NHL Rumor Mill – July 9, 2024
In today’s NHL Rumor Roundup, the Oilers could make another cost-cutting move and three proposed trade destinations for Leafs forward Nick Robertson.
ANOTHER COST-CUTTING MOVE COULD BE COMING FOR THE OILERS
THE ATHLETIC: Allan Mitchell believes the Edmonton Oilers aren’t done making cost-cutting during this offseason. They shipped Ryan McLeod last week to the Buffalo Sabres. Still, new contracts for restricted free agents Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg could push them over the $88 million cap by $3 million.
Edmonton Oilers winger Evander Kane (NHL Images).
The Oilers could put Evander Kane on long-term injury reserve to start the 2024-25 season. The winger was hampered by a sports hernia last season and interim general manager Jeff Jackson mentioned hip issues. They could place Kane on LTIR if he requires surgery or a long recovery from his injury.
If Kane doesn’t go on LTIR, another cost-cutting trade will be necessary before their season opener in October. They could also demote some players but that would leave them starting the season with a 20-man roster.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: David Staples cited Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli suggesting Cody Ceci as a cost-cutting trade candidate. Seravalli believes there’s a market for the 30-year-old defenseman and his $3.25 million cap hit. Staples noted that Ceci was among the few Oilers who raised their level of play in the playoffs compared to the regular season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Some Oilers followers prefer Kane become the trade candidate. His contract and injury status will likely ensure he remains in Edmonton. The winger carries a $5.125 million cap hit through 2025-26 and a full no-movement clause until March 1, 2025, when it becomes a 16-team trade list.
If Kane ends up on LTIR he could return before the end of the 2024-25 season. The Oilers could wait until then and peddle Ceci or another player before the trade deadline. Otherwise, they’ll have to dump another salary in the trade market before their season opener.
THREE PROPOSED TRADE DESTINATIONS FOR NICK ROBERTSON
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Adam Proteau noted reports last week indicating Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson requested a trade. If he and the Leafs fail to mend their relations, Proteau suggested the San Jose Sharks, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Vegas Golden Knights as destinations for the 22-year-old left winger.
Robertson would garner more playing time and a chance to get his career back on track with the rebuilding Sharks and Blue Jackets. He could also be an affordable middle-six forward for the Golden Knights as they attempt to regain the Stanley Cup.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Leafs aren’t in any hurry to move Robertson. He’s a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level contract and lacks arbitration rights, giving him little leverage. Still, the Leafs could consider trading him for the right offer.
The necessary “cost-cutting move” won’t be confined to only Edmonton. As posted yesterday, the PuckPedia team-by-team list shows upwards of 12 teams absolutely needing to shed salary – certainly any of those without a substantial LTIR.
That’s the sort of situation I mentioned that Hughes is in a perfect position to take advantage of IF the player chosen to be sacrificed to a cost-cutting move is a decent one with some term.
George,
Re; the Oilers
The only 2 players to make sence for the oilers to move salary wise, are Evander Kane @$5.12M 2 years left as they added 2 players that can play in the top 6 along with Holloway when they need to add someone, looks he is slotted in on the 3rd line for the 2024/25 season
The only other trade candidate is
Cody Ceci, RD-man, @$3.25 … if its Ceci they move that leaves the oilers d a little on the weaker side in reghards to experience and would make
Philip Broberg the 2nd pairing RD with nurse
and
Kulak the anchor on 3rd paring d with new #6-7 RD/man Big Josh Brown
after one of these trades then they can be Cap complyent and sign both young Holloway & Broberg at $1.M each….❓
Need to happen this summer so there are no distractions at training camp….👍
williew. while it may well make sense for Kane and Ceci to be the ones to move, that becomes problematic when you try and find a team prepared to take on two players that the Oilers deem “expendable” – one who costs $5,125,000 off the cap for 2 more seasons, who will be 35 y/o when it expires heading into 2026-27, and who has a NMC clause, and the other a D-man who will be a UFA after next season, costs $3,250,000 off the cap and never noted for being overly reliable back of his own blue line – in Ottawa, Toronto or Pittsburgh.
