NHL Rumor Mill – January 24, 2025

by | Jan 24, 2025 | Rumors | 38 comments

Check out the latest on J.T. Miller, Brad Marchand, Jonathan Toews, Logan Thompson and Kevin Lankinen in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.

LATEST J.T. MILLER SPECULATION

RG.ORG: Jim Biringer reports a source claims there’s a belief the Vancouver Canucks could trade J.T. Miller before next month’s 4 Nations Face-Off.

The New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes are considered the front-runners for the 31-year-old Canucks center. Some reports linked the Devils to Miller but Biringer claims those discussions haven’t taken place.

If the Devils did pursue and acquire Miller, he could become their third-line center behind Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes. He can play on the wing but prefers playing at center.

Vancouver Canucks center J.T. Miller (NHL Images)

The Hurricanes appear to have the inside track. They had previous trade discussions last season with the Canucks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Those discussions were about Elias Pettersson before he signed his contract extension with the Canucks.

THE PROVINCE: Patrick Johnston believes it’s the Rangers or bust for Miller. He cites a source claiming the Hurricanes’ interest is minimal.

Johnston thinks the focus should remain on the Rangers as that deal seems the closest to reality. The holdup appears to be how it’s structured.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Most reports indicate the original offer included Filip Chytil and a first-round pick. Depending on the source, the other parts of the package were defenseman Ryan Lindgren and a couple of minor-leaguers.

The Rangers, Hurricanes, Devils, and Dallas Stars have been mentioned as destinations. Some observers suggested the Boston Bruins, Utah Hockey Club, and Columbus Blue Jackets as trade options but there’s no indication they’re seriously pursuing a deal.

The Rangers’ lowball offer suggests they’re the only club in the bidding for Miller. That could explain why they proposed a middle-six center with a concussion history (Chytil), a shutdown defenseman who is UFA-eligible in July (Lindgren), and some minor-leaguers who aren’t among the Rangers’ blue-chip prospects.

This could become comparable to the Chicago Blackhawks trading Patrick Kane to the Rangers two years ago. Most observers thought Kane would fetch the Blackhawks at least a first-round pick, a top prospect, and a good young prospect. They never got anything close to that because the Rangers were Kane’s only trade destination.

COULD THE BRUINS MOVE BRAD MARCHAND BY THE TRADE DEADLINE?

THE ATHLETIC: Fluto Shinzawa cited a hockey operations executive suggesting Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand could become a trade candidate by the March 7 trade deadline. “If they think it’ll help the team, all bets are off,” he said.

Marchand is UFA-eligible on July 1 and won’t publicly discuss his contract situation. Shinzawa believes trading the 36-year-old winger would be waving the white flag on this season. On the other hand, he could bring in a return that would help the Bruins’ long-term future.

The Bruins captain has a 10-team no-trade list. However, Shinzawa speculates he might jump at the opportunity to join good friend and fellow Nova Scotian Nathan MacKinnon with the Colorado Avalanche.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Shinzawa is merely musing out loud about Marchand joining MacKinnon in Colorado. Besides, everyone knows that’s the dream of Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby despite his signing a two-year contract extension last summer. That was merely a ruse to throw us off the scent…

I’m joking about the Crosby thing, and I doubt the Avalanche have the cap space or the tradeable assets to land Marchand.

Nevertheless, we can’t dismiss the possibility of Marchand going to a playoff contender if the offer entices Bruins management to approach him about accepting the trade.

UPDATE ON JONATHAN TOEWS

TSN: Pierre LeBrun reports the Winnipeg Jets are among several teams to contact Jonathan Toews’ representatives after the former Chicago Blackhawks captain expressed an interest in returning to the NHL.

Toews career was derailed in 2023 by the effects of COVID-19 and chronic immune response syndrome. LeBrun said the plan is for the 36-year-old center will try to come back for next season.

LATEST ON LOGAN THOMPSON AND KEVIN LANKINEN

TSN: Pierre LeBrun reports Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson is putting himself in line for a substantial raise on his next contract. He’s in the final year of a three-year deal earning just under $800K per season and is eligible for UFA status on July 1

Complicating matters is fellow Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren and defenseman Jakob Chychrun are also slated to become UFAs this summer.

LeBrun noted the Colorado Avalanche recently signed Mackenzie Blackwood to a five-year deal worth an AAV of $5.25 million. Joey Daccord signed a five-year deal worth $5 million annually with the Seattle Kraken.

