Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – July 24, 2022
Could the New York Islanders sign Nazem Kadri or attempt to acquire Vladimir Tarasenko? What’s the latest on John Klingberg? Find out in today’s edition of the Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup.
COULD THE ISLANDERS PURSUE KADRI OR TARASENKO?
THE ATHLETIC: Kevin Kurz reported a source informed him of “rumblings” that the New York Islanders were making a push for Nazem Kadri. The 31-year-old center is an unrestricted free agent coming off a career-best 87-point performance and a Stanley Cup run with the Colorado Avalanche.
Former Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri (NHL Images).
While the Islanders already have two top-six centers in Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson, Kurz suggested Barzal could move to the wing if Kadri was brought in. That change in position might be beneficial for Barzal’s career as it could improve his offensive output.
Signing Kadri could cost $8.5 million annually on a likely long-term deal. They would have to ship out some salary, meaning moving one of the usual trade candidates such as Semyon Varlamov, Josh Bailey or Anthony Beauvillier.
NYI HOCKEY NOW: Stefen Rosner recently observed the Islanders missed out on what he considered a “glorious opportunity” to acquire Vladimir Tarasenko last summer when the winger requested a trade from the St. Louis Blues.
At the time, Tarasenko was coming off another shoulder surgery and there were questions about his health. The Islanders were believed among the teams on the winger’s list of preferred trade destinations.
Rosner wondered if the Isles might revisit efforts to acquire Tarasenko this summer. He pointed out the 30-year-old winger hasn’t withdrawn his trade request as well as the lack of a significant splash via a trade or free agency to improve the roster. With Tarasenko slated to become a UFA next summer, a contract extension would have to be part of the deal.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The always-secretive Lamoriello hasn’t tipped his hand as to his intentions. It wouldn’t be surprising if he’s looked into signing Kadri or acquiring Tarasenko. Whether he lands one or the other this summer or has something else up his sleeve is another matter. After striking out on Gaudreau, perhaps Lamoriello has a lesser acquisition in mind.
LATEST ON KLINGBERG
THE ATHLETIC: Saad Yousuf recently reported there’s been little news about John Klingberg other than he got married last week. The 29-year-old defenseman remains available in the unrestricted free agent market.
While his former club, the Dallas Stars, unofficially bid Klingberg farewell, Yousuf believes the door to a possible return remains open “ever so slightly.” It’s apparent the Klingberg camp overestimated the market for his services given his age, defensive concerns and his intent to sign a contract with a significant term.
Yousuf wondered if Klingberg would consider returning to the Stars on a one-year deal. However, he also pointed out they have limited salary-cap space and still have to re-sign restricted free agents Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger to new contracts.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I think the ship has sailed on a Klingberg return to Dallas. He could end up signing for much less than he hoped for far fewer years with a team that may not have been high on his list of destinations when the market opened.
It’s amusing to hear the term always-secretive Lamoriello hasn’t tipped his hand as to his intentions.
Who saw Tkachuk/Huberdeau?
Who saw Pacciorety and Burns to Carolina?
Who saw Bjorkstrand to Seattle?
Who saw Gaudreau to CBJ?
Who saw Petry to Penguins?
Lots of guessing goes on here which is great but its mostly based on nothing but wishful thinking and not GMs tipping their hands.
Eklund sure didn’t 🙂
@mikeP “More to come” lol
Zing! 🙂
Not to mention DeBrincat to Ottawa.
COUGH COUGH GEORGE!!!!
i mentioned that trade a few days earlier.
Heh – just adding to Habfan30’s list
Well, if we’re going to be accurate, Jarmo Kekalainen is giving Lamorielo a run for the money in the secrecy department. Many of his moves have caught even CBJ insiders off guard.
That’s for sure. This guy keeps popping up out of nowhere with deals that catch everyone by surprise.
Just as an aside, is he the only European-born GM in the NHL?
George, so far, he is. When he was hired by John Davidson, JD said his strength was player evaluation.
