NHL Rumor Mill – April 14, 2021
The ongoing fallout from the trade deadline features Taylor Hall’s future with the Bruins, the Canadiens making a pitch for Tony DeAngelo and musing over the availability of Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin. Check out the latest in today’s NHL rumor mill.
NOTABLE HIGHLIGHTS FROM FRIEDMAN’S LATEST “31 THOUGHTS”
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports the hope between the Boston Bruins and Taylor Hall is for a long-lasting relationship beyond this season. The Bruins acquired the 29-year-old left-winger from the Buffalo Sabres before Monday’s trade deadline. He’s due to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Bruins are betting his two percent shooting percentage this season is an aberration.
Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland said he didn’t make a push to acquire Hall at the deadline. Friedman doubts the Toronto Maple Leafs made a pitch. The New York Islanders, Vegas Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues seemed the strongest pursuers beside the Bruins. The Golden Knights made an offer the Sabres would’ve preferred but Hall exercised his no-movement clause to go to Boston.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hall had every right to use his no-movement clause to dictate where he could go. Sabres management agreed to give him that clause to bring him to Buffalo for one season and had to live with the consequences. We’ll find out soon enough if Hall is a good fit with the Bruins.
New York Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo (NHL Images).
The Montreal Canadiens made a proposal to Tony DeAngelo that would’ve been comparable for this season and next to what he’d lose if he terminated his contract with the New York Rangers. The 25-year-old defenseman rejected the offer.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The New York Post’s Larry Brooks reports more than one team was interested in signing DeAngelo as a free agent prior to Monday’s deadline if he’d been placed on, and cleared, unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. However, sources say there wasn’t enough time for the blueliner to find the right fit and deal.
DeAngelo will remain on the Rangers payroll until he’s either selected by the Seattle Kraken in this summer’s expansion draft or is thereafter bought out of the remaining year of his contract. Brooks doubts the Kraken will take him.
The Rangers could try to trade DeAngelo before the expansion draft or afterward but that remaining year at $4.8 million ($5.3 million in actual salary) will be difficult to move if teams believe the Blueshirts will buy him out.
The Canadiens also asked about Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf but Friedman doubts it was a serious possibility. He also believes they had an interest in St. Louis Blues winger Mike Hoffman but weren’t willing to meet the Blues’ price. The Ducks had a discussion with the Vegas Golden Knights (with Getzlaf in the loop) but it doesn’t appear they were close.
The big trade on Monday that sent Anthony Mantha from the Detroit Red Wings to the Washington Capitals prompted Friedman to wonder if anyone asked Wings GM Steve Yzerman about team captain Dylan Larkin. One of the factors behind moving Mantha is the Wings feel their rebuild will take longer than expected. Perhaps the Mantha deal will elicit other clubs to inquire about Larkin.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This could be worth monitoring during the offseason unless Yzerman tells his peers around the league not to waste their time.
Nashville Predators GM David Poile intends to speak with Mattias Ekholm following this season about a contract extension, “not whether we want to trade him.” He indicated he would not lose Ekholm in the expansion draft. Friedman also wondered if Poile will re-sign pending UFA winger Mikael Granlund.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Poile either intends to protect four defensemen (Ekholm, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Dante Fabbro) in the expansion draft, leave Fabbro unprotected, or swing a side deal with the Seattle Kraken to get them to select another player.
The Winnipeg Jets asked about Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov before the deadline. The Jets and Philadelphia Flyers kicked the tires on Arizona Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Jackets aren’t likely to part with Gavrikov, especially given the fact there’s some uncertainty over blueliner Seth Jones’ future in Columbus. He’s a year away from UFA eligibility. They’ll need Gavrikov if Jones departs via free agency or if the Jackets trade him before then.
The Leafs considered Coyotes winger Conor Garland before acquiring Nick Foligno from the Blue Jackets. Friedman doesn’t think they were ever close.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: And I don’t think Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong wanted to trade one of his leading scorer with his club battling for a playoff spot in the Honda West Division.
