NHL Rumor Mill – June 10, 2021
The Bruins face some free-agent decisions, some recent speculation linking the Flyers to Seth Jones, and the latest on the Sharks in today’s NHL rumor mill.
WHAT NEXT FOR THE BRUINS?
ESPN.COM: Emily Kaplan reports the Boston Bruins must decide on the futures of goaltender Tuukka Rask and center David Krejci. Rask is a polarizing figure among Bruins fans but remains among the NHL’s best goaltenders. It’s unclear what the 34-year-old Rask intends to do but the emergence of Jeremy Swayman makes the club feel better about its’ future plans.
Has Tuukka Rask played his final game with the Boston Bruins? (NHL Images)
Krejci remains a reliable center at age 35 but not at his current $7.25 million cap hit. The chemistry he developed with Taylor Hall and Craig Smith could lead management to try and bring him back at a reduced rate.
Kaplan also believes the Bruins should attempt to re-sign trade-deadline acquisitions Taylor Hall and Mike Reilly. Hall’s been campaigning to remain a Bruins since his arrival in Boston.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Bruins could bring back Rask if he’ll accept a short-term deal for perhaps a little less than his current $7 million cap hit. He’ll also have to share more of the goalie duties with Swayman. If not, they’ll go with Swayman and perhaps add an experienced backup as his mentor.
I can see Krejci returning at a reduced rate on a two-year deal, or perhaps a one-year, bonus-laden contract. He doesn’t seem keen to leave the only NHL team he’s played for. The club’s performance this season suggests they could have enough left for another shot at a Cup run next season, depending of course on their offseason moves. Krejci will probably want to be part of that.
The Bruins were pleased with the play of Hall and Reilly. The latter, however, will be easier to re-sign than the former. Kaplan said Hall would prefer long-term stability. If he wants that from the Bruins, he’ll likely have to accept less than market value.
Hall salvaged his reputation with a strong performance in Boston after his disastrous turn earlier this season with the Buffalo Sabres. That will make him an intriguing option for playoff contenders if he heads to free agency this summer.
COULD THE FLYERS LAND SETH JONES?
NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA: Jordan Hall recently cited Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggesting the Philadelphia Flyers as a viable trade destination for Seth Jones. The 26-year-old defenseman last month informed the Columbus Blue Jackets of his intention to test next summer’s UFA market.
Appearing last week on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, Friedman said he felt the Flyers could make that trade. He wondered how Jones would feel about that but wouldn’t be shocked if the blueliner ends up in Philadelphia.
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Sam Carchidi was asked by a reader if the Flyers could acquire Jones, or Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton, or Calgary Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau.
Carchidi believes Gaudreau would help the Flyers’ offensive attack. However, he believes their top priority should be acquiring a right-shot defenseman such as Jones or Hamilton.
While Hamilton would be a perfect fit, Carchidi believes he’ll re-sign with the Hurricanes. Jones would be a great consolation prize, but the Flyers will need assurances he’ll re-sign with them before acquiring him.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Every team interested in Jones will want to know if he’ll sign a contract extension with them. If he won’t, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher could look elsewhere to address his right-side defense needs.
If Jones is willing to talk contract extension, Fletcher must decide how much he’s willing to spend in return and salary. Others clubs, such as the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks, have the cap space and tradeable assets to outbid the Flyers. We also can’t rule out teams like the Colorado Avalanche or Dallas Stars finding a creative way to acquire him.
LATEST ON THE SHARKS
NBC SPORTS BAY AREA: Marcus White suggested five players from teams eliminated from the opening round of the playoffs as target targets for the San Jose Sharks. They are Toronto’s Mitch Marner or William Nylander, Washington’s Lars Eller, Minnesota’s Cam Talbot, and Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
White suggested offering up a package including a winger such as Timo Meier ($6 million cap hit) and Kevin Labanc ($4.725 million) for Marner or Nylander. The Capitals’ limited cap space could make them receptive to an offer of draft picks for Eller.
Talbot could be an option if the Wild risk losing him to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft or of giving up assets to the Kraken to retain him. With $11 million in salary-cap space, the Sharks could be positioned to offer Nugent-Hopkins more money on a short-term deal via free agency.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sharks GM Doug Wilson has a well-earned reputation for making bold moves and could do so this summer. I don’t see him prying Marner or Nylander away from the Leafs or winning a bidding war in free agency for Nugent-Hopkins. Pursuing Talbot or Eller are more reasonable options, though we don’t know if either guy will be on Wilson’s radar this summer.
