Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – July 7, 2024

by | Jul 7, 2024 | Rumors | 40 comments

The Hurricanes are said to be interested in Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers plus an update on Blue Jackets winger Patrik Laine in the Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup

HURRICANES REPORTEDLY PURSUING NIKOLAJ EHLERS

THE HOCKEY NEWS: Stefen Rosner reported on Friday that the Carolina Hurricanes were “pushing heavily” on Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers. He believes it makes a lot of sense after the Hurricanes were forced to trade pending free agent Jake Guentzel to Tampa Bay last week.

Ehlers, 28, has a year remaining on his contract with an average annual value of $6 million. He’s rumored to be unwilling to sign an extension with the Jets. It was expected the Jets would try and move him at the 2024 NHL draft but they may have set too high of an asking price.

Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers (NHL Images).

Rosner suggested that the Jets could be hoping that clubs that missed out in free agency might start a bidding war for Ehlers. He thinks the Hurricanes could win that war if they offer up Martin Necas, but the Jets would have to include more than Ehlers in the deal as Necas has more value.

The New York Islanders were also rumored to be interested in Ehlers. Rosner speculates they still could be even after signing Anthony Duclair but wasn’t sure.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff praised Ehlers following the draft, calling him an important piece of their lineup. We’ll soon find out if that’s the case. He won’t trade the winger simply for the sake of doing so and could prefer a younger player in return.

A one-for-one swap for Ehlers would make sense for the Hurricanes if there’s no contract resolution with Necas. The 25-year-old winger hasn’t generated much buzz lately in the rumor mill, leading some to suggest the Canes could reconsider trading him after losing Guentzel.

Necas filed for contract arbitration on Friday. That could be his way of setting a deadline to hammer out a new deal with the Hurricanes or another indicator that he has a short-term future in Carolina.

THE LATEST ON PATRIK LAINE

THE ATHLETIC: Aaron Portzline reports the Columbus Blue Jackets are still waiting for word that Patrik Laine has been cleared by the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program to resume his playing career. The 26-year-old winger has been in the program since January.

The Jackets’ efforts to accommodate Laine’s trade request may have taken a big hit going this deep into the offseason. They can trade him while he’s in the program but GM Don Waddell said the clubs interested in Laine want to speak with him before making trade offers.

Teams that may have considered Laine probably already made moves to address their roster needs. The Carolina Hurricanes reportedly were among those teams and made an offer during the recent NHL Draft. They have over $11 million in cap space and plenty of room to take on Laine’s $8.7 million annual cap hit through 2025-26.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Laine could still be traded this summer. However, as Portzline indicated, his cap hit and uncertainty over when he’ll be out of the player assistance program will make it difficult for the Blue Jackets to find a suitable trade partner.

The Hurricanes could be out of the bidding for Laine if they’re attempting to acquire Nikolaj Ehlers from the Winnipeg Jets. They carry sufficient cap room for Laine’s contract, but Necas, Seth Jarvis, and Jack Drury are seeking new contracts as restricted free agents. Jarvis alone could get a pay raise of over $5 million annually, which would eat up almost half of that cap room.







40 Comments

  1. Yesterday article said Penguins also interested acquiring Ehlers.

  2. Ehler’s and McPouty for Necas?

    • The McGroarty situation has deteriorated to the point where he – if that was his intention – may have succeeded in positioning himself to go back into the draft.

      No team is going to give up assets to acquire his “rights” as long as there remains uncertainty as to whether he would sign with them following the trade without the assurance of being automatically assigned a slot at the major league level.

      And any team that does that runs the risk of annoying the Hell out of players on their roster who DID pay their dues with time in the minors, thereby creating a bad scene in the dressing room.

      I’d avoid this schmuck like the proverbial plague.

      • Right now McCroarty”s value is the mid 2nd round pick you’d get in compensation should he not sign.

        Nobody will pay his position pick value unless they know for a fact he would sign.

        I don’t know under the new rules if try can do a conditional pick in a rights trade. They can’t if it’s a roster player they traded.

      • Dan, although taken by the Jets in 2022, McGroarty was ranked no higher than 27th by Bob McKenzie heading into that draft.

        Although still a 1st round projection, the thing is no one ever looked at him as a potential first-year right-to-the-bigs phenom of the likes of a McDavid, Matthews, Crosby, Bedard, MacKinnon.

        I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes if some idiot GM deals for him and agrees to his demands … only to have him struggle from shift to shift. Can you imagine the fan/media pressure that would accompany that sort of performance? Even modest, average results would draw criticism.

      • should read “although taken 14th overall by the Jets ….”