In other tidbits, the Pittsburgh Penguins looked at Travis Zajac before he was shipped to the New York Islanders. Friedman believes the Dallas Stars’ unwillingness to trade Jamie Oleksiak suggests they could try to re-sign the pending UFA defenseman.
The Oilers had an interest in defenseman Patrik Nemeth before he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. Speaking of the Avalanche, they considered goaltender David Rittich before acquiring Devan Dubnyk from the San Jose Sharks.
I have serious doubts as to the truth of the rumors of the Habs interest in DeAngelo. He is exactly the type of player, and person, that Bergevin has avoided like the plague.
Yeah, I agree. The deals Marc Bargain-bin made at the deadline are his trademark deadline day moves. All his big moves come in the off season.
Friedman isn’t one to throw out that are not based on facts.
DeAngelo is a good hockey player and he will play in the NHL next year.
Agree Caper. Question are the dollars and term. Deangelo seems to think it will be more than he would have got in MTL.
I disagree…. Friedman has thrown out some wacky nonsense this year. He has lost credibility with me.
I agree that Friedman is one of the better hockey reporters out there and he does not throw out nonsense. But even the best reporters mess up every now and then.
I don’t see how trading Mantha, a winger who hasn’t fulfilled his potential, indicates any interest in trading Larkin, the guy who he took a year to observe before recently naming captain of the team.
There’s a huge, vast expanse of difference between “I just signed and extension” and “I was just named captain of an Original Six team.
Captains get traded. The biggest questions are #1 does Larkin fit into the long term plan? #2 Is Larkin willing to stick out a long painful rebuild?At 24 I’d assume he should fit Detroits plan. Not sure about if Detroit fits Larkins plan? But that’s dependent on the duration of the rebuild.
I said a few days back that Detroit is in the infancy stage of rebuilding. Imo, they will be basement dwellers for 2-3 years, followed by a few years of mediocracy. Putting Larkin at 28-30 before Detroit starts to really see results. Unless everything works out perfectly. Drafting free agency and so on.
I have to disagree with you C.O. Watching the Wings religiously as I have for about 60 years, it is easy to see the progress this year. They started the season 2-2, despite integrating 6 new players into the roster with no training camp to speak of, and 2 others who only had a few games with the team. We then lost 5 players to Covid, and went 0-6-2. Since then, our record is 13-15-4 despite losing Bertuzzi 9 games into the season, and playing the last 10 without Fabbri and Ryan. They have played most games well, and just took two straight from Carolina. There is no reason to expect anything less than a .500 record next year, and then better the season after that.
This year is a little hard to take. Teams playing the same teams 8 times is breeding too much familiarity. It’s hard to take a lot of what’s going on too serious. Detroit just thumped Tampa a few days ago. I’m not sure that I think that is the norm. Every team is dealing with covid and injuries.
Right now Detroit is 26th in the league and a few games above.500. They also have a lot of ufa and rfa contracts to deal with next year.
I don’t see them being any different next year. Imo, I think they’ll be worse before better.
Iago, I completely agree with you. Wings fans know the reason Mantha was traded and understand that the team has turned the corner.
Larkin is definitely a big part of the future in Detroit.
The UFA thing with Detroit was intentional due to the expansion draft. Part of the reason for getting Panik in the trade was to have enough forwards to expose. It is also an advantage when you pair it with the cap space the Wings will have. I’m sure they will resign some UFA’s, like Bernier, Glendening, Merrill, perhaps Helm. I think they will keep RFA’s like Erne and Vrana. But look for Yzerman to try and upgrade the roster at RW, C, and LD. I am still upbeat for the future even knowing we aren’t cup contenders for a while yet.
I was fairly certain the Rangers were going to let DeAngelo rot . You can’t disrespect like that . It is a privilege.
He will get the buyout and then someone will give him a chance on a short leash low dollar contract.
Deangelo is a strange case. A couple of years ago people made a case for the return of Slava Voynov, who bloodied , kicked , punched , choked and smashed his wife’s face into a tv screen.
