NHL Rumor Mill – February 10, 2023
What’s next for the Blues and Rangers following the Tarasenko trade? How does that move affect the trade market for Patrick Kane? What’s the latest on Timo Meier and Tyler Bertuzzi? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
WHAT NEXT FOR THE BLUES AND RANGERS?
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: Jim Thomas reports Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said the franchise has reached the end of an era by trading winger Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers on Thursday.
Armstrong didn’t rule out making other moves if they make sense leading up to the March 3 trade deadline. He also wants to see how his players respond in the coming weeks to the Tarasenko trade.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The status of Blues forwards Ryan O’Reilly, Ivan Barbashev and Noel Acciari remains uncertain. Like Tarasenko, the trio are slated to become unrestricted free agents on July 1 and have been the subject of growing trade speculation as the trade deadline draws near.
TSN’s Darren Dreger believes the trade market is heating up for Barbashev. He’ll also be watching to see what happens with O’Reilly when he returns to action later this month. Dreger isn’t ruling out the possibility of O’Reilly re-signing with the Blues.
NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks reports Rangers GM Chris Drury might not be done dealing after acquiring Tarasenko. They’ll have around $1.6 million in cap space once Libor Hajek either clears waivers today or is claimed by another club before noon ET. Brooks speculates Drury could look at bolstering the fourth line or the defense before deadline day.
Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane (NHL Images).
HOW WILL THE TARASENKO TRADE AFFECT THE MARKET FOR PATRICK KANE?
THE ATHLETIC: Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers looked at potential trade destinations for Patrick Kane following the Rangers’ acquisition of Tarasenko yesterday. The Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars were among their suggested options, provided the Blackhawks retain half of the 34-year-old winger’s $10.5 million cap hit. They also didn’t rule out the possibility of a third team getting involved to broker a deal and spread the cap dollars around.
NBC SPORTS CHICAGO: Charlie Roumeliotis noted a report by ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that the Rangers felt the asking prices for Patrick Kane and San Jose Sharks winger Timo Meier were too high. They also had some concerns over Kane’s reported hip injury but Roumeliotis felt that was overblown, pointing out it’s an ailment that the winger’s been dealing with for years. He believes the decline in Kane’s production this season is due to the Blackhawks’ deplete lineup.
TSN: Chris Johnston believes the odds of Kane leaving Chicago by the trade deadline got slimmer with the Rangers’ acquisition of Tarasenko. He pointed out there’s only a small handful of teams that the winger considers acceptable trade destinations and the Rangers were thought to be among them.
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Ben Pope believes the return that the Blues got for Tarasenko throws cold water on the possibility of the Blackhawks getting a first-round pick and a top prospect for Kane. He also noted that Jonathan Toews’ recent illness could affect his value in the trade market.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kane and Toews are reportedly supposed to make their decision by mid-February on whether to waive their no-movement clauses. It’ll be interesting to see if the Tarasenko trade prompts Blackhawks management to press Kane for a decision before then.
Pope speculated that Western Conference clubs like the Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights are still “theoretically logical fits for Kane”. However, he also thinks the Tarasenko return may have set the market for the Blackhawks star.
THE LATEST ON TIMO MEIER
TSN: Pierre LeBrun believes the Tarasenko trade could increase the chances of the San Jose Sharks trading winger Timo Meier before the trade deadline. If an extension is to be part of a trade, LeBrun believes this will have to be done a few days before March 3.
There’s also sufficient interest in Meier that the Sharks have a good idea of his value in the trade market. LeBrun said the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes remain very keen on the Sharks winger but there is interest from other clubs as well. He thinks a Meier trade will take place before March 3.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Tarasenko trade will encourage clubs with an interest in Meier to move more quickly now. Sharks GM Mike Grier could be hoping for a bidding war as that’ll dive up the potential return.
The Devils have the depth in promising young assets to tempt the Sharks. The Hurricanes have sufficient trade deadline cap space to take his entire cap hit off the Sharks’ books for the remainder of this season.
