Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – December 8, 2024
In the Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup: the latest on Brady Tkachuk and J.T. Miller, what’s next for the Rangers and former captain Jacob Trouba, and speculation about changes to no-movement protection in the next CBA.
LATEST FROM HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA’S “SATURDAY HEADLINES”
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman touched on the recent rumor out of New York linking Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk to the Rangers. He pointed out the 25-year-old left winger has three more seasons left on his contract and the Senators are confident he’ll play that out with them.
Given the Senators’ struggles, Friedman believes they and their fans must “get used to some noise” about speculation regarding their key players. He noted there will always be questions about the future of those players when a team is having difficulty reaching the playoffs.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Senators pushed back forcefully on the rumor claiming the Rangers were pursuing Tkachuk, calling them “bullshit” and “garbage”. He’s always said that he wants to stay in Ottawa and turn the Senators into a winner.
Nevertheless, the questions and rumors won’t go away if the Senators keep spinning their wheels. The only way to silence the conjecture is to win. It’s easier said than done, but it’s still the only effective antidote.
Vancouver Canucks center J.T. Miller (NHL Images)
Friedman also reports the Vancouver Canucks are saying publicly and privately that J.T. Miller’s ongoing leave of absence from the team is not about trading him. When he returns, it’ll be with the Canucks. Friedman doesn’t believe Miller has requested a trade.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canucks beat writer Patrick Johnston of The Province reported on Nov. 19 that Miller’s efforts to play through an upper-body injury took an emotional toll on the 31-year-center. He indicated the team gave Miller the team he needed to return to where he needed to be mentally.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE RANGERS AND JACOB TROUBA?
THE ATHLETIC: Peter Baugh looked at what might be next for the New York Rangers after trading Jacob Trouba to Anaheim and signing Igor Shesterkin to a contract extension. The Rangers have around $22 million in trade deadline salary-cap space if they wish to add to their roster by the March 7 deadline.
Baugh suggested defensemen Ivan Provorov of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Marcus Pettersson of the Pittsburgh Penguins as blueline trade targets. Rental forward options could include reacquiring Frank Vatrano from the Ducks or Seattle Kraken center Yanni Gourde.
The Minnesota Wild could be open to moving Marco Rossi. The 21-year-old center will become a restricted free agent next summer. However, that move could be a player-for-player swap.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rangers general manager Chris Drury could go after a promising young player like Rossi but the asking price could prove too expensive. I doubt that offering Kaapo Kakko for Rossi straight up will do it. He could instead look at rental options by the deadline provided the asking prices won’t gut the prospect pipeline.
SPORTSNET: Luke Fox wondered if Anaheim Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek might retain part of Jacob Trouba’s $8 million salary-cap hit and flip him to another team, perhaps one in the Eastern Conference.
Fox noted that the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Senators expressed interest in the 31-year-old defenseman before the Rangers traded him to Anaheim on Friday.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Adam Proteau shared Fox’s opinion, suggesting Trouba could be shipped out by the March 7 trade deadline or during the offseason.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I also wondered if Trouba could become a trade chip for the Ducks if they’re out of playoff contention by March 7. He could still draw interest from contenders if he performs well in Anaheim. He’s only got one year left on his contract and Verbeek could be willing to retain salary for a decent return.
PLAYERS MIGHT SEEK CHANGE IN NO-MOVEMENT PROTECTION
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports NHL players are wondering if there should be a streamlining of the no-movement process after the fallout of the Jacob Trouba trade.
Trouba had no-trade protection for some teams but didn’t have no-movement protection, meaning the New York Rangers could’ve put him on waivers if he didn’t accept a trade to the Anaheim Ducks. Had he gone on waivers, he’d have no control over which club selected him.
The Rangers did nothing wrong as they followed the rules of the CBA. However, what bothered the players was that they could end up sent to a team on their no-trade list if placed on waivers. Only players with no-movement clauses can avoid the waiver process.
Friedman believes the players will ask the NHL Players Association to talk to the league in the next round of collective bargaining about one form of no-move protection, or if they have a partial no-trade clause and get placed on waivers, they cannot go to a team on their no-trade list.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The league could push back against closing that loophole. However, situations like Trouba’s are rare so it’s unlikely to be a major obstacle in future CBA talks.
This has always been confusing to me! If I am reading this correctly a NMC means a player cannot be traded or waived w/out their permission! Most NTC specify which teams you will not be traded to w/out your permission?But you can be waived and picked up by any team?
NHL should eliminate no trade and no movement from the next CBA altogether, even if it means a lock out. It’s insanely discriminatory to a variety of teams. Playing in the NHL is a privilege, not a right.
It is an EARNED privilege. And some players have also earned the privilege to have trade protection!
Brock Landers
Your 100% right….❗️✔️✔️
NHL should eliminate No Trade & No Movement from the next CBA Altogether,
They should Also Eliminate 8 year Contracts and make 7 years the MAX, and 6 if the Move to an other Team………❓ Why….As Lot’s of these player That sign a Contract are Over the Hill and very slow playing 3rd 4th line’s by the time they are 35 To 36 yrs old
Let teams buyout any contract they want to. No cap penalty and no apply cost against team revenue for calculating escrow. So owner eats it not players
Full payment of contract and player is a ufa
Says every owner with deep pockets
All owners have deep pockets or wouldn’t be an owner
Re; Jakob Truba
I think they keep him as a Top 4 RD to to train the young lefty d man because they have a lot of lefties in Anaheim
His next contract is probably gonna be about
$4M to $5M. But at the most and I think they probably sign them for like five years as RD are really good. And hard to come by…..❓❓
Trouba won’t be in Anaheim for long. The Ducks will flip him either at this years deadline, next June or the following season. And will get a lot more than the Rangers did.
If NY choose to hold retention, their rerun would have been much better.
My gut tells me this is why some of the other deals on the table fell apart. (Detroit specifically).
I wasn’t a huge fan of moving Trouba. But all in all, Drury moved a contract without giving up the ridiculous assets some were claiming necessary (1st round pick,or any of Othmann , Berard, Perrault + retention).
I’m fine with Schneider moving up and Mancini moving in. Both have looked very solid so far. It does make a very young d-core moving forward, not sure what that will mean.
I would have preferred they made a deal after the season. How Drury choses to use that cap space will determine if NY won or lost this trade.
I don’t think Drury either way will be upset if Anaheim gets a better return than he did. They can afford to retain salary a lot easier than NY could have.
Not going to happen. Players may be rattled because of the Trouba situation but any bargaining proposal from the NHLPA to increase the protection for players is bound to be met by an NFL like proposal that any player can be released, and when so their contract ends.
Trouba may not like how he was handled but as I said before he has 8 million dollars this year and next to get over it. Had he been bought out He would not be getting 16 million dollars over the next two years. He chose family in turning down previous trades. The Rangers chose business over player’s wishes.
Seems to me there is balance all the way around.
Soooo what would the players have to give up to get that? Would have to be huge. Basically you are saying no guaranteed contracts would be off the table. I would think as an owner, they may have deep pockets, but they want to win. So put a ceiling on annual $$ amount & shorten the max term to like 5 years may be a concession. Would need to number crunch those implications.
Not sure why if a player wants to be traded that his old team, that his team is the only one that eats part of the contract. The player should take a bite too. After all he’s the one that wants out.
No team owner would buy out player cause the player wants to They would trade him
Something is up. The Ducks have Fowler Gudas and now Trouba
Fowler and Trouba would bog have considerable interest at the TD with money held.
Does Dylan Larkin want out of Detroit asking for a friend?
No.