NHL Rumor Mill – July 14, 2022
Will the Flames search for a replacement for Johnny Gaudreau? Are the Sharks done dealing? What’s the latest on Patrik Laine, Jeff Petry and Jakob Chychrun? What’s next for the Jets, Islanders, Penguins and Leafs? Find out in today’s NHL rumor mill.
WILL THE FLAMES FIND A REPLACEMENT FOR GAUDREAU?
CALGARY SUN: In the aftermath of Johnny Gaudreau departing the Flames to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Wes Gilbertson speculated they could be in the bidding for center Nazem Kadri.
CALGARY HOCKEY NOW: Steve Macfarlane also included Kadri on his list of possible “Plan B” options for the Flames. Others include Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane, Dylan Strome and Nino Niederreiter.
Could the Calgary Flames pursue Nazem Kadri via free agency? (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: As per Cap Friendly, the Flames have $19.7 million in cap space. It will probably cost them $10 million annually to re-sign Matthew Tkachuk. However, with Sean Monahan (hip surgery, $6.25 million cap hit) likely to go on long-term injury reserve in 2022-23, they should still have room to find a replacement for Gaudreau.
I don’t see Kane waiving his no-movement clause to go to Calgary. Kadri would be their best bet via free agency but he rejected a trade that would’ve sent him from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Flames three years ago. Strome or Niederreiter would be affordable options but won’t replace the offense Gaudreau brought to the club.
POTENTIAL SHARKS TRADE CANDIDATES
SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Sheng Peng wondered which Sharks players will be trade candidates after the club shipped defenseman Brent Burns to the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday. “Need a ride to the airport, Erik Karlsson, Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, or Timo Meier?”
Peng considers Karlsson almost untradeable given his expensive contract. He suggested Couture could draw a taker now if the Sharks retained part of his $8 million average annual value.
Hertl recently re-signed a long-term contract with the Sharks but Peng wonders if he’s having second thoughts following the Burns trade. Meier is slated to become a restricted free agent next summer so his future is wide open.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Mike Grier is wasting no time charting a different course for the Sharks since taking over as general manager. I don’t see him peddling Karlsson, Couture or Hertl unless they ask to be moved.
Meier, however, could get shopped this summer if he appears reluctant to sign a long-term extension. He’ll draw plenty of attention if Grier starts gauging his value in the trade market.
LATEST ON LAINE, PETRY AND CHYCHRUN
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Brian Hedger reports Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen continues working on re-signing left winger Patrik Laine. Having signed winger Johnny Gaudreau on Wednesday, Kekalainen will have to shed salary to make room for Laine’s presumed $8 million-$9 million annual cap hit on his next contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Gaudreau and Laine on the same line could give the Blue Jackets a potent scoring punch. With just $3.1 million in cap space, they must dump a contract or two in the trade market to keep Laine in the fold. If not, he could become a trade candidate.
MONTREAL GAZETTE: Stu Cowan reports the Canadiens haven’t found a trade partner to take Jeff Petry and his $6.25 million AAV off their hands. GM Kent Hughes said he won’t move the 34-year-old defenseman unless he finds a deal that advances the Canadiens’ interest. The Habs are pressed against the $82.5 million cap.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Montreal Hockey Now’s Jimmy Murphy cited reports indicating the Canadiens had discussed Petry with the Dallas Stars. However, a deal has yet to materialize and remains unlikely as long as the Habs are reluctant to retain a portion of Petry’s annual cap hit. Murphy speculated the Seattle Kraken could jump into the bidding as they still have sufficient cap space ($15 million) to acquire him.
GOPHNX.COM: Prior to the start of the free-agent market, Craig Morgan reported he didn’t put much stock into recent buzz linking Jakob Chychrun to the Ottawa Senators. He anticipates the 24-year-old defenseman will start the season with the Arizona Coyotes and could be shopped leading up to the 2023 trade deadline.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports the Senators are done making additions this summer as they still have an eye on adding to the top end of their defense chart. However, Chychrun might not be in their sights given the Coyotes’ high asking price.
WHAT NEXT FOR THE JETS, ISLANDERS, PENGUINS AND LEAFS?
THE ATHLETIC: Murat Ates reports Pierre-Luc Dubois’ agent Pat Brisson told TVA Sports on Wednesday that Montreal is a place his client would like to play but added the interest in the Canadiens was theoretical.
The Winnipeg Jets center is a restricted free agent who has indicated his desire to test the 2024 UFA market. Ates said he was told the Canadiens had reached out to the Jets about Dubois but their trade proposals were inadequate.
Ates also reports Jets captain Blake Wheeler remains a trade candidate and there’s interest in defenseman Brenden Dillon. However, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff maintains he likes his current roster.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Cheveldayoff could move Dubois, Wheeler or Dillon if a rival club makes an irresistible offer. However, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards for now. It appears the Jets GM wants to gauge how his club performs in 2022-23 under new head coach Rick Bowness.