A quick look at the other 28 teams (I doubt any of Ottawa, Toronto or Pittsburgh, or Winnipeg, Buffalo or San Jose want, respectively, Ceci or Kane back), shows none that would make the necessary roster adjustments to take them – assuming they even have the cap space to do so. And I don’t seen other rebuilding teams like Anaheim, Columbus, Chicago or Montreal interested in either.
Can you see one or two teams where either might be a fit?
Why would Columbus be a fit for Robertson? They have own young players in need of either playing time or change of scenery. Its easier to move him to teams that need an additional winger in the top 9 and that have cap space, Vancouver comes to mind.
In what way does Vancouver have cap space? At the moment, CapFriendly shows them with projected cap space of just $240,833 and their back-up goalie still to be dealt with as an RFA
https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/canucks
Meanwhile, the Leafs are shown with projected cap space of $694,667 and two RFAs still to re-up, one of which is Robertson.
https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/mapleleafs
If the Leafs were to deal Robertson to Vancouver, the Canucks would then have two RFAs to sign and not much in the way of cap reserve with which to do it because, what they’d send to Toronto in exchange couldn’t be of any cap significance because that would only add to their own cap conundrum.
If Robertson were to go anywhere the most logical destinations would be San Jose, Anaheim or Chicago – with a pick or AHL level prospect coming back.
Canucks have a little cap space. Silovs won’t be expensive to re-sign as an RFA. They can put Tucker Poolman’s $2.5 m on LTIR.
But apparently the team wants to keep things under the cap without using LTIR for now. That could change if the right opportunity arises. I don’t think Robertson (or a winger in general, unless it’s a really special one) is what they’re looking for. The item on the Canucks’ wishlist is a top-four puck-moving D.
240 is with 23 players, add to that 2,5 in LTIR and you get about 240+2,5+1 for the player sent down. As below says, they need a top 4 D as well but could really use another top 9 winger
https://ottawasun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/canucks-arturs-silovs-needs-a-contract
George,
I think with Ceci performance in the playoffs
he played well for the oil,
and Kane bening a unique top 6 forward playing physical, Scoring , etc until he got hurt
I think it could be a 3 way trade with a rebuilding team and a playoff contender & the Oil
teams i think are the East we dont want to see him in the west..😲
1-Blues,
2-NYR, after a Truba move…
3-Canes,
4-CBJ, they need scoring and protection for Adam Fantail
5-Habs,
&
Steve Y
Red Wings , but he is a hard read on what he is doing……❓
Wings, they only have 11 forwards including 2 RFA they have not signed, with 20$M in cap space but they may pick up a couple of UFA also?
Looking at cap friendly, Leafs are over. They’re showing 9 d men on roster so I’d assume they send a couple down to minors. Only showing 11 forwards under contract. Not sure what kind of return Leafs would get for Robertson. He’s not Jason. They’d still need to more forwards. What’s his beef? New coaching staff coming in, so he’d be getting fresh start.
Slick
His beef with management is he’s been good enough to play in the league but sent down only because he didn’t have to clear waivers.
Are the Leafs a better team with Robertson or Reaves?
Better yet, at a cap hit of $875K Robertson scored 14 goals in 56 games playing limited minutes with some of the Leafs less offensively capable forwards.
Bertuzzi, at a $5.5M cap hit, scored 21 goals in 80 games.
Which player offers more bang for the buck?
Daryl those two players you mentioned are about as close as apples are to oranges. But you’re right about value and production.
It’s hard to know the exact value of a player who is still only 22 but has shown in his limited use he’s a 20 goal scorer. His value will likely be a bit higher than a meddling draft pick or non roster player. But besides that, the real question is, how does he make your team better and where is he going to provide his best? Maybe it’s not on the Leafs but another team that could play him more than the 10mins or less a night he got on the Leafs under Keefe.
But now there’s a new chief in town and Robertson, as well as a bunch of other guys, will have their chance to prove their worth once the season starts and we have approached that 10-20 game mark which should tell you what you need to move to go forward.