RED WINGS GETTING CALLS ABOUT BERTUZZI
TSN: Darren Dreger reports the Detroit Red Wings are getting calls on Tyler Bertuzzi. The 27-year-old winger is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He’s struggled through injuries this season but reached 30 goals last season. Dreger said Wings GM Steve Yzerman is weighing his options to decide if the Wings are better off trading Bertuzzi or signing him to an extension.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I think Bertuzzi’s going to be traded. Yzerman’s main focus seems to be on getting pending UFA center Dylan Larkin under contract.
As a Blues fan…..good trade for the Rangers. Tarasenko has looked pretty disinterested this season, but we saw last season that he can still be elite. He is friends with Panarin, so that alone should excite him. Tarasenko had a full no trade clause, and I’m pretty sure the Rangers were one of the ver few teams he would agree to go to, so the price the Rangers paid was very reasonable. Decent trade for the Blues as well. He was definitely leaving as a UFA, and we aren’t making the playoffs. Now we have two 1st rounders and I’m hoping for another if we move O’Reilly. Time to rebuild, but hopefully it can be a quick one.
I agree GSMO. Do you think Parayko is in play ?
Iago, i would think it’s unlikely, but I don’t rule it out. He is only in the first year of an 8-year deal, which would probably scare away a lot of teams. On the other hand, his cap hit is only $6.5 million, pretty reasonable these days (as opposed to the atrocious Darnell Nurse contract). A 6’6” defenseman that can play 25-30 minutes a night would definitely generate a lot of interest if the Blues want to move him…but he has been pretty bad this season. I’m thinking maybe a 25% chance they try to trade him.
GSMO
The trade was good for both NYR & Blues teams..
could see the Blues ending up with
4 First rd picks for the June Draft …..⁉️
after they move there other two big guys
Ryan O’Reilly and Ivan Barbashev
Bluse have 7 UFA this year they could potentially move
This would be a Very Fast Re-tool for the Blues in a good draft
I Dont see them moving Parayko❓
and the could filp Samy Blais also for a pick…🤔
GSMO, if they ever did look to move RD Parayko I would love to see Dorion offer up C Shane Pinto (cost-controlled upcoming RFA), the Blues choice of D-men Brannstrom, Bernard-Docker or Thompson and, to balance out the cap factor, D-man Nikita Zaitsev, along with their 2nd round pick.
It appears that Rangers were bidding with themselves. If I had made that trade proposal a couple days ago, Iowa Prince would’ve laughed at me. Kane probably doesn’t cost as much. Should also be easy to find a 3rd party to retain half of 50% left after Chicago retains 50% Actual money owed is minimal, so Kane or Toews at 25% of cap hit is very doable. Starting to think Chychrun not going anywhere until off season. Yotes won’t retain. They’re already retaining part of OEL’s cap hit.
Slick62
I think with many trades this season due to the cap space every playoff team has
it will be money out money in trades, 3rd teams involved in the Trades will get picks for taking on cash for this year….
I wonder if Jakob Chychrun is going to get moved..🤔 if the asking price is coming down to
A 1st pick, A Top prospect, & A young player, and salary swap player ❓
they may get some action… But Right now they dont even have a arena deal aproved yet… they may still end up in Houston this summer they have a full size rink ready to go there……⁉️
Also, with Rangers aquiring Vlad and Isles getting Horvat, it seems likely Devils will need to make a splash and go after Meier. Hughes is week to week with upper body injury. Might be a good idea to make it happen sooner than later.
When Bertuzzi was a RFA he went to arbitration and lost. You could tell by his response to the media shortly after that he was angry about it. Add to that he was the only player in the league not vaccinated, he’s offered clues that he has no interest in resigning with Detroit. He’s a lock to be gone by the trade deadline.
Bert needs to play like a junkyard dog to be effective.
Gone where. Who the Hell would want that attitude around the rest of their team? Maybe the KHL?
Lyle, no Chychrun update. You’re slipping! (insert wink emoji here)
LOL and here I was so happy I did not have to read that name for a change :0)
@ Daryl
Hi Daryl. In response to your post from yesterday comparing Pierre Engvall to Josh Anderson. Engvall has 40 gaols and 40 assists in 218 games while Anderson has 115 goals 75 assists for 190 points in 437 games. If you doubled the amount of games played by Engvall you qould get 80 goals and 160 points over 436 games. Engvall plays on a offensively packed team and never had more than 15 goals in a season while Anderson is playing on a rebuilding team and once scored 27 goals with the Jackets.