I know he was highly regarded by Bryan Murray when he was in the employ of the Senators (with whom he also briefly played).
@George O Canucks GM Patrik Allvin is from Sweden.
Thanks, I Want My Curtains Back – 2 – and counting?
Habfan. Good point. Most insiders get it right about an hour before trade actually goes down.
Seriously doubt Barzal would be happy switching positions in a contract year. With Pageau also at center, don’t see adding Kadri. Tarasenko would make more sense, but St Louis would need to come out feeling team improves in any trade.
Brock Nelson could probably move to LW. That would allow Kadri to play center. But he probably won’t get the AAV he wanted.
Habfan30 totally agree. The day of the insider is mostly done.
We now find out 20 or 30 mins before the official announcement.
Yes insider claim to be the first to report.
When it’s the team or agent telling them after the fact. Using the insiders as their news outlet.
It’s a good list and a valid point. I just hope the trades keep on coming. Fun stuff in the dog days of summer.
Klingberg – a -28 this past season and, other than Hanley (-13) the only other appreciable minus D on that playoff team – is the poster boy for caveat emptor.
Oh, he’ll eventually wind up somewhere – offensive D-men always do it seems – but whoever gets him had batter have a solid stay-at-home partner for him.
George O. 100%… Klingberg has played with Esa Lindell most of his career and Lindell has always been the protective netting behind Klingberg’s mistakes. It’s time for a changing of the guard in Dallas. I see pairings looking like.
Heiskanen, Lindell
Suter, Hakkenpa
Harley, Miller
Harley will gain confidence and have a better season after his first disappointing one. Lindell will allow Heiskenen to be more offensive with his game. Hakkenpa will allow Suter to be slow and old with his physical play.
Don’t love this D but its what we’ve got.
Hopefully Klingberg goes to Ottawa …
Pair him up with “Yikes” Ev!
Dynamic Duo ..
Goalie nightmare having those 2 in front of you !
I agree that Klingbergs return to Dallas is just about dead. He obviously expected to get at least 5-6 years at $7m. AAV or close to it. That’s not happening. At this point, the best he could hope for would be 3 years at $5.5m. – 6m. AAV. I think Ottawa would be the best fit for him.
Howard – where on Ottawa’s D? The guy is a one-way only defensive trainwreck – they already have Chabot and Brannstrom in the role on two pairs, with Sanderson a complete unknown at the NHL level.
Other D need to be brought in – but a stay-at-home top 4 type – not one of Klingberg’s type. And certainly not at what he’ll be looking for in term and $. As I say elsewhere – caveat emptor when it comes to him. And so far, the whole league appears to be following that edict.
OK – I’ll bite – who’s Ev?
My best guess is Klingberg ends up with the Kraken.
Oleksiak/Klingberg, Dunn/Larsson, Soucy/Schultz. That is a pretty well balanced D squad. Driedger will start the season on LTIR, so they would have plenty of time to get cap compliant. Probably would have to move Donskoi or Driedger when hen comes back from LTIR.
No kidding, that looks like defense corp that pengy would out together…
Quite literally, I think he advocated for each one of those guys to be a penguin at one point or another.
The Stars likely knew a year before or more that they were letting Klingberg walk, and if the Stars had traded him a year before then team could’ve gotten a decent return instead of letting him walk for nothing which all GM’s should take into consideration as something is always better than nothing.
Stars panicked when they lost Johns and Oleksiak so they overpaid for Suter. Best spot for Klinger is probably still in Dallas but unless they can shed 6-8M in salary, he’s gone.
George,
He’s obviously not getting the term and money he wanted. But he’s still a solid veteran puck moving D-man who would help a young team like Ottawa on a 2-3 year deal at reasonable coin.
Howard, they’ve got enough puck-moving D – Chabot plays 25-28 minutes a game, counting pp. Brannstrom – that;s what he does best – and by all accounts Sanderson is a wizard with the puck (although that’s still to be seen at the NHL level).
What they NEED is a RD stay-at-home – like Weegar.