He was convicted, jailed and faced almost certain deportation but elected to voluntarily go back to Russia.
But Deangelo, who has some unfavorable tweets and political views is just not worth a look?
He does have a tendency to be a bit of a loose cannon. There were some other issues obviously as the Rangers brass stated. It had nothing to do with social media , and more to do with those other issues.
I can’t help but think this experience has made him second guess some of his choices and behavior.
If someone could get this guy to channel his energy, he would certainly be worth the risk. There are far worse defensemen on the NHL.
Ya, Voynov and Deangelo are totally different cases Captain.
DeAngelo, like Slick notes was warned numerous times, and then there was the “physical altercation” with a team mate.
Not the first time team mates fight, but it seems pretty clear where the majority of the team was on this.
Gorten doesn’t seem like a guy who would just make a snap judgement without talking to coaches and the player leadership group.
I just don’t think he all that bright as it seems to take him a while to catch on, but having a team pay you not to play for them should be a lesson he learns.
I don’t think Deangelo is dumb by any stretch. It just seems he has an uncontrollable temper. He put his act together last year. And maybe with some guidance , direction, discipline and maybe some anger management help, the guy could turn around.
I don’t think anyone can challenge his talent and ability. He just needs to grow up. Lots of 18-25 year olds make horrible decisions. People change as they mature. I’m not sure any kid that makes bad decisions should be punished indefinitely.
I have no doubt some team takes a chance on Deangelo after he’s bought out by NY.
Voynov was used as an extreme case. But there have been and still are plenty of other players that made mistakes. Patrick Kane, Sean Avery, PK Subban, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Ryan Malone, this list goes on and on.
I’m positive almost every contributor here has made or makes terrible decisions at one point or another. Everyone is capable of making bad decisions or actions , especially out of anger. Imagine decisions you made at 18-25 affecting your livelihood forever? I certainly can’t.
Captain, of course he deserves another chance, and it’s not like he isn’t getting paid. If anything the Rangers got the short end of the deal.
I would hope he catches on, and I don’t think he is a bad guy, like you said he needs to grow up.
The reason I don’t think he is the sharpest knife is because he put himself in this position when it would have been easy not to.
And some of the stuff he tweets, if we are being honest, is simply stupid.
It is irrelevant what any of us feel her about DeAngelo – or anything else related to hockey as none of us have input to an NHL GM.
That said, what is obvious to me, Captain, is that most of us do not make terrible mistakes in life. Those 18-25 year olds that do often find themselves in jail and compromise the rest of their life. So enough of the histrionics.
I would have been sorely pissed had the Habs signed DeAngelo. What team needs a loose cannon – your words – who is not very bright – others’ words – in a dressing room.
An important factor in any team sports is a cohesive team. Supreme talent will cut you some slack as winning is the ultimate goal. DeAngelo doesn’t have supreme talent and was so disruptive he got kicked off the team. Let us think about how bad that had to be.
Can he learn? Maybe. Will he? I don’t want to absorb the risk on my team – DeAngelo isn’t that good.
I think what he tweets is really a matter of opinion. We may consider it stupid, then again that’s opinion.
I forgot Danny Heatley. Who while drunk driving and speeding killed a young man.
If Danny Heatley was not beyond redemption, Deangelo certainly shouldn’t be either.
Let’s not forget that NYC is the WOKE capital of the world.
Everyone must fall in line or be ostracized.
I live here, so I am well aware how it works
Tony D was doomed as soon as his political leanings became known.
Does he have anger issues?
Maybe. Or maybe things get blown out of proportion, because he refuses to toe the line.
Being suspended for fighting with a team mate is ludicrous. I’m 70 and can recall when these were common occurrences at practice.
Probably still are, but just kept in house.
I’ll be interested to see where he lands. He’s too good a player that someone won’t take a chance on him. In fact, I bet he gets multiple offers
LJ,
Deangelo was one of the highest scoring dmen in the nhl last year. I think it takes more than average talent to be in the top 5. If not, I guess the NHL is littered with below average talented dmen.
