NHL Rumor Mill – April 3, 2025
Check out the latest on the Penguins and Red Wings in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
PENGUINS
THE ATHLETIC: Josh Yohe reports everything is in play for the Pittsburgh Penguins this offseason. He indicated that general manager Kyle Dubas is willing to trade draft picks for young, NHL-ready players hoping to turn the club back more quickly into a playoff contender.
Dubas also doesn’t appear to be against targeting other teams’ restricted free agents with offer sheets. However, Yohe isn’t betting on him using that tactic this summer.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Penguins have a projected cap space of $24.5 million for 2025-26 with 18 active roster players under contract, including all their core players. They have the room to acquire established young NHL players this summer.
That includes going the offer-sheet route, but it must be remembered that it takes two to tango. The targeted player must be willing to entertain such offers from rival clubs.
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry (NHL Images).
This summer’s top RFAs include Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard, New Jersey’s Luke Hughes, the New York Islanders’ Noah Dobson, Winnipeg’s Gabriel Vilardi, Toronto’s Matthew Knies, Buffalo’s JJ Peterka, and the New York Rangers’ K’Andre Miller.
PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: Matt Vensel believes Dubas must sort out his goaltending situation before next season.
It feels like the Penguins are headed for a split this summer with the inconsistent Tristan Jarry. Dubas isn’t a contract buyout proponent but that is an option if they can’t find a trade partner. They could also attempt to swap him for another team’s unwanted contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jarry has three more seasons left on his contract with an average annual value of $5.375 million and a 12-team no-trade list. Dubas could also attempt to retain up to half of Jarry’s cap hit to make him more palatable in the trade market but those three years remaining on his contract could still be a deal-breaker.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Dave Molinari reports the Penguins’ one-year investment in Matt Grzelcyk paid off as the 31-year-old defenseman proved to be a good addition. He set career highs this season with 34 assists and 35 points.
Grzelcyk is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The Penguins will presumably attempt to re-sign him given their lack of depth among skilled left-shot defensemen within their system.
RED WINGS
THE ATHLETIC: Max Bultman was recently asked what player in this summer’s UFA market could help the Detroit Red Wings. He thinks Vladislav Gavrikov of the Los Angeles Kings would fit well alongside Moritz Seider on their top line.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: General manager Steve Yzerman could feel pressured to make one or two significant additions this summer if the Red Wings miss the playoffs again. Improving their defensive depth could be a priority with Gavrikov among the targets if he’s available.
If Jarry has a 12 team no trade list, he’s not being traded without his consent. There aren’t 12 teams in the league who are in need of trading for a goalie. He’d just put the teams that are in need on the list.
Jarry+prospect for Gibson, both goalies need a fresh start. Tell Jarry he’ll spend next season in the ECHL if he doesn’t waive his NTC
that puts rebuilding Anaheim into the same situation they’d be getting out of….except worse. An over paid goalie they can’t get rid of.
After being demoted this year and the unlikelihood of the pens competing for a cup next year he may accept a trade to a team needing a goalie. I’m not holding my breath but the fa crop of goalies is awful. So it’s not impossible
>>>>He indicated that general manager Kyle Dubas is willing to trade draft picks for young, NHL-ready players…
any GM who would trade a young, NHL-ready player for a draft pick should be under consideration for being relieved of his duties.
Wings need a goalie, neither Talbot, Lyon nor Mrazek are top goalies in the nhl. that’s should be top priority, otherwise it’ll be another playoff-less season. He has enough prospects in the system to try to acquire one this summer
The Wings and Jarry: seems like a match made in hockey heaven.
just what the Wings need, another average overpaid goalie
But Jar Jar is a BELOW average overpaid netminder. Bonus!
Fine, just include Crosby! 😏
I don’t see any of Bouchard, L.Hughes, Dobson, Vilardi, Knies, or Peterka getting any offer sheet. Based on the salaries required for these guys, most of them will be in the “multiple 1st round picks+” category.
I think what StL did last year was a better approach by targetting players at lower salary values on cap strapped teams. It worked.
I think Florida is in trouble regarding Samoskevich. He’s coming off a $900k contract, is a RFA, and I could easily see him getting an offer sheet around $4.5M (which would only require a team to offer back a 2nd round pick).
Florida has invested long term in several venteran players, and if they successfully resign Bennett, I don’t see how they fit Samoskevich in.
To me, that’s the perfect kind of target for Pitt.
Boston will be looking at targets like Samoskevich since they are looking to retool quickly with Pasternak,Mcavoy in their 20 s.
Exactly, the risk is so low since you only use cap space for a shorter contract like StLouis did.
If the Penguins are going to try to re-sign 31 year old Grzelcyk because they have a lack of depth among left-shot defence men in their system, why did they trade 28 year old left shot Marcus Pettersson to the Canucks? If it was a salary dump you’d think they would have a replacement in mind.
Pettersson was going to cost more for longer than Grzelcyk. Dubas wants to ensure he has room for younger players who can be part of the roster long-term.
Months ago strong rumor Penguins offered Jake Guentzel contract 6 years for 50 million which Guentzel declined. Chance either Penguins offered Marcus Petterson contract which he could of declined or Petterson stated I’m going to free agency? Penguins traded Petterson for #1 draft pick.
Habfan67: Yesterday you asked where I read that Kapanen was going to play for the Habs.
It was inferred in an Eric Engels article, and it makes sense given that he was brought over from Europe. He may well end up playing in Laval, especially if the Rocket go deep in the playoffs.
But he will not play agains the Bs tonight. No surprisingly St, Louis doesn’t want to tamper with a winning line up.
Ray Bark: interesting dilemma for you tonight, perhaps. You want a high draft choice, yet that might mean cheering for the Habs.
