NHL Rumor Mill – November 1, 2024
Check out the latest on the Oilers, Leafs and Canadiens in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
OILERS
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Caleb Kerney cited Elliotte Friedman’s appearance earlier this week on “Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer” listing four potential blueline trade targets for the Oilers.
They include Cam Fowler of the Anaheim Ducks, Connor Murphy of the Chicago Blackhawks, Matt Benning of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Seth Jones of the Blackhawks.
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was broadcast before the Leafs acquired Benning from the San Jose Sharks. However, Kerney’s colleague Nick Barden cited TSN’s Darren Dreger suggesting the Leafs could flip Benning to bring in an additional asset if the club is still struggling with the salary cap.
Don’t hold your breath expecting Fowler, Jones or Murphy to don an Oilers jersey anytime soon. Fowler and Jones carry hefty cap hits with no-trade protection. The asking prices are likely too expensive for the cap-strapped Oilers unless they can swing a three-team deal.
Murphy is signed through next season with an AAV of $4.4 million and a 10-team no-trade list. The earliest he could be available is near the March 7 trade deadline.
EDMONTON JOURNAL’s Jim Matheson also mentioned Murphy and suggested Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ivan Provorov as another trade option for the Oilers. He’s eligible for UFA status next July and the Jackets carry $4.7 million of his $6.75 million cap hit.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Provorov is more likely to be available than Fowler, Jones and Murphy. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported last week that the Utah Hockey Club contacted the Blue Jackets about Provorov but they’re not in a hurry to move him. They’ll likely wait until the trade deadline if they’re out of the playoff race by then to drive up his value.
LEAFS
TORONTO SUN: Terry Koshan recently noted that Nick Robertson was a healthy scratch from the Maple Leafs game against the Winnipeg Jets earlier this week. The 23-year-old winger led the Leafs with five preseason goals but has only one in 10 regular-season contests thus far.
Robertson said he wasn’t taking the benching personally, saying he was focused on working hard.
COLORADO HOCKEY NOW: Aarif Deens cited Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reporting that the Avalanche were shopping around for a forward.
Deens suggested Robertson as a possible trade option for the Avs, pointing out that the winger can’t seem to find a permanent role with the Leafs. He thinks Robertson’s offensive game could take off with the right linemates.
Robertson is on a one-year, $875K contract. He’d be an affordable possibility for the cap-strapped Avalanche.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Robertson was the frequent topic of offseason speculation after requesting a trade on June 30 but re-signed before training camp. Leafs management saw him as a middle-six winger but they could entertain trade offers if he continues having difficulty filling that role.
CANADIENS
RG.ORG: Marco Dumont cites a source claiming Montreal Canadiens center Jake Evans is attracting some interest in the NHL trade market. Dumont cites the jump in the 28-year-old Evans’ production (five points in 11 games) and his mature defensive game.
Evans is UFA-eligible next summer and carries an affordable $1.7 million cap hit this season. Dumont’s source noted that the Canadiens are searching for a top-four defenseman, suggesting that it would make sense to use Evans as trade bait to address their blueline need.
The Canadiens have other assets such as draft picks and prospects to draw on. However, if they’re unwilling to sacrifice their future it would make sense to cash in on their pending UFAs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens aren’t likely to move Evans right now. It’s more likely a trade-deadline move if he proves too costly to re-sign.
Robertson:
Something tells me we’re about to see how he’d be a perfect fit in Pittsburgh.
In at least 50 lines and 8 paragraphs
You two! Gold. Just perfect comments. Almost spit out my coffee on that.
Please Toronto trade Robertson! All I have heard the last 3 months out of Toronto is moving him and Lligren! Sorry for the spelling! Thank god they finally traded him!
Yeah so we all can hear all those trade the Bruins rumours.
You mean contract holdouts!
Who`s unsigned in Boston?? Nobody, so why would I say unsigned??????? Future trade rumours, there`ll be a plenty the way they`re playing
Sr it’s crazy to think that a young struggling player gets benched in only Toronto, right? That is never reported elsewhere but in Toronto, it’s front page news (sarcasm with a hint of truth).
Imagine if the Leafs had as bad as a start as Boston…oh man there would be an endless onslaught of dumb takes from fans to media of why the team is off to a bad start.
One thing people forget is when the Leafs bottomed out in the 2015-2016 season and eventually picked Matthews, the following year they made the playoffs and have done so ever since. That was a fairly quick rebuild and most teams like Detroit who is about to enter another draft cycle is the norm. Unfortunately that isn’t news, so you get a lot of trash instead that really doesn’t matter.
The key takeaway of what I’m saying is, you’re smart enough to understand what’s what and ignore the noise like so many (Leafs) fans do. The hacks in Toronto would and have blamed the ice if they could.
Yes, the Leafs did make the playoffs the season after they drafted Matthews in 2016 … but let’s not lose sight of the fact they had been wallowing near the bottom for a while, which got them Rielly in 2012, Nylander in 2014 and Marner in 2015 before Matthews got there.
Didnt the Leafs lose a “play-in” to Columbus?
Or does Toronto count missing the playoffs as making the playoffs?
George you can say with the exception of a few and far in between, the Leafs have been wallowing near the bottom for over 60 yrs. Rebuild is/was a dirty word in Toronto so they were always retooling until Shanahan tore everything apart from management to players. For example they still had Kessel who was still scoring over 30 goals eventually got traded in 2016 to the Pens. Rielly was drafted by Burke which was canned until they drafted Nylander who was selected by Shannahan even though Nonis was GM. Once Lou came aboard you can call the the start of the current rebuild. Lou was making the roster cuts for picks why the team continued to wallow near the basement.
My point is simple, most rebuilds don’t have that quick of a turn around. If anyone has any examples of a team making the playoffs after drafting an 8th, 4th, and 1st overall in each successive draft then make the playoffs every season since, I would like to know but I’m sure if there is, it’s not the norm. Teams like Detroit, Ottawa, Montreal, Buffalo are all great examples of normal rebuilds full of ups and downs. The only difference is the Leafs ups happen during the season and downs happen in the post.
Just my 2¢
Sr……
You mean Swayman?
Swayman and Poitras to the Ducks for Gibby (retain $1.5M) and Zegras!!!!!!!!😁😉
The only way you get Murphy from Chicago is by a pure hockey trade in favour of the Hawks. The Oil could have traded Broberg and Holloway for Murphy and a pick ?
I expect no significant movement until US Thanksgiving . 789 D don’t count