NHL Rumor Mill – January 22, 2025
In today’s NHL Rumor Mill, the latest on J.T. Miller, Ivan Provorov and Rasmus Ristolainen plus updates on the Penguins, Blackhawks and Oilers.
LATEST ON J.T. MILLER
TSN: Pierre LeBrun reports there’s a sense that J.T. Miller’s situation with the Vancouver Canucks will end with a trade, though no one can predict right now when it will occur. He said the 31-year-old center hasn’t given the Canucks a list of trade destinations but there are general parameters of the kind of team that would make sense.
The New York Rangers have spoken with the Canucks about Miller. So have the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils. Some observers believe the Dallas Stars could be a suitor as they intend to place sidelined center Tyler Seguin on long-term injury reserve.
LeBrun indicates the Canucks originally weren’t interested in a return of futures for Miller but they’ve relented a bit on that. They’re willing to accept futures from contenders like Carolina or New Jersey because those clubs won’t part with any of their core players. Still, the Canucks aren’t going to give Miller away.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The rumored trade with the Rangers (Filip Chytil, Ryan Lindgren, a first-round pick and maybe a couple of minor-leaguers) suggested they were about to give him away. That deal reportedly fell through over a disagreement regarding the protection level of the first-rounder.
THE ATHLETIC: Cory Lavalette indicated Hurricanes forwards Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jack Roslovic interested the Canucks in the past. Moving both would clear cap space and declutter the center position filled with third-liners but no one to slot in behind first-line center Sebastian Aho. He believes the Canucks would need to add a sweetener in return.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A package offer of Kotkaniemi and Roslovic would be a little better than that rumored deal from the Rangers. However, the 24-year-old Kotkaniemi still hasn’t played to expectations while Roslovic is a streaky scorer on his fourth team since 2020-21.
UPDATE ON THE PENGUINS
TSN: Chris Johnston reports there aren’t many untouchables on the Pittsburgh Penguins other than legacy players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. They’d like to trade some of their older players for younger ones rather than for draft picks and prospects.
Johnston also indicated they’re not interested in retaining salary on players like Erik Karlsson to facilitate a trade. They have one salary retention spot left and intend to be careful how they use it.
THE ATHLETIC: Josh Yohe reports defenseman Marcus Pettersson remains the name most frequently heard in trade rumors involving the Penguins.
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (NHL Images).
Yohe also wondered if Kris Letang might get moved for the right offer. He said he’s never sensed it’s a given that the 37-year-old blueliner would retire as a Penguin. He hasn’t asked for a trade and Yohe isn’t saying he would, but believes teams would be interested in Letang’s services.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Letang turns 38 in April and has a full no-movement clause until 2026-27 when he’ll have a 10-team trade list. The long-time Penguins blueliner has three years left on his contract with an average annual value of $6.1 million.
If the Penguins aren’t willing to retain part of his salary I don’t see any club wanting to acquire an expensive aging asset whose best seasons are behind him.
Yohe believes Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas would listen to offers for Karlsson but he doubts another club will take on his considerable contract. He also doesn’t see Dubas parting with winger Bryan Rust. The Penguins could move winger Rickard Rakell if they get an offer that floors them but they prefer to retain him.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: If the Penguins won’t retain part of Karlsson’s salary it’s unlikely any team will pursue a trade for him. The Penguins carry $10 million of his $11.5 million AAV through 2026-27.
JACKETS COULD RE-SIGN PROVOROV
THE ATHLETIC: Pierre LeBrun reports there’s mutual interest in a contract extension between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ivan Provorov. The 28-year-old defenseman is eligible for UFA status on July 1 and is earning an AAV of $6.75 million.
Provorov could seek the maximum eight-year contract but the Blue Jackets might not be comfortable with that given the blueline prospects within their system. If a deal isn’t in place by the March 7 trade deadline, LeBrun believes they could peddle him for a first-round pick.
FLYERS NOT SHOPPING RISTOLAINEN BUT ARE LISTENING TO OFFERS
NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA: Jordan Hall reports Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said he’s not shopping Rasmus Ristolainen. The 30-year-old defenseman has two years remaining on his contract with an AAV of $5.1 million and lacks no-trade protection.
Briere said teams have called about Ristolainen but he’s not in a rush to move him, citing his improved performance and his value to the Flyers blueline.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hall believes interested clubs should be prepared to make a significant offer if they hope to pry Ristolainen away from the Flyers, especially with them battling for a wild-card berth.