So many dilemmas we all face this year. I’m a Bs fan when they play the Habs competition.
No dilemma for me LJ, I simply won’t watch.
I want the B’s to lose, but cheering for the Habs against them, like watching it, is something I can’t do.
As of today picking 4th!
LJ. Thanks for that. Yeah, I get sticking with the same lineup but Pezzatta played less than 6 minutes and you got to think Kapanen would be able to contribute more than that.
You would indeed. Maybe Kapanen needs a bit of time to get over the jet lag from Scandanavia. I’ve done that trip and it takes it out of you.
Then there is a bit of time to re-adjust to the North American rink size.
Good times watching the Penguins circle the drain.
Signing Scary Jarry to that ludicrous contract and trading for Karlsson should have gotten Scooby Dubas fired.
Wonderful watching Penguins winning 5 Stanley Cups! Penguins are retooling. How much cap space Penguins have for 2025/2026 season and 2026/2027 season?
You’re talking relatively ancient history … he’s talking about today … now … the present. What has one to do with the other?
Maybe you have a point George… but dude is a flyers fan! Hes got a long way before he can comfortably troll the pens.
And that’s a fair point Chrisms. It’s like me trolling Hab fans right now. Might as well hold up a sign that says kick me.
Gonna do it anyway.
F the Habs. From the bottom of my heart.
Until playoff time and they have a chance to end the CDN drought.
But was a “trolling?” The matter of Jarry was part of today’s subjects and when he says “Signing Scary Jarry to that ludicrous contract and trading for Karlsson should have gotten Scooby Dubas fired.” is his opinion … and one with which I agree.
In my opinion, Dubas was like a duckling out of the water when he was GM in Toronto, and he hasn’t learned how to swim since taking over in Pittsburgh.
I’m not gonna brush aside Dubas mistakes… but overall I think he’s done a better job than not. Rutherford… appropriately drained the team chasing cups… hextall was atrocious. Dubas is walking the line if trying to compete and rebuild. And doing decent at it. Jarry bad deal. Katlson though… I still think that deal was a good one even if it didn’t work out as well as it coulda. They gave up practically nothing for him. And I still think they will get an asset back for him this summer.
They well might on Karlsson … but not without seeing at least a $5 mil contract – or two $2.5 mil ones – unavailable for the rest of his term.
Nah. Jones proved that unlikely. Pens hold 2-3 mil they will get an ok return. Cap goes up and gms like to target shiny things… even if this one needs some varnish to shine it up again.
Kyle Dubas is the worst NHL GM since Mike Milbury.
He absolute will if thid comes to fruition:
“Grzelcyk is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The Penguins will presumably attempt to re-sign him given their lack of depth among skilled left-shot defensemen within their system.”
This would be a fireable offence.
Pens are in a rebuild/retool
Under no circumstances should Pens be signing or re-upping ANY diminutive defensively backward D-men in their 30s
All Sully sees in Grzylcyck is that hr shares a hometown AND he put up a career best assists this year.
Sully complete ignores his complete lack of defensive abilities
Re-upping Grzylcyck would be a big setback to re-tool/rebuild plans
Problem for Wings and Pens is not their goalies. Those poor guys are getting peppered. Looking at Shots Against/Games Played…. teams like Canes and Aves are around 25. Whereas the Pens and Wings are around 30 (30.5 and 28.6 respectively). Seems small until you do the math… 5 x 82 = 410 more opportunities to get scored on. No goalie should be touching the puck that much.
In my opinion, its about the guys in front of them and puck possession.
From my playing beer league playing days, we had a decent goalie, good in the room, but we knew the best way to win was to limit his chance to touch the puck and let it in.
But Jarry’s problem is that he gives up 3-4 goals (sometimes 5) on the first 10 shots. The extra 18-20 shots are a moot point after that.
Exactly. And it’s his inconsistency that keeps popping up at the most inopportune times.
The other night against Ottawa he went head-to-head against another inconsistent goalie – Forsberg – who had one of his good nights.
But in the end, Jarry also had one his good nights, and the end result was a 1-0 OT win for Pittsburgh.
The difference, however, is that Ottawa is paying Forsberg $2.5 mil and that ends this season. Pittsburgh has been paying Jarry $5,375,000 since Dubas gave him that deal, and it has 3 more years to go after this one, and ends when he’ll be approaching 33.
Wingnut
100% accurate
Pens goalies are NOT to blame
It is the entire team defensively; but mostly the brutal defensemen they have
Waaaay too much blame has been laid on Jarry and Nedjelkovic
Goals on the first shot; first 2 shots; 3 of first 5 shots….. NOT on these goalies
No defense on the first , first 2, first 5, first 10 shots
Scary screening, deflecting pucks for self goals; multiple bounces ; mutlipe odd man rushes, on first shot, first 3 shots; first 5; first 10
Over and over and over again
Look at the numbers these goalies get when they have defensemen playing active and strong defence; properly avoiding screening them; properly limiting odd man rushes, and not deflecting shots on Jarry/Nedjelkovic; playing in front of them
Recently (and earlier in the season) the starters were pulled when the above did NOT happen; goalies were screened; players deflected shots; goalies had to deal with large numbers of odd man rushes. Just scary. Even Hellybuck would have his save percentage plummet under those circumstances
Now compare that to recent goaltending when the team in front of them DID play effective defense:
Jarry
1.000
.913
.919
.914
.946
.967
Nedjelkovic
.900
.936
Recently When the team played its usual atrocious defense in front of them:
.667
.439
.682
NOT on the goalies
Ray Bark,
You don’t troll people, you give an open opinion guided by your perception.
You listen and respond with intelligent insight that I certainly think over.
Saying F the Habs is no biggie considering how many times the Habs broke Bruins and their fans dreams. I take a whimsy line and think most Hab fans here take it that way too.