THE ATHLETIC: Kevin Kurz wondered what the New York Islanders’ “Plan B” is to address their need for a scoring winger after missing out on the Johnny Gaudreau sweepstakes. Trade options could include St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko or Vancouver’s J.T. Miller while Nazem Kadri remains available (for now) in the free-agent market.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Isles reportedly discussed Miller with the Canucks at the draft last week. Maybe GM Lou Lamoriello will revisit that option.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Dan Kingerski wondered if Penguins GM Ron Hextall could use the trade market to free up his blueline logjam. He’s got nine defensemen under contract for 2022-23 and needs to free up some cap space as well as pursue a forward.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Penguins blueliners John Marino, Marcus Pettersson and Brian Dumoulin have surfaced in the rumor mill in recent weeks. As Kingerski pointed out, however, their contracts might not be easy to move.
TORONTO SUN: Terry Koshan reports Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas will turn to the trade market to add depth to their defense corps and forward lines. Alex Kerfoot and Justin Holl could be trade candidates.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Dubas remains handcuffed by his limited salary-cap space. I don’t expect he’ll get much of a return for Kerfoot or Holl but maybe a deal will appear following the frenzy of signings from the opening day of free agency.
cbj with under 4 mil in cap space. Laine unsigned. Either he or other will have to be shipped out. Time will tell who and where
hasn’t the rumor been that Laine wants to play in LA? if so, I’m not sure a season of playing with Gaudreau will change his mind.
also, Bruce Boudreau recently commented that he likes the hard-edge that JT Miller brings, and asked that he not get traded. More likely Connor Garland gets traded to free up space
If Laine wants to play in LA, he has to be ready to take a big pay cut. He is not the player he used to be.
Nothings gonna get done as long as Yogi and Boo are in Charge. Every other team has recharged the bruins have done nothing as usual
I am really intrigued with what CBJ does with Laine and their lack of cap space after the Johnny signing!
It seems they painted themselves into a corner.
Maybe. The Jackets are overloaded with young skilled wingers who are developing nicely. There may be a few teams who would be willing to take one or two in a straight salary dump trade. There’s also an outside chance that the Jackets could trade Gavrikov, but I don’t think that’s very likely.
“SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports the Senators are done making additions this summer ….”
Just for the record, that should read “aren’t done …”
It won’t be Marino and almost positively not Chchrun.
Formenton & Branstrom to CMB for Laine? lol
George,
I am going with either Klingberg or Benning.
Klingberg could slot next to Chabot where as i think benning would slot further down the lineup.
Also i think they need to buyout Zaitsev, and open up a spot on the right side for a better dman.
I like zub as a 2nd pairing dman and either brannstrom or docker can do 3rd line duties.
That’s why Klingberg to Ottawa makes alot of sense.
With the Hab’s cap problems, why not trade Zaitsev + for Petry?
Holden is still there for 3rd line duties – he was still considered good enough to play for Canada at the World’s – and very likely starting beside him will be Sanderson. Hamonic – 1 year to go @ $3mil – will be the 7th man
No need to buy out Zaitsev – only turns 31 in October – had 2g 9a 11 pts and was just a -7 on D – costs $4.5 mil per for 2 more years – a trade is still possible if Dorion holds back $1.5 per – still cheaper and over quicker than buying him out.
buyout window which opens this year on July 1 and closes on July 12, the eve of free-agency.
The rumor in EDM is OTT wants to move Brown for picks. EDM is trying to move Foegele for picks to acquire Brown.
Ray, Brown was dealt to Washington yesterday for a 2024 2nd rounder – he was likely going to lose his job at RW on the 3rd line to Mathieu Joseph anyway (he moves from the LW position which will likely be filled by Formenton with Pinto at C).
That move immediately freed up another $3.6 mil.
George, you have to account for the news lag in Edm. They still have to get someone to run over to Calgary to print out the internet for them every morning. 🙂
I think we are just busier up here tb!
LOL. see, tb, that was a fun exchange with a bit of humour – something like I was trying to do in the other thread with BCLeaf Fan – which you somehow took as a unwarranted jab at the Leafs.
if the Flames don’t get Kadri, how about Connor Garland from VAN? he’s another smallish player but a good playmaker
Waddell has done amazing in Carolina. Patches for free and Burns for a 3rd. Basically traded away ADA and upgraded to Burns. Offensively pretty similar but Burns is a big body who will look good along Slavin. Slide Pesce to partner with Skjei.
Dorion & Waddell (tied), followed by Stevie Y are my 1 and #2 GM’s rankings so far this summer
Kadri’s smart play if he wants to win cups is to resign with Col on the cheap for 4 years.