Anderson plays on both power play and short handed, he has tremendous speed for a guy his size and is signed at 5.5m a year for a guy that when healty or on a non rebuilding team can score 25 goals/season… So please, I know you dislike the Canadiens but…
Btw what if the Oilers gave the Canadiens a 1st rounder a good prospect and a salary dump for him and he ends up playing on McDavid’s line ? I think he would be pretty dangerous, now do you think they would make Pierre play on their first line ? Don’t know about you but I think it explains why Anderson is getting twice as much as Engvall.
And Finally, Anderson is NOT on the trade market, they only said that in order to convince Hughes to trade him, they would have to offer more than he is worth.
Btw, ”Tarasenko is also a 6 time 30 goal scorer” does that mean that he still can score 30 goals a year ? You are not paying for what he did but for what he can bring
If he and Panarin develop together @ even strength its a win.
Mike Pilon
You can’t have it both ways Mike…aren’t they Canadiens paying Anderson for what he did in 2018?
In reply to your comment about the comparisons of Anderson and Engvall. Check out the numbers and tell me which is the better return on the cap hit.
Anderson
Career high 47 points.
Career high 27G
Career -20
Career PPG .435
Salary cap $5.5M
Engvall
Career high 35 points
Career high 15G
Career +23
Career PPG .367
Salary cap $2.25M
Over an 82 game schedule at their respective PPG average Anderson scores 5.5 more points per season than Engvall. That’s an extra $591K/point.
Yes, Engvall plays on a packed offensive team yet plays nearly no time with their star players, gets very little PP time, and regularly plays PK.
Is Anderson really a far superior player when looking at the numbers? So superior that his perceived value is a 1st and two prospects and Engvall a bag of pucks?
BTW…I’m no fan of Engvall.
Hi Ds
I agree, but the point I am trying to make is that Tarasenko 31 y.o is a one dimensional player, he is not commited defensively and is not as physical as Anderson.
On the other hand Anderson 28 y.o, plays both PP and PK, has defensive awarness, is faster, hits more and how would he do with a Panarin ? And he his signed ’till 2026 at a reasonnable 5.5m for what he can bring.
Now do I think that Josh Anderson is worth more than Tarasenko on the market ? I sure as hell do
@mike
depends on the need and Anderson is just as injury prone as the older Tarasenko. The Rangers need was for a Panarin playmate-i dont think Anderson would be the fit for that purpose.
I do think he would fetch a 1st+something else easily.
Would i love him on the Rangers line with Kreider and Trocheck? sure. that would not be a fun line to play against and they have the intensity and skillset to pin the puck deep all shift while being smart defensive forwards to boot
Anderson is a superior player to Engvall , no doubt, but does his production vs cost bring more value ? Debatable.
If he ever played on a line with McD and played to his potential he would be scary.
I am not an Anderson hater, in fact a productive power forward is my favourite type of player. It’s the fact that he does not reach his potential on a consistent basis.
Hi Fergy,
As I said he is playing for a weak team right now (rebuilding) still scored 14 goals up to now wich is not bad considering what’s going on and has you’ve seen in the past (Cole Caufield is a great example not comparing at all, just an example) players were a bit chocked by the previous coaches systems and he has also been slowed down by injuries. Now put Anderson with let’s say the Bruins, Lightning, Leafs. I think his stats would be totally different plus the fact that he is fast, plays pp and pk, he is physical…
Daryl, so you are saying that Engvall has as much value as Anderson on the market ? You are saying that if Anderson was with the Leafs and Engvall with the Canadiens that they would still have similar stats ? And why is it that you are not a fan of Engvall if he his as good as Anderson ? C’mon 😉
Mike Pilon/ Fergy22
As their career goals have shown Anderson is marginally better than Engvall. At their respective cap hits who is the better value?