White suggested offering up a package including a winger such as Timo Meier ($6 million cap hit) and Kevin Labanc ($4.725 million) for Marner or Nylander???
Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha … I threw up a little coffee in my mouth after reading that gem … why would the Maple Loaves even consider either of those? And I thought that Emily Kaplan was clueless?
I thought you stop reading after “Emily Kaplan reports…”?
LOL
Bazinga!
đź‘Ź
Perfect response!
Just like every leafs fan proposes Engvall and Kerfoot for big ticket stars lmao
Steve,
And every free agent to the Leafs for league minimum.
I havent seen Meier this season but when they went to the semis he was very good, he is also bigger and stronger than Nylander or Marner. Labanc was also good that year but not so much since. Talbot sounds like a good option, they also took Dybnuk in a trade last offseason and he isnt coming back and they have to have someone else than Jones who has been terrible the last 3-4 years
Why did the Bruins play Rask hurt ?
I would have ran with the hot Swayman right from the start. Where was Halak ?
Boston needs to beef up that backend. Build around McAvoy and Carlo gut the rest.
Flyers could definitely land Jones. JVR, York , Sanheim second this year 3 rd next.
JVR? Nobody wants him, not even the Flyers. Unless they take half his salary, I doubt he’s going anywhere. Maybe Hextall will trade for him to go the burgh? (Hexy signed him (JVR) to that contract)
Don’t get me wrong, he’s a decent winger, but 3 more years at 7 mil?
Flyers decline and block your number.
Wow. Columbus gets better offers from 30 other teams.
Hall was nowhere to be found against the Islanders. That’ll certainly affect how much salary he could get on the open market and it may dampen the Bruins’ enthusiasm to re- sign him.
To be fair, Crosby and Malkin also struggled to produce in their series vs the Isles. That system that Barry Trotz implemented is stifling.
Understood, Randino, but Crosby and Malkin have a long history of producing in the Post-season, including against the Trotz-coached Capitals. Hall does not.
Randino agreed….. But I will say both Boston and Pittsburgh lost in 6 games to the pesky islanders.
Looking at both series the Penguins out played the Islanders in games 1,2,3 and 5 and had they had even solid NHL goaltending they advance. Jarry’s blundered away game 1 and 5 with soft goals and stickhandling blunders in double OT.
I thought the Penguins matched up better than the Bruins did against the Islanders. The Penguins were faster, more skilled, and I thought handled the Islanders physicality pretty well. The Islanders were just patient and disciplined which they are great at.
Boston to be fair was missing Carlo and Miller on the back end…..and Islanders are missing their captain Andres Lee
Can you see a Vegas Islanders finals with the two loudest buildings and fan bases in the NHl…wow
I watched the last 3 games and dont even remember his name coming from the commentators
Often wondered why Rask hasn’t re-upped in bean town. You know B’s magmt. will suggest taking less for the “sake” of the team. He has a cup, he can move on. He’s a great goalie. They need help/depth on D. Writers will start spitballing stupid ass trade scenario’s. You can’t do it all with McAvoy.
I think Flyer’s would love to “move on” from 3/4 players (Voracek, JVR, Ghost, ) but will find no takers especially for Seth Jones.
when is Doug Wilson going to realize he needs to rebuild. his aging dmen vets are over the hill
Caps will solve their cap issues, starting my trading malcontent Kuznetsov, possibly to Columbus. I doubt the Caps trade Eller
if he Canes owner is lowballing Brind’Amour and his training staff, what makes you think he’ll resign Hamilton for market price?
I see Seth Jones going to the Flyers, but they need to solve their cap issues if they expect to improve their offense
Wilson’s problem is that his aging D-men all have huge cap hits with a lot of term left and are untradeable. Hard to rebuild the D corps in those circumstances.
Howard, ALL of Wilson’s problems are of his own making. Yeah, he has gotten involved in “bold moves” but more often than not those bold moves wound up being his ongoing unsolvable problems – e.g., Karlsson and, to a lesser degree, Burns, The latter did put in some top-notch seasons after coming over from Minnesota – but his best years are way behind him and he costs $8 mil off the cap with 4 more seasons to go, at the end of which he’s over 40.
Now Wilson faces a situation where he has $70,275000 committed to 15, leaving $11,225,000 to sign 8 – and has 7 RFAs to deal with, 5 of whom have arbitration rights. Collectively they cost $6,369,999 off the cap this year, and if all are re-upped that’s going to be a lot closer to $10 mil. And are some of them worth it? If not and so cut loose, he still has to find replacements – at what cost to make a difference?