After that there window will close.
MP totally agree. Kadri really improved his stats and personally I don’t feel he repeats close to that with another team. If I was calagary(who at this point will seem desperate I would go after laine or Miller (if possible) instead and stay clear of the high ask KADRI’s agent will be seeking for other teams.
Kadri has got the cup, his interest maybe different now. Playing in a city he wants and getting as much money as possible.
Nazem turns 32 in October this is likely his last shot at a big contract.
To date his highest salary is $4.5 i guessing he looking for 5yrs at $7.5
Marner for tkachuck straight up
Jeff how bout one of those bigger Flame/Leaf trades and make it – Nylander, Kerfoot , Holl, 2023 1st for Tkachuk and Zadorov
It would have to be a sign and trade….But yeah, the Lafs need some sandpaper with skills.
JohnnyZ why bother talking about the Leafs and refer them as Lafs? Do you think it makes you sound clever? It doesn’t.
Totally agree that would be awesome trade !!
Now, George, this is real humour. Just kidding.
I did get a chuckle BCLeaf Fan
If the NYI are looking for scoring, Montreal has a 20 goal scorer in Hoffman they can have for a draft pick.
If it were only true! Hoffman has been coveted by Islander fans 4 some time. His reputation is a hindrance. Would be the type of “sniper” we seem 2 be looking 4.
Waddell’s comments about knowing last summer that Carolina wouldn’t be able to sign Trocheck provides some insight into why Carolina signed KK to an offer sheet.
There were other young centers to get besides KK and for less then 6.1, it was to get back at Bergy for offer sheeting Aho.
Well Jet fans are used to seeing very little action on Free Agent opening day. It still is frustrating from strictly a fans point of view but it was predictable this year.
I do expect moves on the Blueline in the coming days when teams realize they have holes to fill and phone Chevy about Dillion’s, DeMelo and Schmidt’s availability. One of them is going imo likely for picks or a useful forward.
With Patch’s going for nothing it had to lower Wheel’s value but he’s still a better overall value to any contending team.
So no big splash but somehow a RHD has to be added at some point. Still lots of time for moves
The signing of Riddich was concerning😵💫
I think mon wants to get actual assets beyond cap space for petry but the limited amount of teams with cap space and the sky rocketing value of cap space makes that unlikely. Petry went from having negative value halfway through the season to having some value. But that value is the cap space itself.
I’d be surprised if the pens couldn’t move dumolin with only the year left and his history of being a solid top 4 d man. I think they want to move petterson though but his extra years on the deal make him less attractive
Rumor : Penguins want to move either or both Peterson and Marino. Peterson is more of a salary dump , while other teams asking about Mariino. Could be wrong don’t believe the Penguins will Dumolin because Kris Letang plays with Dumolin. Suppose no Dumolin which D-Man plays with Kris Letang?
Carolina lost a lot of grit at the forward position. Also Staal and Fast are on the last year of his contract. Carolina will need to add some more pieces to be able to play playoff hockey. I expect Necas and Bear to be traded before the season starts.
Is Kadri testing the market then circling back to the Avs and giving them chance to match best offer ???? Where else could he be better off ????
I fully expected 2 of the 3 (Strome, Vatrano , Copp) to be gone. As it turns out, all 3 have landed elsewhere.
I like Trocheck. But the numbers he puts up are about the same (actually less ppg) to Strome, Copp last year.
Stome 74 games played 54 points (.729 points per game)
Copp 72 games played 53 points (.736 points per game)
Trocheck 81 games played 51 points (.629 per game)
I said a few weeks back that NY would more than likely take a step backwards this coming year with the loss of 2 of these players. And some were challenging that idea.
Barring amazing seasons from the young players (Laffrienere, Kakko, Chytil and possibly Othmann and Kravstov along with another great season from Kreider, Panarin, Shesterkin. It’s pretty hard to see how they DON’T take a temporary step backwards.
It’s hard to understand how NY couldn’t have matched the deals for one of Strome or Copp?
Copp, maybe just wanted to be closer to home?
Trocheck is probably a bit of an all around upgrade from Strome in many other ways. But any thoughts of NY returning to the ECF’s or beyond should be tempered imo.
Explain why please?
When i look at NY, i see one hell of goalie, an elite dman, and forwards that all in there prime and there younger players are going to be there in a few years.
I see a team moving up not back!
Win the metro or be 2nd behind Car.
@Captain Obvious
Different players. Trocheck is harder to play against-he finishes his checks and wins faceoffs. Strome’s points are inflated by playing with Panarin.
Trocheck seems like he battles more and forces the issue more. Tenacious I guess is the right word.
But if he doesn’t have the same chemistry with Panarin, not sure how much they gain if anything?
Was Strome a liability in the checking part of the game CO?