Robertson is an interesting player. Still 22 had some huge injuries first couple of years and last year was his first full season with 0 injuries.
Scored 14-56 games twenty goal pace playing limited minutes.
I would be surprised if they let him go for next to nothing the old coach didn’t trust him much and he was always getting sent down because of waivers I personally wouldn’t trade him he has opportunity now.
Have to agree there Man on TV. His is a manageable and easily accommodated cap situation and, meanwhile, you have a bottom 6 F who has shown he’s able to score even with limited ice time.
Moving him couldn’t even be seen as a “salary dump” purely to create cap space since, unlike Dewar, he is not arbitration eligible” (if he were you can bet his award would be close to the $2 mil mark), so with negotiation his only weapon, he’s looking at a minimal increase from his expiring $796,667 ELC. I’d bet the Leafs would offer no more that $1.25 mil. The problem there is, they don’t have the space to do so – not without another move that could not, then, bring back any sort of cap hit – just a pick or a prospect.
Among the young players I mentioned the other day who can be of interest in Montreal, I should add Robertson.
His value is low as he doesn’t fit in the TML lineup but he’d get a good chance with the Habs
I was thinking that too.
Mind, being a Leaf we’d have to run him through the sheep dip.
HabFan, LJ, I agree that Robertson would be a solid pick up for the Habs. But do you guys really think the Leafs would trade him to the Habs?
TML have a 2nd, 5th, 6th and 7th round picks in next years draft.
Habs have 12 picks, TML could have a pick and dump a contract of a player who doesn’t fit.
Treliving and Hughes have done business before
5’9″ winger, Habs have three already & another two in Laval.
I’ll pass on Robertson.
Spend that draft capital on an aggressive, spit disturbing forechecking winger.
Hahaha
Uwey,
Too many 5’9 players……put Harvey-Pinard on waivers.
Aggressive spit disturbing forechecking wingers usually don’t score many goals and the Habs are loaded with players who can’t find the net.
The Habs have only 6 forwards who scored in double figures and only 2 of them had more than 20.
Here is one & francophone to boot!!!
https://www.capfriendly.com/players/zachary-lheureux
Also HF30, both Roberston’s & RHP’s offensive numbers are very much the same while RHP’s plus/minus is stronger.
Uwey,
last year stats.
RHP 45 games, 2 g, -2
Robertson 56 games, 14g, +4
RHP had a crazy year before with an unsustainable 24% shooting %, he’s nowhere near Robertson.
As for Zachary L’Heureux, he’s still raw and parked in the AHL and waiver exempt for 2 more years , I don’t see Nashville trading him
The most cap space available sits with Calgary. Could be an interesting October with so many teams over
(and its early)
Could E.Kane be bought out ? If he is not on IR
https://www.capfriendly.com/buyout-calculator/evander-kane
He’s not currently shown as on IR
It’s too late to buy out Evander Kane. The buyout window closed at 5 pm ET on June 30. The Oilers don’t get a second buyout window because they didn’t have any players file for salary arbitration.
Thanks for that Lyle. So many “rules” … sigh … worse than bloody golf!
Tell me about it! Just when I think I know all the pertinent rules about the salary cap, something else emerges.
Hoo boy Bert. I assume you meant to say “if they don’t get a deal with Swayman soon send him packing.” and, if so, I can see at least 10 teams bending over backwards to clear their decks in order to bring him in. Meanwhile, what do the Bruins do? Go with Korpisalo?
I was wondering if the Winnipeg Jets might be interested in Robertson.
Once they trade Ehlers the Jets will have a 2nd line, LW slot open that needs to be filled by another goal scoring winger.
Perhaps Robertson for McGroarty.
Jets fill a need while the Leafs get another player on an ELC.
They have to sign Swayman and he knows it.
Mr St Pats, bang on right about that. Shades of the Oil with Nurse. Larsson leaving, Klefbom forced to retire due to injury, out goes your top pair. You have McDavid and Draisaitl up front so you can’t throw away seasons, Holland HAD to sign him. He got paid.
Swayman will get paid.
And he deserves to be paid – he’s a heck of a keeper.