Meanwhile, there’s mutual interest between the Vancouver Canucks and goalie Kevin Lankinen in signing a contract extension. However, there haven’t been any serious talks yet. Given Lankinen’s solid play this season, LeBrun doubts he can be retained for less than $4 million annually.







38 Comments

  1. Swayman should have been awarded a 5 x 5.5 contract instead of the 8.25 he held out for.
    I might never get over that terrible display of asset management by Don and Cam.

    Trading Marchand would signal the rebuild.
    Given the age of our superstars and complimentary piesce, it just might make sense to dump the entire roster and start fresh if we’re gonna do it right.

    • Yep SOP, many of us on here voiced our concern due to the small body of work, plus he had never been the “starter”. Which was a fair concern IMO. Plus tenders are the most volatile position in the NHL save a handful of guys.

      He and his agent won the stare down.

      But hey, he could always get it turned around. Or get worse.

      Last night was the first game in a while that the B’s clearly deserved the win. And even that was tight.

      Worry that we are becoming the Islanders.

  2. I believe JT Miller can be had for Cuylle, Lindgren, and a 1st or Edstrom, K. Miller and a 1st

    • I seriously doubt NY has any interest of moving Cullye.

      I also doubt they’d even up the last offer at all. And why would they? They’re playing well, Vancouver is playing like 💩. This thing between Miller and Pettersson is Vancouvers problem. Millers NMC is Vancouvers problem. They’re in no position of strength at all.

    • Re; Canucks trades

      They have 2 big ones, UFA players this year and Next….
      1/
      27 yr old RW, Brock Boeser a UFA at season end
      looks like he is testing the market as extention talkes have stalled…🤔
      2/
      29 yr old goaltender Thatcher Demko has said he may not be back and could also test the UFA market
      So that may change the trade for TJ.Millar…❓

      The TJ.Millar trade going No Where…. Im not sure they know what they want….??
      if they leave it to Late they miss the playoffs this Season….
      They need a top 4 RD man.. maybe its NJ young 20 yr old Simon Nemec, had 20 points in his first 60 NHL games, and A 1st and a salary player going to the canucks, like one of these 3..
      a Noesen,Erik Haula, or Ondrej Palat……?

      • T.J Miller

        Is he J.T’s brother?

  3. I would love to see Marchand go to FLA and play on a line with Benett! That would be very formidable combination!

  4. It seems that a team could give Toews a PTO and have him practice with the team before making a decision. No??? Or would Jonny’s ego prevent him from signing a PTO?

  5. It might not be bad strategy for the Bruins to trade Marchand if the playoffs look out of reach. They get picks and players for him and he can always resign with the B’s next year.

    • That sure doesn’t happen often The TURK. And if his goal is to compete for the Cup, Boston isn’t the place to do that over the next couple years.

      From a nostalgic point of view would like to see him play his entire career with Boston, but that isn’t how this usually works.

  6. If the problem between Miller and Pettersson is as bad as it looks and the return for Miller is so bad, unless Miller is a problem for the rest of the squad, they need to trade Pettersson before his nmc kicks in

    • Teams most interested should be Jets, Buffalo, Columbus, Seattle, Utah, Canes, Anaheim, Minnesota, Montreal, Detroit and Nashville with Calgary and Chicago as dark horses. Still think Buffalo makes perfect sense with Power/Byram and Cozens going the other way

      • I have been wrong before about what the Habs need Kent (Laine, doh!), but Dach has finally started to come around and is playing well. So no fit at center. Next year Demidov arrives, helping the wing. I see neither the need nor available cap space.

        And while this year has been bizarre for the Canucks I don’t see an 11.4 million dollar player in Pettersson.

    • Still believe the only way Miller comes to NY will be if Zibanejad goes other way. Chytil centers 3rd line. Miller not playing 3rd line. Drury not in a hurry. Doesn’t need to force a deal. Vancouver not having a very good new year. Currently outside of playoffs and in danger of sliding.

      • Zib stays in NYC and goes to the Isles;
        Pageau, Mancini and Edstrom and go to Van;
        JT Miller, Romanov go to NYR
        Everybody is happy and cap compliant!

      • The rangers and Islanders have made exactly 3 trades with each other. And not one in the last 50+ years. Yet you see a 3 way blockbuster coming?

      • ***Only one in 50 years***

  7. I’m assuming there’s a rule for this but I’m having a hard time understanding bonuses.
    Could you not play around with that a bit.
    Marchand is 36, they trade him for some type of return. He signs this summer for low salary but good performance bonus and signing bonus.