      • If you look under the reserve lists, the Jets own his rights until August 15th, 2026….. so the Jets have lots of time to wait this one out. They could wait until the trade deadline in 2026 (as well as 2025) and get some serious assets from someone having a fire sale, or wait until the draft of 2025 or 2026, or anytime between now and then. Some sports beat people think McGroarty has all of the power here (see Elliot Friedman), but the Jets do as far as letting him sit, shorten his NHL career, and missing out on serious money.

    • No, Winnipeg is not trading Ehlers and McGroarty for Necas.

      Ehlers is more than enough.

      • Well I agree Caper for a few reasons.
        1. Ehlers is a proven commodity while Necas is still trying to get there
        2. I read the Necas is projected to receive 8.8 on his next deal? Why😳
        If the teams are in serious negotiations and Necas thinks he is worth that cash I can see why Carolina is trying to move him. And why Wpg hasn’t made the deal

      • Isotopes, when looking at their careers to date, I’m trying to understand how Ehlers can be described as a “proven commodity” while Necas is shrugged off as “trying to get there.”

        If you look at Ehler’s 9-year career to date, his first two full years totalled 164gp with 82-game averages of 25g 24a 49 points, which earned him his now expiring $6 mil per deal. In the ensuing 7 years his 82-game averages work out to 27g 35a 62 pts, during which he has been a consistent + F.

        Necas, in the first two full seasons of his so-far 5 year career, had 82-game averages of 21g 33a 54 pts, and in 2022-23 his ELC was replaced by a $3 mil per deal. In the ensuing 3 years, his 82-game averages work out to 23g 34a 57 pts along with a cumulative + factor (although a -9 this past season).

        So, all in all, no great differences in production which, of course, don’t take into account the quality of line-mates over the courses of their careers, along with how much pp time they have accrued, which cam also be a factor in their stats.

  3. Speed Kills, that rumour goes back to mid-June in The Hockey News.

    https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/pittsburgh-penguins-target-winnipeg-jets-nikolaj-ehlers

    But if, as Rosner suggests, Winnipeg is waiting to see if the teams that didn’t do much on UFA day get engaged in a bidding war for Ehlers, you have to ask yourself, what could Pittsburgh possibly offer up in such a scenario?

    They sit near the bottom of any list of prospect rankings and besides, I doubt Chevaldayov is looking for projects as a replacement for a 9-year veteran who has 82-game averages of 27g 35a 62 pts. Nor do the Penguins have anything at the major league roster level that they’d be willing to give up and that the Jets might want in return.

    The cupboard is essentially bare in Steeltown, and whether they admit it or not the prospect of another Cup is gone and they now sit at the threshold of a complete rebuild.

  4. Crosby can t be happy with the way things are in Pittsburgh! Could he possibly weigh his options while playing in the Big 4 series to see what players and or teams he would like to be traded to?

    • Why not? The greatest of them all – Wayne Gretzky – donned the jersey of 4 different NHL teams. So, too, did a number of other top “stars” play for more than one team over their careers, including Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque.

      • Best move for Pitt and Crosby is a trade.
        If I’m the Dallas GM I’m contacting Pitt to see if I can get Crosby to replace Pavs.
        Dallas has the prospects to do it.

      • It’s true George. Somehow this weird fantasy fact has grown regarding str players always being with one team. I mean Lemieux, Sakic, and Yzerman did…but then the number of amazing players that moved around…Hull, Lafleur, Orr, lafontaine, Selanne, Jagr, Messier, and now even Stamkos…stying with one team is the anomaly not the norm.

        Nothing wrong with Sid ensuring he plays on a competitive team elsewhere.

      • All kinds of names, theSaint, that fit the “star” description, who played for more than one team: Peter Forsberg, Frank Mahovlich, Mats Sundin, Martin Brodeur, Sergei Federov, Doug Harvey, Jacques Plante, Terry Sawchuk, Dickie Moore, Ted Lindsay and on and on

      • Being able to say that so and so played his whole career for your team and only your team is still a special thing. And it’s meaningful for many fans. Even if it is the exception.., or maybe partly because it’s the exception.

      • But in the end … if the final years amount to nothing having been accomplished as a team … it falls into the category of “so what?”

      • Mario never won another cup as a player. But what he did means more than another cup. I am definitely a spoiled fan. I can objectively compare what winning cups means vs the legacy stuff like being with the team for your whole career. I wouldn’t trade any of the three crosby cups, as a fan, for Mario finishing his career as a ranger or otherwise. It’s important. I’m not sure how to better explain it.