As far as not making mistakes, maybe you have not. How many kids college age do. And most end up having normal lives without ending up in the prison system for the rest of their lives.
Bad tweets and punching another person usually does not lead to a life of crime.
I said loose cannon. By loose cannon i meant ill timed penalties, not holding up a convenience store at gun point or going on a murder spree.
And someone else said dumb, which I disagree with. Let’s face some ugly facts. Most pro athletes are far from educated. Even ones that go through 4 years of college and come out with a “degree”. This is why most go bankrupt within a couple of years of retirement. Some before they cash next weeks check. Hello Evander Kane and Jack Johnson.
Player altercations happen all the time in every sport among teammates. And that’s what we hear about. Who knows how many more times it happens that we don’t?
Captain Obvious, can please elaborate on why you placed PK Subban on that list???
Uwey,
On ice tactics. He has had a past reputation of doing and saying some things that didn’t go over well with teammates and staff in Montreal and Nashville. Seems to have quieted down in the last couple of years. But it doesn’t erase what he’s said or done in his past.
Farting in opposition goaltenders faces? Talk about needing to grow up!
Didn’t DeAngelo fall in the draft partially because of ” attitude and or behavioral issues”. The kid has big offensive upside but his defensive game needs work.
How is being paid to not work learning a lesson?
1:22 pm
It is irrelevant what any of us feel her about DeAngelo – or anything else related to hockey as none of us have input to an NHL GM.
Um….. isn’t that the point of this site? To speculate and debate exactly that? I think you might be in the wrong place lj.
And everyone makes terrible mistakes in life of varying degrees. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar or never got caught.
It isn’t about being woke or political opinions. If you want say stuff that is provable BS and send it out to the world people are going to think you are not that bright.
If it is something so important that you feel the need to send it out to the world you might want to take the time to figure it out first. If you don’t, to me that means not that bright.
DeAngelo will be fine and will get another chance, and my guess he has gown up and will be a good player and make some $$.
Personally, if Dorion could work out a deal suitable to Gorton I wouldn’t mind seeing DeAngelo on the Ottawa blue line next season.
If my team, the Oilers who Voynov had played for before the act, had signed Voynov after he was release from his jail time, I would have been looking for another team to cheer for.
However, Deangelo has been granted a lot of chances to change his attitude and realise that playing in the NHL is a privilege not a right. He just doesn’t seem to learn that.
DeAngelo had been warned about some behavioral issues and Gorton issued a final warning after an in game blow up cost the Rangers the game. Gorton had no choice but to act on his threat. Same teams that where interested in him at deadline will be there next season. He’s still young and someone will get a bargain. I don’t doubt Montreal had interest. Brooks, like him or not, does get inside info.
Books is a hack. He always has a Ranger whipping boy.
See Boyle, Dan.
I remember when Torts was going to beat his ass.
They should have let him.
Watched the game last night b’s & Buff I thought the bruins should have been bit better than having to go to a shootout. Hall didn’t show too much but If he wants a decent contract next season he’d better deliver. I think even Taylor knows he won’t get close to his current contract, even if manages to pop in 6 or 7 goals before the end of the season & adds about eight or 9 assists to along with it. Really liked Mike Reilly’s performance I think he had the most shots on goal looked pretty good in the b’s end like the way he gets puck out. If the bruins can even split the series with isles they’re better than they were before. Win the first game the b’s are never very good in the second game of a back to back series.
Sabers have been much better since firing the soccer coach. They need muscle
“Let’s not forget that NYC is the WOKE capital of the world.
Everyone must fall in line or be ostracized.”
It’s rich to complain about ostracism when trump and followers have made it a signature policy. Any body disagreeing is a snowflake, a rino, a traitor, I could go on.
Fact is DeAngelo felt enabled to go public repeatedly promoting, false information about elections, covid etc, which is his right.
However, when the trump agenda was mainly poking a stick in the eye of anybody who didn’t show devotion, people will notice it’s promotion and not just in NY.