    I’m spit balling a random idea here and just picking Marchand because he was in today’s news.

    Or even a hand shake office job with a good salary so he signs for cheaper.

    I realize this is probably a dumb question but I’ve been wondering for a while

    • Hey Acadian,
      I’m a firm believer there are no dumb questions 🙂

      I believe I have the following correct, but people who know more than me can definitely feel free to correct the following!

      Bonuses count against the cap. Signing bonuses count automatically; performance bonuses count the next season, if achieved. If setting an easy target, teams can assume that they will have that additional cap hit the next year. Either way, it likely doesn’t help the Bruins’ situation much.

      Handshake office jobs are more interesting! They are theoretically studied closely by the league to see if it counts as cap circumvention. The penalties if found guilty could be very high. But not sure if/how they’d catch them. This is probably already happening in some instances, it’s just risky.

      • Thx for the info. I assumed there was some type of rule but then again LTIR didn’t seem to be a possible weapon until a few years ago. I’m still surprised there isn’t more trade and re-sign happening when it comes to certain players.

  8. Hey Lyle, just checked back on yesterday’s post. Thanks for responding to question about 4 nations. I messed up on dates of break by putting dates of tournaments. I understand having a freeze during holidays. Nobody wants to get moved in middle of family time. But, the 4 nations break seems like a great time to get deals done. Couple weeks before deadline and good time to evaluate needs and chances of making/not making playoffs. Although probably not best time for participants to find out they’ve been traded.

    • Hi, Slick. As I mentioned earlier, I haven’t seen anything about a moratorium on trades during the 4 Nations tournament. Nevertheless, I think they’ll follow the same format as they did during the previous Olympic breaks where there were no trades, though general managers could still discuss deals during that period.

  9. If Van is really committed to trading JT, they should press hard to do it before the 4 Nations tournament.
    All they need is to have him get hurt there and then become untradeable this year (though they could revisit in the offseason I guess).

    • foleyd7

      Think your right, they got to move him before it’s too late.

      Canucks management
      Have let this Fester Way too long…….
      Now it’s Effecting the whole team in a bad way⁉️🤔
      PS
      See my comment above

  10. The 4 Nations tournament brings an interesting dynamic to the NHL!The major culprit is injuries! Three players in team USA come to mind! Matthews,Mcavoy,Swayman! Any other players in similar situations?Another scenario is players on teams that aren t in the playoffs after they have a great experience playing in the tournament,will they asked to be traded!

    • Sr … yeah, Ullmark! He’ll wind up ready to return from his injury just in time to get in a few practices … and then report to Team Sweden … where he’ll more than likely aggravate it, conjuring up memories of Dominik Hasek when he was with Ottawa in 2007.

    • Dobson and Markstrom likely miss the 4 Nations tournament now. The break actually helps them now because they can recover for 2 weeks without missing any of the NHL schedule.
      For people NOT in the tournament, it could give them a little benefit / refresher before jumping back into NHL games.

  11. That Marchand choke better be a suspension. Horrible visual. Never seen that in hockey. I do that in public, I’m in jail.

    • Finish your check on someone with their head down in public you go to jail as well. Found that one out the hard way.

      • You need to tell us more tb!

        So did you get blind sided out of nowhere or go to jail?

        Pretty sure I know the answer, but still want the story.

  12. DeAngelo signs with Islanders.
    I wonder what this says about the prognosis for Dobson, as Isles only have 8 games in the next month (given the 4 Nations break).
    Seems like Dobson will be more than 4+ weeks.

    • There goes the neighborhood

      • He has to clear waivers first before joining the Isles.

      • Lyle, how does that work? The Isles themselves posted an hour+ ago that they signed him to a 1 yr, $775k contract.
        Do other teams now get to claim that contract off waivers?

      • D’Angelo signed during the season. He has to clear waivers before he can join the Islanders.

      • Islanders claimed Nabokov when the Wings signed him about a decade ago. I don’t think the Wings would return the favor as Stevie got rid of him once already. An offensive RD at that! Pun intended.

  13. Hearing Taylor Hall and Rantanen are both on the move? Not sure about Rantanen, but Hall is supposedly headed to the Canes.

    • Working on it now. Rantanen to the Hurricanes in a three-team deal with Blackhawks. Necas and Hall reportedly going to the Avs. I’ll post the details once the trade is officially announced.