Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – November 17, 2024
A big raise could be coming for next season’s salary cap, coaches on the hot seat, and the latest on the Bruins, Blue Jackets, Predators, Canadiens and Senators in the Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup.
BIG INCREASE COULD BE COMING FOR THE SALARY CAP
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports the NHL and NHLPA will examine the possibility of raising the salary cap by between $7 million and $9 million for 2025-26. He indicated that league revenue has “outpaced the guardrails on the salary cap” that were put in place as part of the 2020 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cap can rise by a maximum of five percent as per the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). However, it can increase by a wider margin if the league and the PA agree. If they stick with five percent, the cap will rise to $92.5 million for 2025-26. It is currently at $88 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The league is usually cautious in raising the cap. However, they could face pressure from team owners because several notable superstars (such as New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin) seek significant raises on their next contracts. A salary cap between $95 million and $98 million next season would alleviate the cap crunch facing several teams, making it easier to retain key players or bolster their roster depth.
FOUR COACHES POTENTIALLY ON THE HOT SEAT
SPORTSNET: Emily Sadler listed Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins, Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Derek Lalonde of the Detroit Red Wings, and Andrew Brunette of the Nashville Predators could be feeling the heat as their clubs continue to struggle.
Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde (NHL.com).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff reports no scuttlebutt suggesting Lalonde’s job is in jeopardy. Nevertheless, he thinks GM Steve Yzerman must be concerned over the Wings’ recent disappointing play. Duff believes they need something to change to avoid another season slipping away.
LATEST ON THE BRUINS, PREDATORS, BLUE JACKETS AND CANADIENS
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports the Boston Bruins have been looking to see what they can do to shake things up. He said things are starting to get intense within the organization.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It sounds like the Bruins would prefer to make a trade rather than a coaching change.
The Nashville Predators are in the market for a center. Friedman also believes they’re looking at their blueline.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Predators attempted to send defenseman Dante Fabbro to their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee last week but the Columbus Blue Jackets claimed him off waivers.
Speaking of the Blue Jackets, Friedman said general manager Don Waddell is trying to sort out the situation with David Jiricek. The young defenseman hasn’t played much this season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jiricek has struggled to earn a full-time spot on the Blue Jackets defense corps, appearing in only five games this season. He doesn’t need to pass through waivers to be sent to the AHL affiliate in Cleveland but publicly expressed his displeasure when demoted last season, sparking trade speculation.
The Montreal Canadiens are seeking a forward who plays with an edge. Friedman believes players like that will be highly coveted when the time comes.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That time would be when the March 7 trade deadline rolls around. That would be too late to help the Canadiens.
SENATORS SHOULD TARGET A DEFENSEMAN
THE ATHLETIC: Julian McKenzie was recently asked by a reader what area the Ottawa Senators should shore up before the New Year. He believes they need a “penalty-killing, middle-pairing defenseman” who can be mainly used on the third pairing but can be bumped up in a pinch.
McKenzie suggested Jordan Harris of the Blue Jackets as a trade target. He was shipped to Columbus by the Canadiens in this summer’s Patrik Laine deal but doesn’t yet seem like a fit with the Jackets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Maybe the Senators might look into Jiricek’s availability, though I think the Jackets would prefer hanging onto the promising 20-year-old rearguard.
just wondering what the return would befor the jackets ifthey packaged jenner and jiricek together. would have to thinkit would be a very decent return.
cancel that just read jenner out for most of season.
Montreal in last place in the Atlantic looking for a forward that plays with an edge? I would think their needs are more dramatic than that!Just call Toronto and bring in Reaves at about 5-7 minutes a game! Or call the Rangers about Remke!
You’re right, Sr, the Habs need a hockey player, not some third rate goon. Which is why your suggestions are a non starter.
Lyle has posted about ten stories in the past few weeks about the Habs looking for a forward with an edge. Maybe there’s no need to post the same rumors over again.
