NHL Rumor Mill – March 1, 2024
The latest on Elias Pettersson’s contract situation, updates on the Golden Knights, Oilers, and Islanders, a look at the market for defensemen following the Chris Tanev trade, and more in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
CANUCKS AND PETTERSSON RESUME CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS FOLLOWING TRADE TALKS WITH THE HURRICANES
SPORTSNET: Elliott Friedman reports multiple sources claim trade discussions between the Vancouver Canucks and Carolina Hurricanes regarding Elias Pettersson reached a stage where the Canucks and Pettersson decided to renew their contract talks.
Earlier this season, Pettersson had said he preferred to wait until the end of this season to open negotiations. The 25-year-old center is slated to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights on July 1. Nevertheless, his agent and Canucks management maintained lines of communication during this season.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported on Wednesday that significant progress toward an extension had been made. If it’s completed, Friedman believes it will provide the Canucks with a clearer picture of their future salary-cap space heading toward the March 8 traded deadline.
TSN: Darren Dreger reported the two sides are looking at contract options from three to eight years. He suspects the average annual value will be slightly above the $11.5 million that William Nylander will receive from the Toronto Maple Leafs starting next season.
Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Toronto Star’s Nick Kypreos reported hearing the Canucks offered up an eight-year, $96 million contract to the Pettersson camp. The AAV on that is $12 million.
It’s interesting that the Canucks and Hurricanes were in trade talks about Pettersson. That would’ve been a blockbuster that would have shaken up the trade market heading toward the March 8 deadline.
In a recent interview with Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell, Dreger’s colleague Pierre LeBrun reported he was interested in acquiring a forward with term remaining on his contract. This would’ve been a different scenario but one that would have given the Hurricanes control over Pettersson’s contract rights.
The Hurricanes have a projected $31.6 million in cap space for 2024-25 with 10 active roster players under contract. They could afford to re-sign Pettersson but I daresay they also would’ve had to give up a valuable roster player as part of the package, perhaps a forward such as Seth Jarvis or maybe right-shot defenseman Brett Pesce in a sign-and-trade deal.
LATEST FROM TSN’S INSIDERS
TSN: Darren Dreger reports the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers are shopping for forwards in the trade market.
Vegas captain Mark Stone is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season with an upper-body injury. Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon is expected to utilize his $9.5 million cap hit to seek a suitable replacement.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Golden Knights haven’t placed Stone on long-term injury reserve yet but could do so in anticipation of a trade. It’ll be the second straight season that their captain has been sidelined down the stretch, enabling them to use the LTIR cap savings to bolster their roster.
I can hear the howls of outrage from critics of the LTIR system or fans baselessly accusing the Golden Knights of cheating. Yeah, like every team in the league wants their best player sidelined for the remainder of the season so they can garner cap relief.
Folks who don’t like the LTIR system don’t seem to mind it when it benefits their club. You scarcely hear a peep from them then.
Dreger also reports the Edmonton Oilers are targeting a top-six forward. He believes they’re looking at players such as the New Jersey Devils’ Tyler Toffoli, the St. Louis Blues’ Pavel Buchnevich, or the Seattle Kraken’s Jordan Eberle.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Earlier in the week, Dreger reported that Toffoli was garnering interest in the trade market but the Devils prefer to re-sign the pending unrestricted free agent.
The Oilers were also linked to Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jake Guentzel and Anaheim Ducks center Adam Henrique. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal speculated that Oilers GM Ken Holland could pursue a winger and is also looking at defensemen following a rumored attempt at acquiring Chris Tanev before he was traded to Dallas.
Speaking of Tanev, Pierre LeBrun reports the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche were in on the former Flames defenseman.
Meanwhile, Chris Johnston believes the return the Flames received for Tanev (prospect defenseman Artem Grushnikov, second-round pick, conditional third-rounder) could set the market for other blueliners like the Philadelphia Flyers’ Sean Walker or the Arizona Coyotes’ Matt Dumba heading toward the March 8 trade deadline.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Comparable blueliners won’t fetch a first-round pick in this season’s trade market.
Pierre LeBrun reports nothing new on the trade front for Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin. The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning really like the 27-year-old Hanifin but they lack first-round picks in this year’s draft. He also carries a modified no-trade clause plus his agent could also seek a contract extension for his client.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: LeBrun speculated those factors could force Flames GM Craig Conroy to remain patient. He could take this up to the deadline before pulling the trigger on a Hanifin deal.
In his column for The Athletic: LeBrun wrote that the Montreal Canadiens aren’t committed to trading rearguard David Savard but that doesn’t mean they won’t do so. However, they’ve set a certain bar that interested clubs must reach with their trade offers.