Not a great position to be in when the Hockey Writers rank your prospects 24th out of 31.
I see a major re-build brewing. The question is, will they allow Wilson to carry it out?
Right on George. I can’t understand why Wilson is still employed. He has never been able to get his team to the finals. The loss in the Cup finals in 2015 was an outlier to a consistent pattern of falling short with some pretty talented teams. Sure, some of this is on players’ failure to deliver but Wilson has been the Sharks GM since 2003.
the Bruins D & the bottom 6 end up being their downfall
the D has McAvoy and nobody else
bottom 6 needs at least 3-4 new bodies
and there’s the 17-18 players on roster that are either UFA or RFA this offseason
Bruins probably like to see 40-46-71 come back but dont really see how that can happen without a team discount
Huge offseason for the Bruins front office
Joe,
That is exactly what I see as well.
Add that to Bergeron & Bad Brad, their best two players, are in their mid-thirties, meaning they will soon be complimentary players rather than the key core players that a contending need to orbit around.
Bad Brad (fellow Nova Scotian) showed more heart & determination by himself than the entire 2nd line combined.
As an Isles fan, hats off to Marchand. That SOB gave it everything he had. No quit in him.
Hall? Hall? Hall? Bueller?
Hall scored exactly 1 PP empty net goal, against a team that knows how to play defense.
The most over rated player in the NHL.
Bruins make fantastic Hall signing!!!
Palmeri and Zajac not living up to their expected production!!
How you like me, now?
Joe, i have to disagree with you Brandon Carlo is a very god dman and slots in nicely behind McAvoy and there is nothing wrong with Kevin Miller as a third pair rd d; it’s the left side that is troubling Matt Grzelcyk is best suited for 3rd pairing he is not a #1 pairing d, nor is he a number 2 pairing. Boston need to fix the left side.
Maybe target someone like Alec Martinez or Jamie Oleksiak.
Package Debrusk in a trade for a LD
Rask has no problem sharing the net in fact that exactly what he prefers so resigning Rask at less then his now contract and having Swayman as his backup some like a very good plan. In a full 82 games schedule 30 games for Swayman and 52 for Rask would be ideal.
Honestly, I think that Carlo is an excellent player
who has taken too many head shots.
The hit by Clutterbuck wasn’t a crusher. The head wasn’t the target and yet he still came away concussed.
Unfortunately, I think that if Carlo continues, he is going to end up being seriously injured.
He seems way too concussion prone.
I do hope that he is OK, but I fear for his health.
As a die hard Canes fan Dougie Hamilton needs to move on. He’s a one trick pony. He shoots well. When Slavin was out for a few games Hamilton struggled. He was way too soft in the playoffs. I read he is looking for 7-8 million per year. Give me a break……please don’t do it.
Hamilton is the #3 D on the Canes. You don’t pay a #3 $7M.
That said, I’d love to have him back, but it has to make sense.
Maybe Seattle signs him as a UFA, and solves two problems. (what to do with Dougie, and you don’t lose anyone else in the expansion draft.)
Snuffy, I agree.
When Hamilton was in Calgary I couldn’t believe how such a big guy could play so soft.
B’s DeBrusk going into season was projected to be a top 4 scoring winger on the team
Regular Season 41 GP…5 Goals 9 Assist 14 Points
NYI Playoff Series 5 GP……0 Goals 0Assist 0 Points
Please Please trade DeBrusk
Joe the problem is B’s management have this projection of what they think he can become , the longer they hang on to that the less value he has if he does not perform. I think it is time to cut bait but the return may be for a player who has underachieved with another team.
So Joe, with DeBrusk’d record, why would anyone trade for him?
B’s ……wouldn’t surprise me if B Carlo hangs up the skates this offseason or next
Carlo has had 4 concussion in his five seasons in the NHL.
Only 1 problem, 1 of them gets the defending champs TB and the other gets Vegas probably. The clock may strike 12.
The defending cup champs have to win 4 rounds to do it again, so 4 teams have to face them somewhere along the way.
I’d bet Tampa Bay was secretly hoping the Bruins could some how win that series simply to avoid a grinding series against a stifling defensive system.
Vegas may find the Habs not to easy to free-wheel against either.
The ultimate in “holy crap” would be to see a Montreal-NY final because NOBODY in here anyway would have predicted that.
If they don’t run Rask out of Boston now Management needs to be swept out as well. There’s at least five bruins that have to go. They need to get bigger tougher and faster. John Beecher is another first round pick bust so is everyone from that 2015 first round. That in itself is enough to get most gms the boot.
