Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – October 8, 2023
What will the Hurricanes do with Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei? Could the Leafs lose a goalie to the waiver wire? What’s the latest Canucks speculation? Find out in the Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup.
HURRICANES COULD RETAIN PESCE AND SKJEI THIS SEASON
NHL.COM: In his Oct. 4 mailbag segment, Dan Rosen was asked what the Carolina Hurricanes will do with Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei. The duo are slated to become unrestricted free agents next summer and the Hurricanes currently have a logjam on the blueline.
Rosen believes the Hurricanes don’t have to rush to make a decision on Pesce, Skjei or fellow pending UFA blueliners Tony DeAngelo, Caleb Jones and Jalen Chatfield. He pointed out that Pesce and Skjei are a solid defense pair and trading one could hurt the other.
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Brett Pesce (NHL Images).
The Hurricanes aren’t facing a salary-cap crunch this season and can ice a full 23-man roster. They’re in “win-now” mode and it might make more sense to retain Pesce and Skjei for this season and deal with the contract issues later.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Pesce was a frequent topic of trade speculation over the summer as the Hurricanes were said to be listening to offers for him. However, it’s apparent now that they either didn’t receive any worthwhile trade proposals or they’ve opted to maintain their deep defense corps for a Stanley Cup run this season.
That could change, of course, if the Hurricanes’ season goes off the rails and they end up becoming sellers at the trade deadline. Nevertheless, I agree with Rosen that they’ll likely retain Pesce and Skjei for the coming season and deal with their contract negotiations afterward.
COULD THE MAPLE LEAFS LOSE MARTIN JONES TO WAIVERS?
TORONTO STAR: Nick Kypreos recently speculated that the Maple Leafs could lose third-string goaltender Martin Jones to waivers. He thinks the 33-year-old netminder could be a target for the Tampa Bay Lightning if he’s still available as a short-term replacement for sidelined starter Andrei Vasilevskiy.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: All eyes will be on the Lightning once teams make their final cuts and place their extra goalies on waivers for the purpose of sending them to the minors. Jones might not be the only tempting option for the Bolts. Others could include Detroit’s Alex Lyon and Buffalo’s Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
The Lightning could also surprise us by sticking with their preseason tandem of Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins. Johansson won all three of his starts (two by shutout) while Tomkins won two of his three contests.
LATEST CANUCKS SPECULATION
TORONTO STAR: Kypreos believes the Vancouver Canucks would really like “in a perfect world” to trade for a defense partner for captain Quinn Hughes. Their trade chips remain forwards Brock Boeser and Conor Garland. Kypreos claims he’s heard the Canucks are more open to retaining some salary of certain players than they were in the past.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Boeser carries an AAV of $6.65 million through 2024-25 while Garland has an annual cap hit of $4.95 million through 2025-26. It would likely take retaining part of either forward’s salary to move them under a flattened cap this season. If they intend to move one or the other, they’ll likely have better luck next summer when the cap is expected to jump to between $87.5 million and $88 million.
The Canucks seem headed to starting the season with their current roster regulars. That could change depending on the club’s performance as the schedule rolls on.
The Canes are one d-man too rich. They need to convert one of them into a forward who can score at least 20 on a 3rd line because at playoff time the offense is an issue. They might be one of the faves for the Eastern conference title but we have all seen scoring issues in the spring. How about Pesce for either Boeser or Garland? Both teams benefit. Konecny would be a nice add for the Canes as well. thx
Stop with the Konecny rumors no one listens to Danny Briere who’s come out and said he’s done messing with the line up. He would have to be blown away with a deal. And NO ONES DOING THAT FOR JUST ABOUT ANYONE ON THE PHILLY ROSTER. everyone thinks Philly sucks yet they all want the players on the team. Go pipe dream somewhere else.
Settle down bud. Truth is if the Canes want to add scoring they are more than capable of putting together an excellent package for Konecny and I have heard Briere wants prospects and picks to accumulate and have a real rebuild. Flyers have plugged holes for years. They need to build it finally. I like some of the younger guys, but Konecny will not be there when the team is seriously contending in 3 years. thx
Goaloffson from Buffalo would be a good hockey trade.
Re “ The Lightning could also surprise us by sticking with their preseason tandem of Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins. ”
BrisBoise Picking up the extra goalie should be the move, rather than sticking with Tomkins (I think he has no NHL games)
Jones most likely (Leafs should not carry 3 goalies at the expense of fwd or D position)…. Jones 4 years older than Tomkins…. But nigh 450 NHL reg season games and 60’ish NHL playoff games
UPL (if available) with only 40’ish NHL Games Toni’s resume…. 2nd choiceIMHO
Pens signing White seemed an absolutely stupid move…. Far inferior to basically all the other (9) NHL fourth liners Pens had in camp
Then I looked on CapFriendly…. It’s a 2-way….. so he’ll start in WBS…. So OK…. costly though…. Can’t believe they guaranteed him $500 K to play in WBS…. yes owners rich…. But he was on a PTO…. No one else wanted him…. And he showed in Camp well well down the depth chart for those 4th liners/depth forwards
For instance…. Poulin (better, faster, bigger, younger than White)…. Only gets $70 K … kick in the knickers for Poulin et al
Also both Zoho and Puustinen (both better than White)….. making around $125 K less than White while in WBS
RE ‘Nucks and D partner for Hughes…. Ask and ye shall receive …. #2 on Pens available for a 7th rounder in 2032…. Jimbo thought light shot out of his keister …. So Dooby, make the trade 👍👍
Re; Tampa Goaltending.
BrisBoise Picking up the extra goalie should be a main priority move for the Tampa GM…
if they do nothing and lose the first 5-7 game they will be in a big hole then they need to go after the bast back up avalable to them…
,
You have a medioker back up in Jonas Johansson and as for Matt Tomkins he would be a 4th or 5th in line goatender depth on any other NHL team.⁉️
they should watch the waver wire, if nothing good turns up
Top teams to look at that could cary the starter roll goaltender,
They Should look at Dan Vidar in Calgary the last 2 years he has had good number as a back up @ 26 he maybe the best option for the Tamba bay
Or
the Leafs guy Martin Jones could do ok also
Both teams have young guys they want to bring up…
Buffalo’s Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, has been
Very Inconsistent last year and in pre season,❗️
and
I dont think he will be avalable because young 21 yr old Devon Levi has been inconstant to this year letting in 7 Goals on Friday night the kid is 21 he need 2 years seasoning in the AHL….
Goaltenders take time and this kid is Not Ready….❓
Look at Dustin Wolf in Calgary…
He wasTop young goaltender in the AHL & MVP last year He is ready for the NHL…🤔
Goaloffson from Buffalo would be a good hockey trade.when thinking of Levi, one Olympic goaltender comes to mind……..Jim Craig. Plain and simple he’s not ready and if n when he gets his groove Buffalo will be out of a playoff spot once again.
The only dozen or bakers dozen I want is from Wegmans bakery.
Hurricanes want to be strong and deep on the backend . Their log jam is by design . They Might as well make them in house rentals worse case. Most contenders will be looking to add exactly what Carolina has on the backend
Pesce and Skjei are a very good pair. Canes are not trading either and will deal with their contracts after the season.
Leafs Put Martin Jones on Wavers this afternoon…..
Tampa you watching This..??