They already have their 3rd rate goon
CBJ’s Harris could be an option for the Sens. He hasn’t been a fit for CBJ and it would allow them to play a disgruntled Jiresek. Oh Harris has been playing the RS although he is left shot. Probably could get him for a 4th.
I doubt Jiricek would see more playing time with Fabbro on the team.
Harris can’t even crack the Jackets’ top six how could he be a solution for the Sens’ top 4? Harris has yet to prove anything in the nhl between CBJ and MTL. Sens can go better than that (Fabbro would have been a better solution).
as for Jiricek, Waddell has to forget about the kid’s feelings and send him to the AHL to get some minutes. his value nor career path is not improving by him being scratched all the time. at least send him down for a week-long conditioning stint to get some playing time
I would trust Dean Evason and his staff more than a couple of young kids who think they deserve top minutes upon entry to the NHL.
Why would the Sens need Harris….they probably have 12 defensemen in their system that are better than Harris
that the coach refuses to play because – Hamonic – is the best option. LOL….clearly.
The Penguins’ roster continues to age beyond its best-before date. Although Crosby (37), Malkin (38) and Letang (37) continue to produce points respectably, they are all minus players and clearly declining. Did Sullivan just become a bad coach? no. The Penguins are the third-oldest team in the NHL behind only the Oilers and Leafs. Unlike those lineups, Pittsburgh’s contender window has passed. It’s not Sullivan’s fault.
Hi Mark
It is not all Sullivan’s fault but he does need to shoulder a fair bit of it
The key owner of fault is Dubas for the roster he has created
That said, Sullivan’s job is to get the best out of the roster he is dealt
He has fundamentally lost their overall support
He also refuses to sit (or heaven forbid, put in the press box) repeat offenders in defensive bonehead moves AND/Or players who only play a 100’ game AND/OR players who “play” at most a 40 minute (2 period) game AND/OR the players skating with rampant apathy
If Sully sat players AND/OR used the press box for true “playing and personal reflection”; then Pens would have at least 2 more wins; likely 3
If 2 more wins, they are just outside the cut line
3 more wins; the ARE in a WC spot
Defensively (whole team) this team is leaving their goalies out to dry
Sully is not addressing this issue
The team collectively is no longer motivated by him
Great career; but fit no longer there for Pens
A change of scenery for Sully will help him and another team
A coaching change for Pend will help
At least will stem the current implosion
8787
Dubas has done a nice job getting younger and getting draft picks. The guys this year he has acquired have been decent when HEALTHY.
The Penguins future will look better young guys like
McGroarty,
Pickering (Made Nhl debut)
Tristan Broz,
Vasily Ponomarev,
Ville Koivunen,
Tanner Howe 19 in next year
I’m sure through the next weeks you see youngsters like Nils Hoglander from Vancouver and maybe Nic Robertson from Toronto become Penguins.
The have a ton of picks and will add more soon.
The defense is atrocious because of Ryan Graves and Erik Karlsson both Dubas picks u r right. Graves is a mystery because he was good in New Jersey and Colorado go figure.
I know the Penguins aren’t great right now but there is still time and if not they will have close to $ 2o million this off season and the cap goes up again for next year.
we shall see
The only way we’ll know Detroit is considering a coaching change is when they announce there is a coaching change. Yzerman isn’t going to tip his hand.
Sounding like a broken record (remember those) but the Oilers are in desperate need of goaltending help if they have any hope of going deep again this year. Stuart Skinner is not and never will be a #1 goalie while Calvin Pickard is a lifetime AHLer. Combined, their salaries are less than $4 Mil, and a true #1 net minder in the NHL will set you back a lot more than that. You get what you pay for and in this case, it’s less than average goaltending… just sayin!
Tess,
Re; Calvin Picard
Hear are his number from last season playing 23 games his first fulltime role as back up..
GP, 23 GA, 2.45 SV% 0.909👌
I would say thats very good, check out Starter and back up tenders, im sure he has better numbers that the bottom 5-7nStarters & is top 5 in back ups with 20+ games played….