Well MP, losing Copp, Strome, and Vatrano are pretty significant losses. Lots of lost production to be made up by unknowns.
Sheterkin and Fox are elite, but are they going to make up for lost production?
For whatever reason, Panarin and Strome just gelled well together. And no, it wasn’t just Strome feeding off Panarin . It was Panarin also enjoying it he best seasons of his career with Strome at center.
Do Trocheck and Panarin instantly have that same type of chemistry? Do they struggle to find chemistry at all? TBD.
Is Kravstov stepping in putting up 50+ points his rookie year? TBD
Is Chytil, Kakko, Laffrienere stepping up their game? Is Kreider having another career year? Is Shesterkin putting up another historical year? TBD.
Again, a lot of unknowns and question marks going in. Do I think they fall to the cellar? Doubtful. I think in some ways they actually will grow and get better. Adding Jones in FT is better than Nemeth.
I know Copp and Vatrano weren’t there until the deadline and shortly before. But replacing 3 of your 6 top 6 forwards that just went on a deep run and expecting the same or better results is very optimistic.
I don’t see it.
Rangers 2nd line 5on5 was nowhere against Tampa. Copp and Strome are not driving when the going gets.Trocheck does create plays that are not there. Like Zib but a step down in skills.
In a Cap league you have to develop your kids and use them while affordable. Laff should easily replace Vatrano’s production if he gets that RW spot.
Rangers can try Chytil and Trocheck with Panarin. There are enough moving pieces and no reason they should not be better now.
They were in 2nd place BEFORE the deadline additions.
How many of those 2nd place points came from Sheterkin and come from behind wins? Ny was also 2nd in the come from behind win category, behind only Florida I believe.
How many times can you expect to come from behind wins (20-30) and playoff series. I said leading up to the deadline, playoffs and during the playoffs this was Nys biggest Achilles heel.
Take away a bunch of 5-7 minute outbursts of production NY had in the playoffs to win games, and their playoffs look a lot different.
You can’t expect to win like that and or put it all on Sheterkins back.
Could I be wrong? Maybe.
But expecting Laffrienere (who didn’t work on the RW last year) and these kids to double their production is once again, VERY optimistic .
Possible? Yes . Likely? I wouldn’t go to crazy betting on it.
Captain Obvious, when the pundits/talking heads were “analyzing” the Trochek signing one of them mentioned his preference for having the puck as much as possible – which is also – apparently – a trait of Panarin. I wasn’t aware of either – not seeing them that much.
Do you see any problems with them playing on the same line?
And in your lineup scenario with Chytil at RW (as I mentioned already failed) and Chytil on the wing, who is playing on the 3rd line center? Who’s playing on the 3rd and 4th lines? Gautier, Reaves , Hunt, Othman (unproven 19 yo rookie) Kravstov (unproven, and I have faith in this kid) Blais, Goodrow and carpenter?
Lots of unknowns and question marks to be overly optimistic.
I’ll be happy if I’m wrong!
Kadri would look good in Detroit. tons of cap room next season to add more depth.
Only Larkin & Bertuzzi have major contracts to consider.
The rest of the UFA are depth pieces and not core.
Kadri is definitely someone Stevie Y should try to convince to come aboard.
Larkin, Copp and Suter, I don’t think there is much space at the center position there
Taz,
With the number of forwards on the Wings roster, and with Andreasson and Berggren poised to assume roles in Detroit, there will be some attrition up front. I expect that Suter will be one of them.
Kadri is going to get overpaid in dollars and term, and he doesn’t fill a need for Detroit.
Calgary could open the wallet for him.
The sens came out a lot stronger, Canes did well the bruins came in loaded for bear! first the trade for Zacha, then they signed Greer and a couple of other nobody’s, Renouf,Lettieri, Keith Kincaid. Sounds like who’s who of nowhere land. Yippee?
Craccck!!!!!! Learn how it works. Please…….
And I suppose you know how it works Mrbruin4 built for playoffs. Are you & Bowles part of the Sisterhood? This ought be good, go ahead schmuck tell me how it works. Hey if you don’t like what I write don’t read it.
For Mr. Blowhard#4. ……………………………………….D-O-N-T …R-E-A-D…IT!,
Kadri is perennial 40 point player. A breakout season at 31 ??
Flames please stay away unless it is for 6.5 or less than 4 years.
Trade M Tkachuk to the Blues. Krug Kyrou Neighbours …lots of good assets to play with. Even Tarasenko in the mix.
Treliving done by USA thanksgiving . I get it , took a chance but to have zero assets returned , the organization took a big step back. Not making the playoffs next year .
🇺🇸 Mathew Tkachuck
He will sign a 1 year deal in Calgary and then test out the UFA market for the 2023-4 season
His first chioce will be St louis Blues his home town team 100%………..✔️