DeAngelo chose to go public, repeatedly, expecting praise or more likely (in the woke capital of the world) whining from snowflakes.
Actions have consequences.
Which is probably why people should keep their political, religious and personal beliefs to themselves. Regardless of what side they fall on. I’ll never understand why athletes , actors musicians feel the need to possibly alienate a certain group of people to express their beliefs. Just bad for business.
But again, I bring up Danny Heatley as the ultimate example. He killed someone and was given a 2nd chance to resume his career.
Dan Snyder wasn’t given the opportunity to make unpopular tweets, punch a teammate or given a 2nd chance. He’s gone, and not coming back. His family is left with the series of bad decisions Heatley made that night.
If Heatley was given a 2nd chance, I’m sure Deangelo should be. Personally, I don’t think Heatley should have been given that opportunity.
Captain, I haven’t seen anybody say he shouldn’t get a 2nd chance, not sure why you keep bringing that up. Obviously he will and he should, it is ridiculous to suggest otherwise?
I started this by saying he isn’t that bright.
My fault, should have known better.
None of this is directly aimed at you Ray.
But generally a lot of people here think he isn’t worthy of another shot. He probably will get one, but that’s not what I’m arguing. People saying they wouldn’t want him on the team they cheer for is saying he does not deserve a chance.
My guess is Tampa will gladly take a flyer. And if they can’t retain Savard I’d almost bank they will.
I’ll take any talented player with some issues like Deangelo. If some team grabs him at league minimum next year, it will probably end up as one of, of not the best non elc contract in the nhl.
IF they bring him to heel.
People deserve a second chance is an adage that sounds right but is it really universal? of course not.
DeAngelo is/was promoting an agenda while tweeting, not once, not twice, many times.
Each tweet impacted a number of people, pro and mostly con.
It isn’t one bad/stupid/illegal action that one may or may not be forgiven after a punishment or repentance.
Apparently GM’s see him as a recidivist.
I have my doubts about the story but if it’s true, he didn’t help himself by refusing a cheap show me deal that could have put him on track for a return to the NHL and the pay he wants.
“ DeAngelo is/was promoting an agenda while tweeting, not once, not twice, many times
Each tweet impacted a number of people, pro and mostly con.“
In all due respect. This sounds like a difference in opinion / perspective, than Deangelos.
Here’s where the world gets dicey. A different perspective or opinion doesn’t mean wrong, stupid, ignorant and so on. It means someone has an opinion or perspective that Varys from yours. Possibly their perspective lacks clarity to some while making perfect sense to others.
As I say below, everyone is too fast to draw conclusions, or throw out stupid , ignorant because they don’t agree.
I’m not even sure what tweets you’re talking about exactly. But anyone taking a tweet from a pro athlete to who isn’t exactly an expert on vaccinations, politics, science to heart, probably needs to be rethinking everything in life.
Free speech isn’t limited to popular speech or beliefs. The world would be a pretty dull place if we all agreed on everything.
Habsfan, I never once mentioned Trump.
Nor, by the way, have I ever mentioned Trudeau.
Let try to keep this focused on hockey, not politics
Unfortunately, some seem to think that only their opinion is the correct one. It’s the ONLY opinion that should be tolerated. No dissension is allowed on the WOKE side.
And that, my friend, is dangerous.
Nevinsrip , agree on the keep this about hockey comment 👍
No matter what someone says, pro Biden, pro Trump, anti vaxers , pro vaxers, someone is going to find it stupid, offensive ,wrong or all of the above.
So I think all opinions going forward should be punishable in all walks of life. Permanently! You’re all fired! 😂
After watching some exchanges here, I’ll just keep all of those things to myself. Because you’ll never change opinions, and nobody wins.
nevinsrip,
You didn’t mention trump directly, but of course you did the moment you inferred the woke reaction on the topic of DeAngelo.
What dissension does trump et al allow? What dissension do he and followers not attack openly and repeatedly?
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
Colin Kaepernick was ostracised by whom? the woke left?