Ottawa also still has Bernard-Docker and Thompson getting properly seasoned at the AHL level. Klingberg adds NOTHING they don’t already have.
Welcome to 2022 George puck moving D are all the rage. You can never have enough. Speed is the game and nothing is faster than the ability to advance the puck from D to O
Yeah, Jeff, but at least Chabot was a -3 over the season, meaning he played a respectable defensive game as well – that -28 on a playoff team stands out like a sore thumb. I ain’t paying in excess of $5 mil per off my cap -and term – for that. Let some other sucker bite (no one seems to be in any hurry to sign him despite the “desire” for puck-moving D)
Kadri -31 years old at 8.5 /yr on a multi year deal
Tkachuk – 24 years old at 9.5 on a multi year deal
Pretty much a no brainer – I am not jumpin for joy , signing Kadri
How many decent years has he left in the tank
You just knew Sweet Lou was goi g to surface….. Kadri oossible heating up to the islanders…
Uuugghhhhh as a penguin fan dont ant kadri to the metropolitan division..
Klingberg should look for a one year deal with a team where he can play PP 1, Detroit comes to mind, where he can improve his value. Maybe Ottawa is also an option
No, Ottawa is not, Kent.
In Ottawa we Trust !
Opening night ceremonies in Ottawa …
Klingberg in red, black and White ..
Cross your fingers beloved Senator fans!!!
Hope for the best !
Leafs be with You !
LOL – be careful, Ken, Dubas could pull a sandy and wind up signing him if he should ever clear the cap space.
Only way Scooby Dubas signs anyone is to the standard Maple Leafs retirement contract : 1 yr at league minimum and he’d have to move out salary to even do that.
Scoobynomics 101.
Think sieder is no1 PP guy Ken, hes a guy carolina probably looked at but the ask was too high.
Chabot runs Ottawa’s PP so thats probably not an option.
Buffalo is the only team i can come up with that needs a PP guy.
Seider plays the point on the top PP unit in Detroit and i doubt Klingberg would change that. Hronek plays the 2nd PP unit. Unless the Wings change it to have 2 defensemen on each unit, i don’t see where Klingberg would even fit in Detroit.
Wings would have to trade Hronek to make room for Klingberg and it makes no sense to trade a younger and cheaper version of Klingberg in Hronek just to sign Klingberg.
With the amount of teams that NEED to dump salaries & the amount of teams that are not only capable, but willing to take those contracts is becoming very, very slim. There are now twelve teams that are either over the cap or do not have enough cap room to round out their 23 man roster. With the window closing so rapidly I am wondering how many teams will not be able reduce their cap dollars before opening night. Also wondering if there are some UFAs that may have to wait until after the New Year to be signed.
Totally agree Ueey. In fact, a couple of days ago I listed the cap situation for these 12 teams, each of whom must make some provisions to accommodate roster players –
Tampa – 21 signed – $7,195,833 over the cap – LTIR Seabrook $6,875,000
Washington – 22 signed – $6,321,666 over the cap – possible LTIR Backstrom $9.2 mil
Florida – 23 signed – $3,025,834 over the cap – no LTIR candidate
Vancouver – 20 signed – $2,751,686 over the cap – LTIR Ferland $3.5 mil
Toronto – 22 signed – $1,493,116 over the cap – RFA to re-up – Sandin – no LTIR candidate
Vegas – 16 signed (SIXTEEN!) – $1,394,643 over the cap – RFAs to re-up – Kolesar, Roy, Hague – LTIR – Weber $7,875,143
Pittsburgh – 23 signed – $480,175 over the cap – no LTIR candidate
Philadelphia – 21 signed – $98,107 over the cap – RFAs to re-up – McEwen, Tippett – LTIR candidates – Ellis – $6,250,000 – Couturiier – $7.750,000
Edmonton – 18 signed – $68,667 in cap space – RFAs to re-up – Shore, McLeod, Puljujarvi – LTIR – Klefbom $4,167,000 – possibly Smith – $2,200,000
Montreal – 22 signed – $248,334 in cap space – No LTIR candidate
St. Louis – 22 signed – $ 625,000 in cap space – No LTIR candidate
San Jose – 23 signed – $1,331,666 in cap space – RFAs to re-up – Chmevelski, Gadjovich, Gregot, Lorentz, Ferraro – LTIR candidate – Labanc – $4,275,000