PS,
3rd week of November is when Skinner starts to inprove…. and yes he let in 2 soft goals last night❗️
I don’t think the Habs need a foward right now, why would they ? Laine has been injured and Demidov will only be here next year sor why risk finishing in the middle pack with no chances to win a cup or to get into the lotery. Doesn’t make that much sens to me.
the reality is that Hughes inherited a 32nd ranked club and has only been rebuilding for the equivalent of three drafts. You have to give them time to develop (examples: Hage and Reinbacher). And the fact that Laine was injured in pre-season certainly doesn’t help… Let’s wait for Laine to come back for the youngsters to get another year of experience (e.g. Mailloux) And above all for the best player we’ve had in decades (Demidov) to start his career while Fowler, one of the best goalies outside the NHL, is expected to start his professional career next year.
Kent Hughes doesn’t need to make any panic moves for another goalie.
It might take another year but who would say no to adding a Hagens, Martone, Schaefer, Misa or McQueen while we’re at it?
It’s only a matter of time and it’s the first rebuild in the history of the team (not to be confused with resets and plugging holes) We’ve endured 30 years of patching we can easily endure a 4th year so that it doesn’t happen again because these 30 years of being a mid-pack team never drafting among the best young people are precisely due to impatience.
Now add them to young Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and co. and to the future players Hughes will acquire by trade or free agents signings
The rebuilt is still something new and I’m looking forward to it to end in the next 2-3 years with a competitive and strong team for years to come.
The Canadiens have a bright future
Cheers
Hey mike,
I also Don’t think the Habs need a foward right now, Laine will be back in the next few weeks.
The young Russian Scorer Demidov will be here by the Trade dead line….!? if not start of the next season
Habs have there 1st pick could be top 5, and they have a Calgary 1st pick that could also be top 5…🤔
they need to trade one of the picks for a Top 4
Very Good RD-Man, they have to many young d/men all at once!
then look for a Starting Goaltender…
this is there Bigest 2 Holes they need to address asap…. Saros, and or an other young talented goaltender..?
Hi Willie !
Unfortunately, Calgary’s first pick is protected top 10 so if they do finish within the 10 worst teams, Canadiens would get the Panthers one instead wich is way less interesting lol
Mike, I agree with you. I also expect/hope Dach to get it together soon and breakout. (I am not as sold on Newhook but have not watched him enough to have a real opinion.) I think we might see the Habs eventually claw their way to a much better finish than last year … as long GA issue gets solved whether by sorting out the overall team D or the goalies stepping up. That being said, I could see them getting a new goaltender is one fell in their lap.
Hi Shaun, I agree with you as well for dach and Newhook. The reason I am keeping faith in them is that they are really young at 23 y.o and Dach spent like 500 days on the injured list so it might take him a little while to come back to the same form he had when he started playing with the team. As for Newhook it was a bit of a crapy start but he is now playing better. He did manage to get 34 pts in 55 games last year playing practicaly alone on his lign so I dont know how they will turn out but I am crossing my fingers 😉
This is for everyone, Lyle and participants, I have to tell you this
The reason I am a french Canadian that comes to this forum should tell alot about the quality of it
Not only is it awesome but it is by far the most credible, the one with the most integrity, and one were everyone has a right to express themselves.
I won’t even get into the what the french speaking ones look like…
It is a real pleasure to come here and read you all .You guys make this discussion platform a real hockey one you have no idea
So I just want to thank you all for making my mornings so much more interesting and for enduring my so-so wrinting lol
Cheers guys (and gals) 🙂
Well said Mike and I fully agree with everything you’ve said
Amen Mike! I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Glad you’re enjoying your visits here, Mike! I appreciate your support.
Fully concur Mike
Love this site; even when there are two people on here consistently tying me to another poster and subsequently trying to make me a Leafs’ fan
I know I will screw this up with my extremely limited French but will give it a go
Ici c’est tres bien
Merci beaucoup Lyle
Bonne journee
Sorry can’t figure out how to put the letter accents on; I think the first “e” in journee is supposed to have one(?)