“Y’got lotta splaining to do Lucy!”Bye Sweeney. And maybe even Cassidy not going with Swayman. Idiot! First line stays Mcavoy and Swayman.
Everyone in 2015 was a bust in the 1st round. Checks draft … McDavid, Eichel, Marner, Ratanen, Barzal, Connor, Chabot, Samsonov, Boeser, Konecy, Beauvillier, Provorov, Werenski, Meier, and also a few role players that came out of the first round. But over half the picks either play prominent roles in the NHL or have full time jobs in the NHL.
Some busts!
After what appears to be another concussion for Carlo perhaps the time to sell HIGH on him?
To CMB: Carlo & DeBrusk
To BOS: Seth Jones & something
a slight retool on the fly for Boston so to speak
Zero chance of that happening.
I would not say Zero chance, but a package around a player like Carlo (providing they got proper medical clearance) would be far better then most prospect offers the Jackets would get. I don’t think there are many rumours out there with a big solid NHL ready Dman out there.
Just my 2 cents
Pretty close to zero chance. Columbus is wanting a centerman to play with Liane. Not a struggling 2nd line forward and an injury prone 2nd pairing d-man.
If I may send them to the Oilers for the Nurse
I would take that deal too.
Zero chance.
How would trading Carlo and DeBrusk to the Oilers for Nurse help the Oilers? Trading Nurse would open a huge hole on the Oilers left side defence that Carlo can’t fill. On the left side the Oilers have Nurse, Broberg, Jones, Lagesson, Russell. On the right side they have Larsson, Bouchard, and Bear with them possibly re-signing Barrie. Carlo isn’t a fit on the Oilers.
Hey I like that always been A Seth booster would he would look good in a Boston Jersey, I think it would take bit more than what you mentioned this guys on another level. There will be changes in Boston though I want Rask out there. I never want to see that guy playing for b’s again in my lifetime hate the guy.
Will take MUCH more than Carlo and Debrusk to get Seth Jones.
Ray Bark, you are maintaining radio silence. You usually have interesting things to say. Any opinions on the Bs?
Second the motion. Ray always has a calm, sensible point of view. Badly needed here at times.
Come back, Ray.
Could I also say that it was disappointing to see the Bruins get knocked out by the Islanders. Boston is usually far more enjoyable to watch than NYI. Having said that, if Barry Trotz was coaching the Leafs, I think they’d still be playing.
Ray is up north fishing.
Lucky bugger.
Sorry, but I need to get this out of my system.
Hey JT………..
“We don’t need you.”
Seriously, I hope he is getting better and he can look forward to another disappointing year by the Leafs.
Like I wrote here after round one ended, the only team I wanted to avoid was the Islanders.
4 lines deep. Best defense in the eastern conference, along with TB. Great goaltending, and a brilliant coach.
That 4th line has been the best in the league for a long spell now. Fast, heavy, clean hockey.
Great win by them.
I sincerely hope they crush TB and go on to win the Cup this year.
There’s work to do in Boston, and it should start with hiring Gorton back to fix the glaring concerns.
DeBrusk has gotten a lot of hate on this board, and perhaps rightfully so for his less than expected play.
I wonder though if Bruins management looks at a situation like Bennett being traded to Florida and proving that he can play at a high level in a top six role. He was an absolute beast for the remainder of the regular season in Florida (I only watched brief periods of the Tampa series in the playoffs, so I won’t comment on his playoff play this season) …. I was always disappointed that Calgary only ever gave him one or two games at a time in their top six, then shoved him back down to the 3rd or 4th line to play with Lucic/Nordstrom/Dube/Simon etc.
The Flames totally mismanaged Bennett and will be paying the price for that for many many years.
Of course, DeBrusk has been given a top six role in Boston for a while now, unlike Bennett in Calgary. Nonetheless, all I’m suggesting is that B’s management may continue to worry about losing him for chicklets only to see him thrive elsewhere. Might not make sense, but hey, human psychology, right?
At this point DeBrusk can’t be traded based on his contract and his abysmal year.
I don’t watch the Bruins often enough to judge but hockey players don’t just forget how to play and this year seems to be the outlier.
He had three seasons in row to earn his contract on a team known to be, how to say it nicely, thrifty.
Wouldn’t surprise me if he had a bounce back year as an RFA .
If he does do well, the Bruins can be happy and resign or at least move him on a high.
Hall was playing for a contract – that’ s it