Who pressured NFL owners to fire players for their opinions? the woke left?
Who told Lebron to shut up and dribble? the woke left?
Who blackballed Craig Hodges? the woke left?
Is it dangerous ?
There’s no universal answer to that.
Are all Olympic boycotts okay or just some or none?
Tommy Smith and John Carlos at Mexico, okay or not?
’72 summit series pitted Canadian hockey and way of life against Russia, okay or not?
My point is that there’s nothing new in the consequences to DeAngelo for his actions.
FYI, most polls of NHL players and fans show a strong leaning to the Right.
Captain is right. Nevinsrip… if you say no dissent is tolerated on the woke side you are inherently saying that you don’t accept dissent to your opinion about that.
That my friend is dangerous
Actions and words should have consequences. Period.
In a business or home or any regulated environment, like a society, absolutely.
If we were talking about murderers, child molesters, rapists, race crimes and so on I’d be in full agreement.
If we’re talking about expressing political, religious or personal views, now we’re talking about infringing on rights. Now we’re talking about perspective. You may not agree with them, but that certainly doesn’t make it punishable or wrong for that matter.
What next? Flat earthers being banned for life?
They don’t get banned. They get shoved off the edge.
I’m guessing flat earthers never had a window seat in an airplane? Poor people always stuck in the isles.
There are political views/opinions, like tax policy, foreign policy, campaign finance regulation, healthcare, etc.
Then there is the intentional spreading of disinformation and flat out lies for political advantage and the purpose of retaining power. Add in the rubes who spread it on social media and amplify it more.
The woke latte crowd who want to stifle legitimate debate of ideas are wrong and deserve to be called out and then ignored.
Both bad and dangerous, one is a lot more dangerous than the other.
Twitter kicking him off was a business decision not a woke free speech issue. I believe in the free market. Anyone who thinks Twitter is a good place to have a real debate and get information should think again.
Subscribe to a newspaper online.
We need to get our act together.
“NYC is the woke capital of the world”
Easily the dumbest and most insulting comment I’ve seen here in awhile. NYC covers about 300 square miles yet has a population nearly a quarter of all Canada. Add to that fans from NJ and Connecticut. DeAngelo isn’t not playing because of his politics and not everyone actually disagrees with his views.
He hasn’t been cancelled. Stop bringing politics into the convo.
Ray you have zero idea how bright Tony is or isn’t and your tax comment may have been stupidest thing I’ve ever heard doesn’t mean your stupid. I just returned from spending 6 months golfing in US and most people I talked to agree 100 percent with Tony and if you checked into it there is plenty of proof. NBA proved political views have no place in sports nobody cares fans want to get away from world and watch a game not be preached to. Go Bruins Go
Anyone who just spent 6 months golfing is either way too wealthy to matter or to old to matter. Duh.
Obe, Tony spread lies on twitter.
I doubt he had malicious intent, so likely believed it. Means he is either stupid, or willfully ignorant.
Same thing IMO and if we don’t call it what it is, things won’t get better. They need to get better.
Agree, he should stop preaching on Twitter, and he did. Hopefully he learned.
I don’t like politics in sports either, but they have the right to do it. We can make up our minds what we think about it when they do.
Tax policy, best do your homework Obe.
First of all thousands of Canadians go south for the winter we’re known as snowbirds duh. Secondly I’m 57 and retired at 49 because I didn’t ask for family or government to pay my way and got up every morning and went to work for 31 years for same company and worked my butt off. Yes I golf 4 times a week with Americans from all over USA and not all but most agree exactly with Tony’s tweet. Politics don’t belong in sports doesn’t work what NBA is doing and now MLB moving All Star game is suicide. Their ratings prove it but if Tony would have said BLM he would be still playing its cancel culture agree with left or be cancelled many many examples if you need them. A year ago I said lockdowns and stupid masks now people are wearing two lol will never work and we’re still locked down over a flu it’s nuts. George is old so your saying he doesn’t matter George you matter to me way more than some of these spoiled brats who want free everything.