LATEST ON THE BLACKHAWKS AND OILERS
THE ATHLETIC: Mark Lazerus suggests Ryan Donato could become an interesting trade chip for the Chicago Blackhawks. The 28-year-old forward is UFA-eligible this summer with an affordable $2 million cap hit. Donato’s relentless attacking style has him among the Blackhawks leading scorers with 14 goals and 27 points in 45 games, putting him on pace for a career-best performance.
TSN: Pierre LeBrun believes the Edmonton Oilers aren’t done adding defensemen following their recent signing of John Klingberg. They could seek a shutdown blueliner before the March 7 trade deadline.
Even if Pittsburgh withheld 50% of Karlsson’s cap hit, there are precious few top contending teams with the cap space to take him on. And I don’t see the point in secondary contending teams that DO have the cap space – like Calgary or Columbus – wasting it on a declining D who’ll be 37 when his contract runs out in 3 years.
And at full cost he’s “a Penguin for the rest of his playing life.” That’s a doozy of a painted-in corner Dubas laid out for himself.
His years in Toronto, Dubas perfected the paint yourself in a corner technique. It started with signing Tavares and he proved that he could do it anywhere in a heartbeat, see Karlsson. Enjoy Dubas`s performance Pittsburgh he`always thinking outside the box. Wait til you see his smurf collection priceless
You lost all Pens’ fans at “he’s always thinking”
More appropriately
“He’s seldom thinking”
Dostoyevsky once observed “to think too much is a disease” – It seems Dubas takes that to heart and doesn’t waste a lot of time running the pros and cons through his head when either offered a deal … or proffering one. If his first thought either way is that it’s the right one – especially if there’s a S-S-Marie connection, he subscribes to Farragut and it’s “damn the torpedoes … full steam ahead.”
Dubas has this concept in his head that, if you construct 4 scoring lines and 6 offensive defencemen, other teams would never be able to check you. It` wasn`t a new concept and I don`t think anyone ever really tried. Hard to imagine finding 4th line players that you`d want to match up against someone like McDavid and expect to come out on top. His trades and signings seem to tilt that way. Dubas loves smurfs, small offensive minded guys you were stuck in the minors, work cheap on the 3rd and 4th lines, hence the 4 scoring lines idea
Yesterday, I would have said no to trading for Karlsson, but if Pens retained 50, I’d be willing to offer something like a third and someone like JBD or Guenette. After Jensen went down yesterday, Sens are in tough with RD. Playing Karlsson with Kleven could be a solid partnership. We do need some more offence from the back and Kleven has a sort of Methot like game that might pair well with the King
Owen, even at 50% retained, moving the minimal contract of either Bernard-Docker or Guenette wouldn’t clear enough cap space combined with the little they have tom take on $5.5 mil.
Well there has been a lot written lately on the Pens being open for business. But from what I read they have crap they want off their books and want a real asset in return. Is Dubas delusional orate there some dumb gems out there. I know the answer but this stuffs comical to read.
George O
Would Karlsson’s puck moving skills bolster Toronto’s anaemic PP?
Could a trade centred around Rielly and Karlsson work?
Toronto needs help on the PP and an effective 3C, preferably RH.
Karlsson and Hayes (50%) for Rielly, Kampf, and Niemela?
The dollars for Karlsson even out with Rielly and Kampf.
Karlsson’s puck-moving skills of perhaps 3 seasons ago – yes – but Toronto wouldn’t be getting that, and the defensive side they’d get would be far, far worse than what they’re getting now from Rielly.
Out west here the NHL games on TV changed from games we wanted to see to games nobody cares about. So we get to see lots of Pittsburgh Washington and Boston games now. The Penguin games one notices that Karlsson gets few defensive zone starts, so his minutes are becoming more and more sheltered, so any team that is thinking about Karlsson better have a good partner for him. Toronto had a great partner for Reilly in Schenn but didn`t bother or couldn`t resign him until the Matthews deal was done. I`d rather check to see what it would take to get Schenn back long before I`d trade Reilly. Most offensive minded dmen are weak defensively, they gamble a lot. Finding the right partner for them should be the point of focus
George O
Karlsson’s defensive woes continue but his “puck-moving skills” are still elite!
Rielly has full NMC so is staying
Kampf has 10 team list; but for arguments sake let’s say he’s good to go to Pens
Pens are at 49/50 spots so can’t gain more than 1 player (NHL/AHL) in the trade
Pens only have 2 NHL RDs now; so Karllsson out means an NHL RD MUST come back in the trade
With that in mind ;
Karllsson (50% of Pens hit retained) , Nieto, plus at least 2 players on WBS (4 out)
For
Kampf, Timmons OR Myers, McMann (3 in)
Treleving isn’t Dubas.
