weakest links in the team, and as the GM you need to make changes as you see fit. Bergevin of the Montreal, is a GM that excercises his power to better his team when he sees weakness. He doesn’t hesistate, regardless of who that personel is. Nylander is in the lineup to produce and produce in high level. Nobody expects bottom six to produce at high level, but they are expected to play with high energy and contribute once in awhile, that is why they are getting paid 700k not 7mill. I’m not picking on Nylander. I just think for what he brings to the team every game, he does not deserve the ice time. I really think that in a new team where skill is lacking, and he is counted on more, he just might thrive and prove me wrong. Who knows.

  11. Sabres should just move to a city with people that want to be there… it’s not really a place you move to on purpose, nor is it a very big market. The city has been on the “C” list (being generous) for quite some time now. I think it’s time to trade the city not any of the players…

    • Sabres fans –
      Leafs might be in your building , IF….. they can reach the conference finals ….
      The Leafs and Sabres have the same thing in common ….
      Both in need of change , that nobody can “ RESOLVE …

    • Nice low blow cowboy.

    • Someone’s been sniffing too much glue.

    • Jeez Cowboy, have you lived in every pro sports city in North America? Almost every post you make is to put down someone else’s city. I bet most are nicer than where you live.

  12. Leafs need nothing but a different goalie to win the cup. Just one that can make the routine expected saves in the clutch, not anyone spectacular. They will waltz to division title.

    For a thoughtful Leaf fan they should be happy Andersen lost and is playing poorly so Dubas makes the one necessary change to go all the way.

    Everything else is just noise.

  13. The NHL is a joke, a guy can’t ply anymore due to injuries and still the team is killed by cap hit, makes no sense at all. Buyouts also need to be changed, why should a team be screw over for 7-15 years like Sabres would be with Skinner

    • Matt, why should they be punished?…Because they made a horrible deal, and now have to live with it.

    • Hey WendelHiggins
      What goalie do U think U R referring to , or R U thinking they can swap out Anderson , for another keeper !
      Do Tell !
      Anderson has to go ..
      The Soft Goal King !

    • Matt I agree with you on the first part. As for the second, as ye sew so should ye reap

  14. Ken, Gibson or kuemper if AZ falls out of race, or one of CLB goalies

  15. Not sure Anaheim would take Anderson back

    I am more than happy with any of the above goalies U mentioned….

    Arizona has no money, signing Anderson is going to be expensive, maybe a 3 way deal, as Edmonton, Carolina, I think Pittsburgh is LOOKING, at least they were gunning Fleury..
    Maybe Burke likes Anderson !
    Anderson has to G00000000000 !

  16. Price to the Avalanche