NHL Rumor Mill – August 18, 2021
Is there a date the Florida Panthers could consider trading Aleksander Barkov? What’s the latest on the Stars logjam between the pipes? Check out the latest in today’s NHL rumor mill.
ESPN: Greg Wyshynski reports Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is entering the final year of his six-year contract. He asked Panthers general manager Bill Zito if there was a date when he’d have to consider trading the 25-year-old center.
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov (NHL Images).
Zito said there isn’t one, expressing confidence they’ll get a deal done. He expects an extension will “probably” come before the start of the upcoming season.
FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW: George Richards doesn’t see Barkov going anywhere. He reports contract extension talks have been ongoing for some time and are going well. It’s believed they’re close to a deal or have already reached an agreement.
Richards feels the reason why it hasn’t been done yet is there’s no rush. Barkov is still training in Finland but Richards believes the deal will be announced when he returns to South Florida to gear up for the coming season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some teams like to announce the re-signing of core players right away. Others, like the Panthers, prefer to wait until their players are in town to make the formal announcement.
The Panthers are a team on the rise with the potential to become a legitimate Stanley Cup contender for the next several seasons. Barkov is a crucial piece of those plans. He’s their franchise player who won his first Selke Trophy last season leading his club to their best performance in years.
Barkov will remain a Florida Panther. The only questions are for how long and for how much. I’m guessing an eight-year deal worth over $9 million annually.
NHL.COM: In a recent mailbag segment, Mike Heika was asked how the Dallas Stars will address their logjam in goal if Ben Bishop should return to action at some point this season. He remains sidelined recovering from surgery last fall.
The Stars also have Anton Khudobin and Braden Holtby under one-way contracts while promising Jake Oettinger is on a two-way deal that doesn’t require waivers. If Bishop returns, Khubodin or Holtby could be traded. For now, they don’t appear interested in moving a goalie before the start of the season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Bishop missing all last season recovering from surgery factored into their decision to sign Holtby. They want to ensure they’ve got sufficient depth if he can’t return and if Khudobin or Oettinger struggle this season. Sitting $4.9 million over the cap, they’ll get some relief if necessary by placing Bishop’s $4.916 million annual cap hit on long-term injury reserve.
Unless Oettinger outperforms Khudobin and Holtby in training camp and preseason, he’s likely headed back to the farm to start the season.
NHL.COM: David Satriano believes the Stars could seek another veteran forward this season rather than relying on young players in their system.
Stars have 3 NHL goalies and on the rise Oettinger (who has 29 NHL games under his belt
Compare that to Pens…. If Jarry goes down… DeSmith starts and the back will come from (at best) a player with zero NHL games experience and but 12 AHL games experience
Pens need to see if Duby will take $1.5 M or less…. If so…. Sign him
Tying everything together and “ David Satriano believes the Stars could seek another veteran forward this season rather than relying on young players in their system.“….. Zucker for Holtby…. Gedderdone
Jason Zucker for a washed up goalie? Beyond delusional … just incredible, why do I even bother?
Exactly why do you ?
Pens signed the best college goalie ever! Duh.
Huh?
He is well touted but unless he somehow literally surprises the hockey world I doubt he gets close to 1/2 of Cujo’s 517 W’s (reg season and playoffs)
As at now he is untested at the NHL
The easiest thing Hextall can do for s to phone Duby’s agent ….$1.5 M or less…. Sign him up immediately
Peggy Zucker has 0 value with that contract please stop trying to get value back it will cost picks to get rid of him .
Hi Swany
I have ti keep hopes alive
Zucker will NOT get traded unless Hextall picks up the phone and asks his collegues about what any Zucker trade would look like….. and as yet…. Hextall has not
I’m still hoping for a Vlad flip for Zucker plus Laffy and O’Connor … Pens retain 50% on Zucker; Blues retain 50% on Vlad
Vlad and Zucker need a change of scenery
Vlad with Gibo and Kappy would be a good 2nd line
Barkov is worth every penny in a new contract. Saying that, Florida is going to have some cap issues next year. Prior management goalie decision is a real issue.
Hi redmonsters
With you and your assertions
Zito; IMVHO; has done the absolute best (amongst his colleagues) in the last year…. Very smart and has been forward thinking and creative and has built a very promising team
Under no circumstances should he let Barkov leave at end of this upcoming year. He’ll get a deal done
Barkov is not only the leader of this club; he’s an excellent 2-way centre with size
I’m not up on the South Florida media to know for sure; but I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that he is extremely well liked by fans and team-mates
Yes Zito is s burdened with overpriced Bobo Cap hit (note contract signed by his predecessor); and still some Bobby Lou deadcap to deal with
The dead cap re Yandle IS on Zito…. But I think that was the right move
Zito will get it done
Plus George Richards is certain that Bob will be off our books by 22/23 or 23-24. Not sure how but I believe Zito could find a way for an Edmonton gm to take him off our hands
I am a Red Wing and Carolina fan so last years schedule allowed me to watch a lot of Barkov’s games. Barkov was the player that surprised me the most last season. I went from thinking of him as an all star to one of the most elite players in the NHL. Florida needs to lock him up for 8 years. He is one of the most valuable players in the league and a player Florida can not afford to lose.
Agree…. and I don’t think it will be an issue.., it will get done
Florida has advantage of being able to give him the extra year. Combined with not having to pay state tax, Florida should be able to keep him at around 9m AAV. Should come with a full nmc. After adding Reinhart and getting Ekblad back, they could be a team that topples Tampa. They’re in decent place capwise. Even with Yandles cap hit going up next year, they’ll have a few contracts they can walk from over the next couple years. Bob will be bought out after 2-3 years.
After years of horrendous attendance, if not decades, the Panthers have no choice but to keep Barkov on the roster. And that’s a good thing.
Will the weight of the additional ads slow down the players?
That’s a question I’m posing just to prevent my next question from getting squelched for being off-topic.
A company that sells hockey equipment advertises that the total weight of a modern player’s protective gear is more than 25 pounds with helmet. We know that today’s players wear a lot more of that gear, including a helmet, than the players of yesterday. That could result in a weight difference that might be sufficient to slow a modern player’s speed relative to that of his predecessors.
Is that plausible, and if so, to what extent might player acceleration be affected?
By the way, I avoid buying clothes with designer names on them, but a lot of people love them.
Modern gear is much much lighter than gear even from the 90s.
Ahhh, but you need to include the wind drag from the flowing hair of yesteryears players as well 😉