Los Angeles – 21 signed – $2,338,333 in cap space – RFAs to re-up – Anderson, Durzi, Vilardi – no LTIR candidate
I should have included a 13th,
Columbus – 24 signed – $858,333 over the cap – RFA Bersnstrom – LTIR possibility – Jenner ($3.750,000)
These 7 additional teams, while each having varying amounts of cap space, also have to accommodate roster players and so are not in any real position to take on big contracts – yet
Seattle – 22 signed – $3,610,834 in space – RFA: Morgan Geekie – LTIR possibility – Tanev ($3.5 mil)
Colorado – 21 signed – $4,083,000 in space – no RFAs – no LTIR possibility
Carolina – 19 signed – $4,083,053 in space – TFAs: Necas, Bear – LTIR possibility – Gardiner ($4,050,000)
Nashville – 21 signmed – $4,094,691 in space – RFA: Trenin – No LTIR
Minnesota – 20 signed – $4,313,079 in space – No RFAs – No LTIR
Boston – 21 signed – $4,833,531 in space – RFA: Zacha – no LTIR (Marchand for part of season)
NY Rangers – 18 signed – $4,833,531 – RFA: Kakko – LTIR – Blais ($1,575,000)
That’s 20 out of 32 teams with none to very limited possibility to take on “dumped” salaries.
Geekie just signed a 1 year $1.4 mil deal with seattle so now they have 23 signed and still with $2,210,834 in cap space. Not a lot, so not in a position to take on any big cap dump without something significant going out.
Amazing a trainwreck like the Flyers are OVER the cap.
what a bloody mess.
Hey George, jus a note on the B’s. McAvoy and Grzelyck also out for a stretch to start the year, both with shoulder surgeries. Mac was 5 months from the surgery, Grz 4.
What that adds up to, no idea, as time table is fluid.
I said last year when Klingberg was in the mil. Not an $8m D. He may even have difficulty getting $7m
Same with Kadri. Granted an mVP season last year and two 30 goals seasons on his resume. Other than that a perennial 45-50 point player. He may get his $8m but not for any term . He has to decide dollars or years, he ain’t getting both.
This off season has been spectacular for trade junkies.
I wanted to mention Tkachuk was the first sign and trade in NHL history. That surprised me as it is often talked about
Was he? He was a rfa. Not an ufa. He coulda just signed for 8 years with Florida right?
Chrism no he wasn’t allow to sign an 8yr with Florida
This is why it was a sign and trade agreement.
Is that because of arbitration? Cause if he was just a rfa then he’s would have been Floridas player and could sign an 8?
That’s what I thought too. He was dealt as an RFA – and so was technically still Florida’s RFA upon acquisition. It wasn’t a sign-and-trade.
I wonder 💭 f he had to be a sign and trade George cause they already elected to take him to arb?
Hi Chrisms, George and Caper
It was a sign and trade…. it could have been done as a trade and then sign for 8 (as he wasRFA)…. The only reason to sign and then trade was to ensure the terms of the contract… they (Zito/Cats)only negotiated a verbal agreement… had they traded, then (Cats) tried to sign to the exact same terms as verbally agreed…. MT camp (mmmm , let’s say …. Mmmmm … Keith) could (unlikely but could have) have held out for more or just gone to Arb
The Tre signing of the 8 year and specific clauses (verbally agreed upon by Zito on MTcamp) guaranteed getting MT on the terms Zito wanted
I’m guessing Zito wasn’t willing to take the gamble(??) of a possible change of heart (or a Keith move)
On the flip side…. After signing…. Tre technically could have kept MT on those terms…. the sign and trade agreement was verbal, and was not technically part of the player contract signed
Tre’s obvious motivation to keep the verbal deal with Zito …. Was the return vs keeping a player who wanted to move on
Hi SS
I don’t believe that was the first sign and trade
I’m almost certain Hossa was signed (re-upped) then flipped for Heatly
There may be other minor ones
Ahh, thanks Pengy. So, technically, a sign-and-trade but not quite in the same context as Marian Hossa years ago who was signed to a new deal in Ottawa, fully believing he would be there for a while, and then dealt later that day to Atlanta for Heatley.