8787
Leafs are thin at LW and not likely to give up McMann
Substitute Robertson for McMann and Hayes for Nieto. They need a centre coming back if they trade Kampf
Niemela will never get a true chance in Toronto because he’s not Treliving’s type of defenceman
George,
Nobody is Dubas
Daryl,
You can have Hayes AND Nieto, no problem there
No thanks re Robertson; we don’t need a smurf
Counter offer
Karllsson (50% of Pens hit retained) , Hayes, Nieto, plus at least 1 player on WBS (at least 4 out)
For
Kampf, Timmons OR Myers, McMann (3 in)
A little tidbit a friend in Toronto just passed to me. A well known rumour about the Dubas/Shanahan fallout in Toronto is that Shanahan blocked a trade that Dubas was trying hard to complete. The trade was supposed to be for Karlsson. Kinda makes sense because Dubas made the Karlsson deal so quick in Pittsburgh. So, if Shanny said no to Karlsson before, chances are he`d say no again even if Treliving became brain dead and wanted to make that deal. Besides McMann and Knies not going anywhere unless the return is super good
What about:
to sens: karlsson 50 retained
to pens: a third and JBD
The Penguins are open to Marner and Robertson.
So Vancouver would want KK who isnt playing very well and is overpaid, plus Rozlovic who is UFA this summer for Miller AND they have to throw in a prospect. What are these people smoking?
Vancouver’s situation is like nothing I can remember, Kent. Miller has been on the market for several weeks now. Why wouldn’t the ‘Canes, or any other team for that matter, test the degree of desperation the Canucks have? Note the belief that they have had to lower their expectations.
Trade Carlo and Fredrick to add to DeBrusk. Then all the snowflakes that chased Cassidy out of town can be together again. You can add Poitras too. We’ll take that mean old Miller to pair with Marchand.
VAN needs a center back and JTM has to ok the destination. Not easy to get market back.
Kotk is still young and can maybe fill in as 2C…..
nikita artamonov seems the other name included in some rumblings. if they can get JEsperi, Artamonov and 1st they should take it.
i dont think the Devils want to move a roster player
Van has lessened their demand on getting a 1C or 2C back and is willing to take futures now for Miller. But I imagine a center somewhere in the package is preferable, but a C does not have to be the best player coming back.
Example: NJ sends Nemec, a salaried player, and a 1st for Miller.
Re; Pens 2 Old Expensive d-men
Don’t see anybody taken on Eric Karlsson for $11 million for 3.4 more years only if the pens holds 50% of a salary. Might somebody be interested in?
Same with Kris Letang 38 years old in April….🤔 with 3.5 years left I don’t see any team taking him on at
$6.2M ….for that amount money. They’ve obviously have to hold back $2-3M on him as well. Otherwise nobody’s touching either one of these two
d/ men from the pens…❓❓
Hi Willy
Point of clarification.
As at now Karllsson only $10 M Cap hit ; and only 2 more years after this
Pens retaining 50% of their share (max retention) ; leaves a Cap hit of $5 M
Absolutely no one takes Karllsson at $10 M; but there would be suitors at the $5M Cap hit
Even more attractive cash-wise after July 1st when he’s paid his signing bonus
He has full trade protection but would likely waive for a contender (he’s not winning a cup with Pens)
Would you see the Penguins keeping him at $5 mil per for 3 more years? I don’t think so. So why should anyone else?
It’s only 2 more years; snd yes at a $5M cap hit; Pens should keep him
I really believe a fee teams would definitely open up negotiations if Karllsson’s cap hit came over at inly $5M
Re, Edmonton Oilers
1/
The oil still need a shut down
Or d/with some offence top 4
Are
– Marcus Pettersson
– Hawks Connor Murphy
And these 2,
– NYI Scott Mayfield
– Hab’s. David Savard.🤔
But if both of these teams don’t make it to a playoff Spot
Looks like the Hab’s do…
& NYI Don’t……🤔❓
You have to believe that most of these trade proposals are being put forth by scribes that are employed by said teams.
I don’t blame any team from trying to create interest in there players but c’mon man!
Know one wants Karlsson under any scenario unless they somehow eat 8 mil of his 10 mil contract.
Miller is valuable so let’s stop the Kotkaniemi Roslovic talk once and for all. He’s going to get a nice return in the end.
I gave the Ranger player roster an unprofessional look and can’t see a fit if the Canucks want a center back.
Seems to me NJ makes the most sense for Miller
Isotopes, I don’t think anyone questions Miller’s ability as a player.
But there is a well documented beef with their highest paid player, who is younger, so they appear to be looking to trade Miller. There is pressure on the Nucks to move him as it is believed the disfunction in the room is causing them to underperform. Or did he request a trade for the same reasons?