  5. “Hold the phone” re: Crosby to Dallas. Cmon!!! If Crosby went anywhere, it would probably be Colorado!!! Trade Nichushkin and Girard, draft pick for Pittsburgh for Crosby. It would be surprising to see Crosby anywhere but Pittsburgh. Maybe Penguins throw in a defenseman? Is Ryan graves still on the Penguins. He used to be an Avalanche, I thought he was good for us but we shipped him out for somebody? Or maybe he left in free agency?

    • Nichushkin and Girard, draft pick for Crosby? More like two 1st round picks, Mittelstadt, Calum Ritchie and/or Sam Girard. As a Jets fan I’d be completely fine with Chevy trading 4 first rounders for 3-4 years of Crosby. Unless Crosby is forcing a specific destination, the Pens would have an insane bidding war on their hands.

      • No Way!!!! Two 1st round picks, ok . Middlestadt and Calum Ritchie, no. Pittsburgh getting Nichushkin and Girard. Younger good hockey players already roster players!!! Especially, Nichushkin, guy is a force to be reckoned with!!! But let us down x2!!!! Girard, good contract and puck moving defenseman which Pittsburgh loves and plays better defense than both Letang& Karlsson! But I will believe it when I see it: Crosby going elsewhere!!

      • No one is trading one of all time classiest, most respected hockey players to ever lace them up for Nosechushkin.

      • That’s for bloody sure.

  6. How about Crosby to Boston in a trade that starts with Swayman!!

    • Boston doesn’t have the pieces… Any trade involving Crosby needs to net the Pens 2 AAA pieces and another 2-3 AA pieces.

      • Swayman,Lohrei,Zacha,Frederic!

      • He said AAA pieces. Not those bums you listed.

      • RanDino find me 3 AAA pieces! There aren t any! Where do you think Crosby would want to go! He likes hockey history pick out an original 6 franchise !

    • How about both Bad Brad & Sid the Kid to Colorado next summer on Colorado friendly contracts to win another Cup, this time on the Bluenose line with Nate!!!

  7. As for Laine, he fits the bill for exactly what the Habs are looking, a top six forward with a short term remaining. Plus the Habs could absorb his entire contract for the next two seasons.

    Question is what does the Blue Jackets want in return???

  8. Daniel Sprong plays 12-13 min a game and puts up 20G 20A appr in that limited time.

    He isn’t seen as top 6 but on the Habs he would be despite his defensive lapses.

    Laine and Zegras score a few more goals but their TOI is 20 and 17 min respectively, both having defensive lapses as well, both earning way more money.

    On the Habs he would probably score more as a regular 2nd line guy.

    • HabFan I’m a little wary of the fact that no team has given Sprong second line minutes. That could be their way of saying that his overall game is just not good and/or he wouldn’t be able to handle the higher expectations and the stronger opponents that come with the second line.

    • Howard,
      Detroit isn’t going to play Sprong ahead of Kane or Raymond and in Seattle he was behind Eberle and Burakovsky, I don’t remember the lineups at Washington and Pittsburgh.

      While he isn’t a prototypical top 6 player on this rebuilding team he’d fit in for 2-3 years.

      Top line RW in Montreal is Slafkovsky and he had 20G and who’s next?
      Gallagher, Anderson, Armia all of them older and underperforming.

    • Laine is 26, big body goal scorer.

      They would have two years to make him feel comfortable & he would have to be the face of the franchise.

      If he could settle in & feel comfortable, he may be persuaded to resign a team reasonable deal.

      If Demidov is as skilled as projected, Laine could fill the net with Demidov feeding him passes. Drop Suzuki between them & Habs could have a legitimate number one line with a very strong second line featuring Caufield, Slafkovsky & one of Dach, Newhook or maybe even Kapanen as their pivot.

      • Uwey,
        Laine is one year younger than Sprong, makes $6.7 million more than him per season.
        Laine has scored 47 G in the last 2 years he played with 20 min TOI.

        Sprong has scored 39 G in the past two years with 12 min TOI.

        Sprong produces much more than Laine, per TOI.

        Oh, Sprong isn’t injury prone and isn’t in player assistance program, probably a better character fit.

  9. Any team in the league would want Nichushkin. We won 1 SC with him. He’s the best player on the Avalanche. Plays the game the right way, great hockey player. I bet you Pittsburgh would live to have Nichushkin and if Crosby did want to go somewhere else, it would probably be the Avalanche because of Nate Dogg?

    • He’s also fast friends with Brad Marchand!

  10. Crosby on the Avalanche would be a better scenario for him to win the cup again as opposed to Boston! The Bruins are good but Crosby with Avalanche cast of characters much more likely!!!!

    • Marchand is also an UFA next summer!!!