Savard, 33, is signed through next season with a cap hit of $3.5 million. The Canadiens could wait until the offseason to move him or next year’s deadline. LeBrun thinks it could take a first-round pick, a young player with a value equivalent to a first-rounder, or multiple picks with a combined value equivalent to a first to get him.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A very high bar indeed. It appears that they set that price to discourage clubs from pursuing him.
ISLANDERS INTERESTED IN TARASENKO?
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Stefen Rosner wondered if the New York Islanders would be interested in Vladimir Tarasenko. The 32-year-old Ottawa Senators winger is slated to become a UFA on July 1. Rosner noted the Islanders were among a handful of teams interested in Tarasenko when he requested a trade from the St. Louis Blues in 2021.
The Islanders have limited salary-cap space. Rosner speculates it would mean sending a hefty contract the other way.
Regarding Stone and Vegas, both of the following can be true simultaneously:
1) Vegas is doing nothing wrong and is leveraging the rules that exist for all teams.
2) The LTIR loophole for the postseason is dumb and bad for the league as a whole as it creates an unlevel playing field during the playoffs.
The first is a fact, the second an opinion. That opinion is not shared by anyone that has decision-making power except, perhaps, Julien Brisebois, who voted against teams using LTIR several years ago. I imagine he’s changed his mind on the subject since then.
I think changing the rules is more complicated. Teams need roster flexibility during the playoffs, but it’s hard to deny that some teams like Tampa (Kuch), Chicago (Kane) and Vegas (Stone) have won cups that were significantly impacted by carrying elite players on LTIR until after the playoffs start.
Folyed7 has it right it is a fact; he just needed to express it differently, as in:
Not applying a salary cap for the playoffs creates an unlevel playing field.
None of the arguments I have heard, going back to George O regarding Tampa, argued that teams were cheating. They weren’t.
The facts are that in 20-21 the cap was $81,500,000. Had the cap rules of the regular season been applied to Tampa’s roster in the playoffs the hit would have been $98,840,470.
Thus the fact is that Tampa was able to ice a team with $18 million more talent than some of their competitors.
Vegas won’t be cheating if Stone is put on LTIR for the regular season and then comes back for the playoffs.
The argument is pretty straight forward to me: rules that require cap compliance to ensure equitability in the regular season that go out the window once the playoffs start are nonsense.
Ironically, there are other safeguards in place with respect to protecting the integrity of the cap/team roster, ie the rule that bars players traded or after the deadline playing in the playoffs.
If anyone doesn’t like my argument, then argue back. But don’t say that my position is based on my thinking teams are cheating.
NHL will change the rules when the Sabres make the playoffs
Looking at cap friendly, they have a lot of company. Toronto is at 97 million. Tampa’s at 92. Colorado is at 91. Vegas comes in 4th at 90.7.
I’ll be looking forward to what Kucherov has to say if any other team wins the cup at those numbers!
Everyone likes to forget when their team uses ltir.
Montreal was also over the cap when Tampa beat them. Nothing but crickets.
Should have sign Tarasenko before the season instead of giving Engvall and Mayfield 7 years for 21 million. Louie should have been fired right then and there. Now time to sell no need to trade for him not going to make the playoffs. Fire Louie. Good grief when will this season end already.
Edmonton Oilers are targeting a top-six RW forward. Here are the Top 4 for RW and a Centre and 2 Expecncive ones…. and A Long Shot🤔
after this they look for a depth RD/man
New Jersey Devils’ RW Tyler Toffoli,
Seattle Kraken’s RW Jordan Eberle.
Ottawa Senator’s RW Vladimir Tarasenko
Anaheim Ducks Center Adam Henrique.
➡️ St. Louis Blues’ RW Pavel Buchnevich, $5.9M
maybe Expencive for the Oilers Regarding 1st picks and top prospects and a 3rd team
➡️ Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jake Guentzel,
But i think he is way to Expencive for the Oilers
Regarding 1st picks and top prospects and a 3rd team, he playes more LW, Oilers realy need a RW
A Long shot could well be The Pens RW,
Richard Rackel @$5.M for 4.2 more years……❓🤔
An other 3 way with some salary retained
pens get a 1st pick, and hold $1M
an other team gets a 3rd pick and a prospect like a Markus Niemeläinen and holds $2.M Oilers have caps space to do that deal……
To me Ideal scenario is Eberle , top 6 Right wing. Great vision, great playmaking and finish; and of course…. Was an Oiler for years
McDavid to Center Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins; leaving Draisitl to centre Kane and Eberle.
Kraken would have to retain 50% and a 3rd team retain 25%
Ryan , 2nd , and B prospect to Kraken. 4th to another team for retaining about $230,000 (25% of what Eberle is still owed). Does that work?