Hi 8787 ! You didn’t screw anything up, yes journée uses one but hard to find on english keyboards and not that necessary anymore, I understood you perfectly and C’était parfait ! 😉
Have great one 🙂
Et de même pour moi…je suis complètement d’accord..I have always bent over backwards in the past 30 years to subscribe to RDS. As a franco-Manitobain living in Victoria for past 30 years I was tunes in to Antichambre water it regularly but now am completely tuned out. I do agree with you this site is credible and enjoyable except the ongoing acronyms some use are a bit annoying…Gally, Gachy, JBD, ROG on and on and on…I enjoy reading your articles but to decipher all those acronyms is mind boggling and unnecessary
Thanks Lyle
Keep up the good work
Oui celui de RDS qui n’est pas sur Facebook mais sur le site web principal, je vais m’abstenir de commenter. Even if I want this site to be recognized I dont want these guys to know about it, Lyle deserves much better
My trade proposal for today:
To NYR: Charlie McAvoy
To Bos: Jacob Trouba, Braden Schneider
Rather Carlo,Frederic to Ottawa for Tkaczuk!!
K’andre Miller for Frederic
Hard no. A rediculous trade suggestion Caper. You are more knowledgeable than to suggest that.
I don’t see the Bruins firing Montgomery now. He’s been okay till this year and they’ll at least give him to the end of the season. Same with Brunette. I don’t see Sullivan being let go now either. Lalonde on the other hand may be on thin ice.
I really dont think Montgomery is the one to blame, I am still wondering why Sweeney is still there, I think he is the problem. Besides that disastrous draft year where the Bruins could have drafted three of the Boeser, Connor, Barzal, Chabot etc, he really never did anything extraordinary for this team.
Even their Stanley Cup was won because of the legacy of Jeff Gorton and Peter Chiarelli who brought in the Marchands, Chara,Rask and Pastrnak to Boston
Now the team has a very poor prospects pool, they are stuck against the cap with these incredible contracts Don gave to Lindholm, Zadorov and Swayman (160M$) for up to 7 years thus doing the same mistake the Canadiens did for 30 years, patching to stay afloat
In my opinion if someone has to go in Boston, it’s Sweeney and maybe even Neely for holding on too long to him
Agree 100% with you Mike! Sweeneyand Neeley manage on the idea that their owner wants to make sure they make the playoffs for added revenue! That’s why they always make big moves at the deadline each year!They have not drafted a top 6 center sinceBergeron and Krecji! They are pinning their hopes on Poitras and undersized kid who had shoulder surgery last year and was recently sent down to Providence! Their team is filled with all bottom 6 forwards . No wonder why they are one of the lowest scoring teams in the NHL!
Hi Sr !
Agree with you as well. If you look at their offence, besides Pastrnak who is spectacular tough unidimensionel , you have an aging Marchand, Zacha, Lindholm and maybe Coyle who isn’t getting youger either. Lysell and Letourneau won’t be enough to replace some of them when they go. I think they should just do like the Habs and start a full rebuilt but as you said the owners might not love the idea
Montgomery is toast. When the team stops playingt for the coach, the coach is history. Montgomery has always been questionable. He was given an elite team his first year and they bowed out 1st round. Montgomery continued to constantly shuffle his lines and add to the panic. This is his trademark, to constantly shuffle lines within the games. It eliminates the ability for players to gell. Monty might have some decent ideas about strateygy, and I think he is an excellent assistant coach, but as a head coach he is not a leader and his line changing mentality only works to disrupt the team. I also lost respect for his leadership about season one, when at the end of season, the media asked what he would do differently and he said “more peer reviews”, basicaly saying he would leave it to the players to comment to the other players on what to do better. That is a lack of leadership for you. This has now manifested itself such that the players have stopped playing for him. He will be fired before seasons end, and possibly over the next few days if the Bruins continue to play bad against lower level teams.