Either way he has full control of where he will go, which reduces the teams you can deal with dramatically. And a big cap hit which adds to the difficulty for a contender, which are the only teams that will be interested, and likely the only place he will agree to go.
We have seen this movie before, return goes down in this situation.
The choice for Vancouver is take less than he is worth, or keep him.
We will see what they do. I would lean to keep him, state it clearly to the players, get on with it and try and save the season. Have to think they can work it out?
Hey Isotopes,
Canucks want to Get Younger to keep building with the team a a younger Centre
T.J. Millar is 32 yrs old in March this year, after this season he is going to be 37 at the end of his
7 yr contract paying him $8.M ……🤔
They are Not getting a Top line Centre for Millar..?
maybe a 23 to 26 year old Centre they can develope into a 2nd line Centre and an other player to make up to $8 to $9.M….❓
Money In & Out is a big thing now….
Canucks have most of there Forwards player under 29.. Apart from Millar at 31, Teddy Blueger @ 30 yrs old,
And on d, Myers is 34, Carson Susey is 30, and
Derek Forbort is a UFA at 32…they could do with a RD Man for there top 4…
They have some young d/men knocking on the door to get on the big team…they will Add 2 to 3 New d/men next year, they have young 20 yr old
Elias Pettersson & 21 yr Tom Willander, Boston U.
they may need 1 more season ..?
6 Teams in the East that need Millar, are
Buffalo,Ottawa,dont know if he would want to go to these2 teams…❓
However Boston & Carolina, NJ, NYR are top destinations for him it looks like….
however the NYR maybe out they have tryed 3+ diffrent trades…….🤔
The other teams all have players they could Deal…….❓
Johnson and Yohe certainly not on same page re Dubas and Karllsson
If Dubas is not going to retain (I don’t believe that is a given) then Karllsson is untradeable. Pens have 49/50 slots taken, so another team would have to at least send two contracts back to make it even viable cap-wise.
Pens’ have only 1 retention spot available right now; but will have 3 come July 1st
After paying his signing bonus on July 1st; Pens cash responsibility is only $10 M for 2 years
At that time Karllsson (if he agrees) could be traded with Pens retaking 50% of the remaining; so team acquiring Karllson gets him for a $5M cap hit (but only $2.5 M cash hit) per year for 2 years
There would be more suitors then and better return
Trading him now at 50% to a contender (he’s not going to waive) would just need a contender with say $1M to $2 M in space as well as a current crap contract in the $3M – $4 M range to come back. Futures including an RD prospect to come back
I suggest if Oilers can somehow bribe skinner (the forward) to waive;
Then Skinner, Emberson +
For Karllsson (with 50% of current retained).
Other contenders are looking for a top 4 RD; Oilers just came to mind
8787,
I don’t see the Oilers Trading
Ty Emberson at all..
Jeff Skinner is the 1st guy @ $3.M they Really want to Move out.
Right now with cap space they have $5.M..
They are trying to Re-sign him
The Oilers have maybe the Best 3rd d pairing in the NHL
And one of the top 5 Worst
2nd Pairings…..😩
hopefully they can fix this with a trade in the next 5.5 weeks before the trade deadline…❓
Agree they want to move Skinner but he’s fully in control on that
You said (after the Skinner paragraph) “they are trying to resign him”
Did you mean resign Skinner or were you referring to Emberson
Re Emberson. When they acquired him he was trending towards being a Group 6 UFA at the end of the season. However if he plays in 5 more games (he will) he then becomes an RFA at seasons end
Re Oilers D
With the signing of Klinger, they don’t HAVE to get another RD (or LD for that matter)
However; Karllsson would be a huge improvement over Klinger
Talk re Oilers bidding on Pettersson doesn’t really make sense
Is he better defensively than Kulak? Yes, but only marginally and would cost more in Cap and cost in trade
IF Skinner agrees to trade;
Bouchard, Karllsson; Klinger down the right is far better than current.