Remaining space after trade is around $1.5 M in annualized Cap
Get a top 9 Right winger as well and have McLeod Center that player and Foegle
What would SJ want for Duclair (shoots left but per trade bait board listed as RW and CapFriendly has him playing both wings) at 50% retained? 3rd (‘26) + Lavoie + Tulio?
Or do Oilers try and get a Ceci replacement?
Ltir solution? 1) if player is on ltir and doesn’t return before playoffs they are ineligible for playoffs and can’t be traded, or 2) if player is on ltir and doesn’t return to play before playoffs he is eligible to play in playoffs but Any player(s) added during regular season using ltir savings are ineligible to play in playoffs and team looses draft picks in current year based on $ value used of ltir as they are over the cap. Ends end runs and makes teams commit to ltir replacements.
Nah, just have a cap limit of 15% over the regular cap that includes their Black Aces as well. Easy peasey!
Richard, and easier way is simply; you must be cap compliant in the playoffs just like you are during the regular season.
Say Stone was done for the regular season and playoffs, IMO a good team like Vegas should be able to add to try and compete for a cup. It’s not like they don’t have to give up assets to acquire a quality player, so it isn’t free.
So if Stone does come back, and you want to play him, you need to remove players from the lineup that add up to the same cap hit. Just like the regular season. Set the roster prior to the series starting.
This, Ray, exactly.
It still boggles my mind that they have one set of rules during the regular season, and then, for no readily apparent reason, they change it suddenly for the playoffs. Made no sense then. Still makes no sense.
Stone could still play during the playoffs, you’d just have to sit someone else. It’s not hard.
And no, this isn’t a VGK problem, it’s an NHL problem.
And I can’t for the life of me figure out why the NHL allows it.
This exactly. Same reason you cannot sign a free agent after a certain date… you cannot make trades after a certain date… a player is ineligible to suit up for playoffs if he joins his team after a certain…
Yet this ONE transactional move is totally fine..? Makes no sense.
Perfect. Call the weasel get. It done 😎
I think you will see the same with Seguin this year.
Hanifin is going where he will sign.
He will leave that eighth year on the table.
Whatever . Are there 7-8 million reasons to leave Calgary ? Maybe if lands in Florida
I suggested Lohrei and Geekie and a first yesterday and they were on against Vegas last night. Must have read my post 😜
Leafs made the only deal they could, less than league minimum.
I’m the Boston Bruins .. offering to the Hurricanes ..Ullmark & DeBrusk so what can I expect to get back …needs a forward with size who plays both ends of the ice and a Dman with size and grit
Joe… you get Orlov and Raanta 😃
😜 😂 🤣
Necas and Pesce
Call Sweeney and get this done
Re “Speaking of Tanev, Pierre LeBrun reports the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche were in on the former Flames defenseman”
None of whom, obviously, made better offers than Dallas – which some thought to be a “rush job” and of not much value
Flamesnation is reporting someone offered a 1st, but with the caveat of taking back a bad contract. Flames didn’t want that contract whoever it was.
Elias Pettersson contract
I think he gets 8 years at $12.M more than likely going to be just above that
@
$12.5 M = $100.M⁉️
The Flames have the issue with resigning players longterm right now…. they should use assets for Kotkaniemi…. they should be looking for mid 20s players with term.
Bruins have a track record of getting complementary pieces at the trade deadline in past years not many Big splashes and although they trade for UFA players they usually don’t resign them so they end up moving pieces for a couple of months rentals …
John Tavares equals $11million
Hanifan and Geuntzel equals $10.95 million. So what everyone is saying is. This is the way to have a better chance at winning it all.
Put Tavares on LTIR.
Have him fresh for the playoffs.
With regards to LTIR…it’s part of the CBA. It is not fair or unfair. It’s the same for all teams.
Glad the Leafs did not get Tanev. He was Calgary’s #4 defenceman. Weegar or Anderrsson are thé guys they shoukd target on the Flames. They’re better and signed beyond this season.
With Matthew’s, Marner, and Nylander flying this year they need to get somebody that can make a difference on the back end.
Brodie on anything above 3rd pair is a bad idea. Giordano is #7…only if necessary.
Neely once again feels the need for toughness … here’s one Ross The Boss Johnson ..30 years old 3 year UFA
Leafs acquire depth in the Lyubushkin trade but it does nothing for their biggest need, a 1st pairing, RHD to partner with Morgan Reilly.
Allan
100% agree.
Keefe doesn’t trust Liljegren. Timmins has been injured most of the year.
The Leafs need to get serious about revamping their roster. If they have to trade their prized prospects that are several years off so be it.
Trading for rentals, no. Trading for players with term, yes.
Matthews, Marner, and Nylander are flying this year. You can’t punt the season because you want to hold on to a guy that’s several years away.
They need a top defenceman, not filler.