It’s fun to speculate about what a player may or may not do on another team. The facts show that over the length of their careers Tarasenko far outplays Anderson on a points production basis. Tarasenko is far more consistent than Anderson. Please tell me how Anderson is a responsible defensive player when he’s been a minus every season but two in his career?
You only need to look at Puljujarvi in EDM…what has he done when put with McDavid?
Just because you’re out with a star player doesn’t guarantee results.
Look at Boeser in VAN as a perfect example of value. Signed for two more years at $6.65m and has outscored Anderson by quite a bit over his career…and it’s rumoured VAN is willing to let him go for a 2nd if they don’t retain salary.
I honestly didn’t even know who Engvall was or what type of game he plays before looking him up based on this thread.
What I will say is that Engvall had more points than Anderson last year (35 vs 32) and has averaged more points than Anderson over the last 3 years combined (21 vs 20).
Anderson seems to have garnered a “star” reputation based on 1 very good season in 2018. Since that time he has been injured a lot and marginal in terms of production.
I get that teams like Anderson’s physical style of play in the postseason, but he is definitely overpayed for what he’s delivered these last 3+ years.
foleyd7
Thank you for chiming in.
That is exactly the point I was trying to make.
Now…let’s see some trades!
Very good season at 47 points shouldn’t make you reach “star status”. There are 3d liners with similar numbers.
As far as “he plays the pp” someone mentioned above, he has 9 goals, 9 assists I. 9 years on the power play! He should probably not be on anyones pp.
But, I’ve done some reflecting. As it turns out, I was basing a lot of things like injury history, lack of production and being overpaid with too much term on my disdain for Montreal.
I now believe Anderson probably lands a Mcdavid, Mathews, And at least 4 first rounders based on me now being a “liker” instead of “hater”.
I’ll hold by breath waiting.
Look at his playoffs stats. He’s done even less when there. A $5.5 mil checker? No thanks.
what is the record for most man games lost in a season
The most losses record is 71, established by San Jose in 1992-93. That includes another record – most losses at home – 32 of 41.
George I think he means “man games lost to injury “. I’m not 100% certain of that answer, but I’d have to guess Pittsburgh has to be up there in recent years.
yes i was captain obvious. ive looked but cant find that answer.
Oops, sorry norman d crum – misread your post – check this out
https://montrealhockeynow.com/2022/04/17/montreal-canadiens-set-new-nhl-record-in-the-worst-way/
Wow! Thank goodness for the scrolling forward feature!
Lots of teams would like Anderson, almost nobody wants that contract though.
You got that right. At $1.5 – $1.8 mil? Sure. By all means.
But to try and justify hanging onto a $5.5 mil cap player because “he’s liked in the dressing room” or “he likes the city” or “he’s an effective checker” is simply refusing to acknowledge the “overpaid for what they bring to the table” portions of a re-building team.
Can you imagine the contract Jonathan CheeChoo would have received had he scored 56g 37a 93 pts in 2018 rather than 2005-06? 4 years later he was in the AHL, followed by the KHL.
Tarasenko was walking from the Blues. I think an F you F you went down. He is a Buddy with Panarin and a Cup winner . Playing for a contract . If he isn’t a good add I don’t know what is. He will be filling the net. Next year he may even sign a team friendly deal.
It’s being reported that NYR’s were showing interest in Kane, but had serious concerns with that hip problem.
Slick 62 and all,
Sorry I’ve been delayed in responding! I’m in Florida working on a tan (did see the Bolts play San Jose).
Blues probably got as much as possible for Vladi. HOWEVER, I had really hoped for a TOP young prospect from the Rangers—this guy Skinner wasn’t even on my “short list”. I’m also sad that Mikkola was included in the trade. I am fully ready for the Blues to spend a couple years dealing with the frustrations that come with 22-24 year olds THAT COMPETE HARD EACH NIGHT.
My hunch is that Armstrong will resign O’Reilly, but it better not exceed 3 years.
I’m sure he’s not done. I expect Barbashev and Acciari are gone I really wish that a couple of the big, bad contracts would go away as well–Krug, Binnington, Leddy, Parayko??
My two cents. What the heck—back to the beach.
IP