NHL Rumor Mill – March 14, 2024
The Islanders could face some contract extension questions and the Canadiens could shop for roster depth this summer. Check out the latest in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
ISLANDERS FACE CONTRACT EXTENSION QUESTIONS THIS SUMMER
NEW YORK POST: Ethan Sears reported the next pivot point on the Islanders’ roster construction occurs on July 1 when free agency begins.
New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson (NHL Images).
Brock Nelson will be the biggest question. He has a year remaining on his contract and extension talks can begin on July 1. The 32-year-old forward is an important part of their roster core. Keeping him happy without paying a bloated contract will be a challenge for Islanders management.
Winger Kyle Palmieri is in the same boat as Nelson. Defensemen Noah Dobson and Alexander Romanov also have a year left on their contracts, but they will be restricted free agents with arbitration rights.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: General manager Lou Lamoriello has a well-earned reputation as a tough negotiator. The longer those contract talks go with any of those four, the more speculation there will be over their futures with the Isles.
Given Nelson’s UFA eligibility next summer and his value as a core player, he will draw the most attention in the rumor mill. His name will pop up frequently in media chatter if he lacks a new contract leading up to next year’s trade deadline.
CANADIENS COULD BE BUSY IN THIS SUMMER’S TRADE MARKET
MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: Marco D’Amico reported the Canadiens added more draft picks leading up to the recent NHL trade deadline. Some of those picks could become trade bait to address their more immediate roster needs.
Following the deadline, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes acknowledged his team has been buyers at the draft and sellers at the trade deadline. “If I see another opportunity again at the draft, we’ll look to continue that path,” he said.
D’Amico noted that Hughes leveraged his excess of defense or draft picks to acquire Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook during the last two drafts. With two first-rounders in 2024 and 2025 and an overwhelming number of promising young defensemen, the Canadiens will likely go shopping again.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: D’Amico pointed out recent speculation linked the Canadiens to Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras. If the Ducks decide to move him, Hughes could draw on those picks and defense prospects to make a competitive offer.
I would assume that Lou might wait till January before any contract talks begin with Nelson or Palmieri. But some of you will disagree and point out that Lou really likes having an “older” team.
As long LONG suffering closetted Isles fan. Those two can go. This team has ridiculously good goaltending. Like. Bruins’esque. A reasonable defense and just an ineffective older scoring “core”. Barzal has kind of been wasted and I’m not really sold on him either. Pageau is old and over paid. Palmierri is old and streaky. Lee and Nelson are….”soft”. Its just a badly constructed group that clearly hasn’t succeeded at much other than barely making the playoffs and surprising a couple times. It’s been a 40 year rebuild. I don’t really want another but….here we are. Oh. And Horvath plays there too aparntly.
I can only hope Lou won’t be making those decisions. He will give more 7 year contracts that make no sense. I also am a fan since 1972 and he needs to go asap. He did get Roy which is great wish he would have brought him in months before and he did fire Trotz and hired Lambert so it is a wash. Time to retire Lou.
Ya Pete. I’ve been hanging around since 1980. I was 6 when I jumped on the bandwagon. It was easy my minor hockey association used their jersey scheme for their colours. Heck I had a Bossy Titan hockey stick. I agree Lou has to go. I live in Ottawa and LOVE Pageau…but that was a horrendous deal. I don’t know what they should do going forward.
We can agree to disagree on Roy. I think he’s a terrible coach and better suited bullying teenagers around in the juniors. He isn’t our answer and won’t last.
The Habs have a solid top line with Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky. They have two thirds of a decent second line with Dach and Newhook, if they can stay healthy, they need a relatively young third forward to join them and I’m not sure he’s yet in the organization.
I like the way Roy had played but I see him more as a productive third liner who can step up to the top six for brief periods in case of an injury. Beck looks like he’ll be a solid third line center. Guys like Farrell and Mesar look solid right now but not necessarily sure things.
Hughes has to use his draft capital and depth in young D-men to bring in a solid second line forward. Trevor Zegras? Martin Necas?
I would suspect if Zegras is coming in Montreal door, Kirby Dach is going out the door as part of a package.
Anaheim has two first and two second round draft picks in the upcoming draft.
In that case it likely won’t be happening. I can see Owen Beck being part of the deal. Plus a young D-man and picks. I’m obviously not saying it’ll happen.
I don’t follow Montreal that much so I might be wrong but my understanding is that they are small and a little bit soft. If that is true, is Zegras really the right target?