The loss of Emberson is far outweighed by the replacement of Klinger with Karllsson at 2nd pairing RD
I certainly do not want Rackell gone but could you imagine both Rackell and Karllsson (at 50%) coming over
That would have to make Oilers the Cup favourites
Obviously only happens with Skinner waving; and Rackell replacing Arvidson in the flip
Oilers have over $5M in space
Arvidson/Skinner/Emberson $7.9 M
Pens can’t net additional players no matter their Cap hit as they are already at 49 of 50 slots
So Karllsson(50%)/Rackell/Nieto (Nieto would be immediately sent to Bakrsville) balances the body count —10.9 M
Net $3 M more in Cap (covered by Oilers current space)
Extras (futures, *prospects) in trade value- what’s that worth to be Cup Favs
Kane should be back for playoffs
So Oil would have top 9 of
McD, Draisitl, Hyman, RNH, Rackell, Kane, Podkolzen, Henrique, Brown
and D of Bouchard, Karllsson, Klinger, Ekhom, Nurse, Kulak with Brown and Dermott to spare in for injuries
4th line from Perry, Janmark, Kappanen, Philp
That roster would definitely have Oilers as highly favoured to get to the Cup again; and pretty fair odds for cup
What’s that worth?
Pengy/87, the Oilers are already the betting favorite to win the cup.
If they trade for Karlsson I will eat my hat. If the Pens eat half his salary I will eat my socks, unless the return is stupidly high.
The Oil have a 4-6 weeks to figure out what Klingberg is. If he is close to what he was prior to hip problems, they give it a go with him next to Nurse, or even Ekholm and move Bouchard with Nurse. Which also worked well in the past. Then they will add a depth LD in case of injury to one of the 3 existing LD’s and a forward with speed that is aggressive and battles well for pucks and plays with speed.
If Klinger can’t get there they look for another RD, at a cost of less than $5M or a 3rd paid LD and have Kulak play his offside with Nurse on 2nd pair, which has worked really well this season, albeit not a huge sample size.
@8787
I think Karlsson is staying the last 5 games he has looked more like the 101 point san jose Karlsson.
If any defenseman goes i think its Letang..if Montreal wants him. Letang is still good might b fired up to go home to help mo
ntreal push continue.
Maybe Letang O’Connor for
Evans. SAVARD
Money almost identical.
Nieto accari Hayes sit move
I know
you hate Grzelyck but he is minus -13. 49 games.
Your boy P o joseph -14 33 games played
Lets see the rest of this trip
It’s not worth it to Pens to keep Karllsson
We’re not making playoffs let alone the cup
Karllsson with 50% retention should bring back a early-mid 20’s RD with potential. We need to get younger; and think about the re-tool/rebuild.
Pens will not be spending anywhere near cap next year or year after so $5 M in dead Cap is nothing
Letang has full trade protection; I can’t say it’s 100% he stays, but certainly high percentage
I would think he’d only agree to a move to either (a) a team that has a very strong chance at cup this year or next; or (b) Habs (coming home)
Habs don’t need a soon to be 38 year old D-man; and in no way do that deal
I don’t hate Grzylcyk. I hate hid defensive play for the Pens. Even with Grzylcyk’s good offence this year; he is still very very poor defensively
Now if somehow other teams have not watched him and have only seen his points per game numbers; then he could be traded. Maybe a 3rd in ‘26 to a team that needs a Leftie D and that hasn’t seen tapes of his game; nor have been made aware of hoe small he is.
No one is taking Nieto
No one is taking Hayes without further retention
Accairi has another year; so he’d need a sweetner
Please no more Karlson to Toronto nonsense! They don’t need him and like many others have stated he is terrible defensively. What I am surprised about is why Toronto hasn’t tried to “Red Kelly” Morgan Reilly and make him a centre. He’s fast, has a very underrated shot, is a good passer and would be able to defend when needed. He could be paired with a faceoff able forward like Domi to start. Then they could add another real left shot dman via trade as opposed to a centre, where the market this trade deadline looks to be very competitive. Thoughts?
How is he on face-offs?
Not sure that’s why I thought you’d pair him with another centre like Domi to start. But given he’s been a dman he’d be better at tracking back as a centre and covering deep than Domi has shown.
Rangers have climbed to 2 points out of a playoff spot. It was hard to imagine last years prez cup winners and conference finalists for 2nd time in 3 years being totally out of it. Shesterkin has been lights out again since sitting 5 games due to nagging injury. Imo: On paper, this roster is better than one that lost to Fla. biggest takeaway was a need to add grit. JT Miller would address that. He has 3x as many hits than Zibanejad and Chytil combined. I just don’t see Chytil going other way in trade. I would definitely add whatever needed to swap Zib for JT. Cap hit and age nearly identical except Millers structured more team friendly.
Too bad for that pesky nmc. I just don’t see Drury passing on this chance. He’s done well keeping top prospects and 1st rd picks in deals he’s made but, he’s also taking heat for not adding enough last season to go for it. Not sure he can keep job if they don’t improve before playoffs.
The only salvage to moving Miller who is at his low value point is to get more interested buyers.
I would want Gabe Perrault Lindgren and a first this year from Rangers .
KK can stay stay
Nemec as a starter NJD