Yes … just checked… Muckler signed Hossa to a 3 year RW-up on 23/8/05 then moved him right after that (same day) to Thrashers for Heaters
Heaters signed later that day… (Muckler) also 3 years
So really … Muckler did the “sign and trade and sign” deal all in one day
The Dallar Stars have $11.4M in cap space left to Sign both RFA’s
Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger to new contracts. 2 bridge deals coming up around
$4.M for JO, and -$6.M for JR
John Klingberg, numbers and Style look a lot like the Oilers Tyson Barrie’s🤔
Both RD. and Both 30 in August…
Games JK, -552 & TB 683
Goals JK -71 & TB 95
Ass JK -303 & TB 340
Total points JK-374 & TB 435
Salary Tyson Barrie $4.5M
Salary for JK in this Very Tight Cap World..❓
$3.M to $5.M
All the GM’s are looking for a Deal Now
Dallas have limited salary-cap space, maybe under $1.M at the end of the day, unless they clear some space out
Top 4 Destenation for JK would be Ottawa,
they could use a d/man to play 2nd or 3rd RD Man
they are still looking to move Nikita Zaitsev’
others teams with cap space
Boston, or Carolina and Lou ….NYI they also need a d/man that can move the puck
his pay will be under $5.PA for 3-4 years tops⁉️
NO, Klingberg is NOT coming to Ottawa. He can be someone else’s defensive nightmare.
Lamorillo has probably signed both, Kadri and Klingberg and told them that neither could talk about it or the deal is off….bwahaha. just like last year
AND they had better be clean-shaven. Especially Kadri and his permanent 5-o’clock shadow.
HexBurkie
Your second buyout window opens in 25 minutes thanks to your Kappy signing…. Is the fax turned on and Zucker’s paperwork all signed and ready to go?
Lets hope so Pengy…then we could sign Tyler Motte who is a fast skating, super forechecking, tenacious, good penalty killing, player who fits Sullivan’s system…he killed us ..LOL
Put him on left wing with Malkin & Rakell because he will add defensive responsibility to Malkin’s line, create chances for the other two with excellent forecheck pressure, and will score 15 plus with his speed.
Also sign Johan Larsson
Move Marcus Peterson to Winnipeg for a low pick,,, they have $ 18 million in cap space…
sign a cheaper option to play with Petry a Robert Hagg or a Marco Scandella type…
So what happens now to a Chad Ruhwedel or Mark Friedman, both right shots.. Pens have Letang, Petry and Rutta on the right side, and Dumolin, Smith and Pettersson on the left, with Olivier-Joseph waiting in the wings.. if Pettersson moves, can one of those righties play the left side, or do Chad and Mark get the short straws, despite a supposed emergence of sorts for Ruhwedel last season?
B&G, The Blues and I would love to make your Scandella wish come true! We need cap space. A 5th round pick will do. IP
@George
Scrolling back …
Ev- as per your curiosity , Ottawa’s potential dynamic Duo
Yikes Ev is
Zaitsev and Klingberg
I missed today’s humour , attended a former teachers 80th birthday party today
Now you’re giving me nightmares.
Augustus…Freidman and Rudwhedel are come out of the press box and fill in for an injures players..
Pierre icer Joseph it is now or never because the traded for you g talented Ty Smith…o e will stay one will go…
Interesting battles co.ing up in cam