What no one who has posed the Zegras to Montreal (or anywhere else) trade has explained is why the Ducks would move him? He can put up points so why would one of the leagues worst offensive output teams move him? The Ducks have a -69 goal differential, and the third lowest goal total in the league.
Anyone? This is your chance to get back on your hobby horse, CO.
If it is because of the whispered attitude problems, why would anyone take him?
Why would the Habs trade Dach for Zegras? If it’s because of Dach’s injury history, why would the Ducks risk it?
And why would anyone take PLD under any circumstances, let alone at 8.5 million for 7 more seasons after this? He might be responsible for Blake getting canned.
Is it April 1today?
Hey Caper,
i think Zegras is Way to Small for the Habs and is Not phyiscal at all…. He get pushed around a Lot….❓
I think they keep Kirby Dack and use him as a LW, and then as a Centre if needed …..
The Habs have a Bucket load of Wingers and a Bucket load of Young d/men they could use as trade bait also….
Montreal has a bucket load of D, but not a bucket load of wingers, or centers, for that matter, WIlliew. At least not NHL calibre. A headline in the Montreal Gazette had it right: Habs have three – 4th lines.
And if they did have a bucket of wingers, why take a natural center, Dach, and make him one too?
Hey Howard, I generally agree with your assessment but I think we still need an improvement to the 1st line if we are going to compete for the Cup at some point. Suzuki and Slafkovsky + another top winger and Dach and Caufield anchor line #2 + another top winger. They have lots of options for the 3rd and 4th lines.
Hey LJ,
Habs Wingers not playing NHL 18 to 22 yrs….
1/ Filip Mesar
2/ Josh Roy
3/ Sean Farrell
4/ Emil Heineman
5/ Jacob Perreault
6/ Xavier Simoneau’
and
have 1/ Centre, Owen Beck
( A Centre is what they need to add )… 1st pick
YOUNG Wingers 19 to 23 yrs playing with the habs now…
1/Cole Caufield 23
2/ Alex Newhook 22
3/ Juraj Slafkovsky 19
4/ Kirby Dach 23
5/ Joshua Roy 20
they also have lots of older players,
I think Dack is better on the Wing than Centre
But they are short at centre thats why he is there right now, thats why i said if he is avalable they should pick up Big Centre 6.ft3 & 215lbs
Cayden Lindstrom, with there 1st pick in the draft….❓
Re; the Habs
I think with there 1st pick in June’s draft, they will look at the Big Centre 6.ft3 & 215lbs
Cayden Lindstrom,
The Centre position on the 2nd line is a bit of a hole for the Habs He could go anywhere from 5-10 depending on other teams needs to replace Christian Dvorak who is a UFA in 2025
with there 2nd pick in the 1st round they could trade that for an older player up front….❓
The other position is Goaltending thats not the strongest
Samuel Montembeault as starter & back up is
24 yr old Cayden Primeau… nothing after that…🤔
Depending on where they draft in the 1st round I think they will trade that pick for a young player.
How about Montreal taking PLD off LA on the cheap?
Why would Montreal do that? He has never performed to his potential on all the teams he has been on and seems to be a locker room distraction. PLD had the chance to sign in Montreal as a UFA and chose LA – let him stay there.
I think that Habs fans have now moved on from PLD. And he was never a UFA. He could have waited till July 2024 and signed anywhere as a UFA but he chose instead to sign long term in LA,
Exactly, Howard!
Ya, the whole PLD thing is odd.
I get that players struggle sometimes on a new team, but not this bad. It’s not just the points either. He is -19, on a playoff team. Yikes.
Tempting to take a flier on, but, can’t see LA holding salary, not yet anyway. Too expensive with too much risk
Why would MTL grab a player that makes more money than there too 2 scorers? Furthermore he scores at a pace off less than half a point per game. LAK is stuck with PLD.
HuGo have a job ahead in utilizing picks and prospects to turn the team into contenders, and prospects includes young guys on the team who have yet to prove themselves.
Looking to the past these are some players they had to make choices on.
Dryden or Esposito
Carbonneau or Daoust
Price or Halak
As impressive as the young guys have been, they are green and almost all are available as any draft pick they take is at least three years from arriving.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: General manager Lou Lamoriello has a well-earned reputation as a tough negotiator.
As well as giving Engval and Mayfield 7 year contracts. Lou also gave Pageau a 3rd line center, a 7 year, $5 million dollar contract.
Tough negotiator???