NHL Rumor Mill – May 15, 2025
Has the Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup window closed? Is the end of the Maple Leafs’ “Core Four” era approaching? What’s the latest on former Isles GM Lou Lamoriello? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS?
THE ATHLETIC: Jesse Granger looked at whether the Vegas Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup window is closing after their second-round elimination by the Edmonton Oilers.
Many of the Golden Knights’ core players (including Mark Stone, Alex Pietrangelo, and William Karlsson) are over 30. Their “younger players” include Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin (both 28 years old), and Shea Theodore and Adin Hill (both 29). Hanfin, Theodore and Hill had their difficulties during this postseason.
With a projected cap space of $10.5 million next season, the Golden Knights have the space to re-sign most (if not all) of their pending free agents. They include Reilly Smith, Victor Olofsson, Tanner Pearson, Brandon Saad, and Ilya Samsonov. However, they could also use it to upgrade on the wing, where notables like Mitch Marner, Nikolaj Ehlers and Brock Boeser could be available in the free-agent market.
Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (NHL Images).
Granger pointed out that Eichel has a year remaining on his contract. He’ll be eligible to sign what could be a massive contract extension on July 1.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Granger also reminds us that the Golden Knights have a well-earned reputation for aggressive moves. They can also be ruthless, parting company with aging stars in favor of young options.
Stone and Pietrangelo each have full no-movement clauses, while Hanifin has a full no-trade clause. The only way to move them is if they request it or management somehow talks them into it.
Theodore has a five-team no-trade list this season, but his new contract that begins on July 1 carries full no-trade protection. Hill has a 10-team no-trade list on his current and upcoming contracts. Center Tomas Hertl has a full no-trade for this season, but it reverts to a modified no-trade list on July 1.
It seems unlikely Theodore, Hill or Hertl would be moved so soon after signing contract extensions with the Golden Knights. Nevertheless, we can’t dismiss the possibility of one of them getting peddled before July 1 to create more cap space for other moves.
The Golden Knights don’t have much draft or prospect capital to draw on for trade bait. They dealt away their 2025 and 2026 first-rounders, but they could part with their 2027 first-round pick if it fetches immediate help for their roster. They’ve previouly used their top prospects as trade chips (the Montreal Canadiens thank them for Nick Suzuki) and could do the same with promising Trevor Connelly.
END OF THE MAPLE LEAFS’ “CORE FOUR” ERA APPROACHING?
THE ATHLETIC: Chris Johnston wonders if we’re seeing the last of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ “Core Four” era following their 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, putting them on the brink of elimination from the second round of the 2025 playoffs.
Johnston noted that Mitch Marner is only seven weeks away from unrestricted free-agent eligibility on July 1. He doubts the 28-year-old winger will sign an extension with the Leafs before then, not after refusing to negotiate during the season or the club’s request to waive his no-movement clause at the trade deadline.
According to Johnston, there’s a growing sense that Marner will seek a fresh start elsewhere after enduring endless criticism for the Leafs’ shortcomings.
Former captain John Tavares is also UFA-eligible. He wants to stay, but Johnston doubts the 34-year-old center will get the chance.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Unless the Leafs stage a big comeback against the Panthers, this is the end of the “Core Four Era”. It’ll also be the end of the “Shanaplan”, as team president Brendan Shanahan’s contract expires at the end of this season.
Even if the Leafs overcome the Panthers and get into the Conference Final, this is likely to be the last season for Marner and Tavares in Toronto. There have been too many disappointing postseasons and too many expectations dashed. They’ve been running it back with the same core, yet the results remain the same.
The Leafs in this era have only two postseason series victories. It doesn’t matter that they’ve been a good regular-season team that has qualified for the playoffs in every season since 2016-17. What matters is a lack of real postseason progress for a franchise whose Stanley Cup drought is approaching 60 years.
LOU LAMORIELLO SIGHTED IN BUFFALO
TSN: Darren Dreger took note of a recent sighting of former New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello being spotted at the Buffalo airport. He thinks the Sabres would be interested in adding Lamoriello to their braintrust, “but nothing’s imminent”, jokingly suggesting he was there to renew his Nexus.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That sighting raised speculation that the Sabres were about to hire Lamoriello, but his presence at the airport is reportedly unrelated to the team.
I will pay for his flight if Lou signs and takes all his former Devils coaches and son to Buffalo.Prediction Marner signs with Vegas. Karlson will be traded and none of their free agents will be back.Theodore may also be gone was terrible defensively all year.
I thought about Karlsson also, but his production is lacking, is injured more lately, and he will require salary retention or a sweetener. No one wants to pay $5.9M for a 3rd line C.
Speed is becoming even more important and Vegas needs to get faster, the relying on big and strong that worked for 5 years, while still important, is not the miracle it was.
Im not giving up on the core 4 yet, Nylander has been great so far and Tavares has held up, even if not based on cap. But AM and MM needs to step up and they might win if Stolarz comes back. To be clear, not a Leafs fan
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this only the 2nd time Matthews has made it past the 1st round?
Great take and read on Vegas Kent….
Vegas feels old to me. No real young blood except Howden Dorofeyev . I think you leave that Defence alone .
Mathews 3 goals last 21 playoff games ? I think that is your answer
I like the depth around the core 4 At least over the recent previous runs. I think they need a second all star defence man
As to Vegas, they’ve had an unbelievable run but it’s time to rethink things. They can retool while staying competitive. Stripping their prospect pool bare is just not sustainable.
The last thing they need is another big ticket item like Mitch Marner, who’s not exactly a proven playoff performer. They should let all their UFAs walk and try to trade Stone and either Hanafin or Pietrangelo to help replenish their prospect pool. Ehlers would be a good UFA signing for them.
As to the Leafs, if they lose the series to Florida, Marner is as good as gone. I still see Tavares returning but he’d have to take a huge cut. If he decides to walk, the Habs should at least check into him though they won’t likely be at the top of his list. They should use the savings to pursue a cheaper forward who can add offense, like Boeser or Ehlers, and to strengthen the rest of the lineup. Re-signing Laughton would help if Tavares leaves. Aaron Ekblad may be another possibility.
There is word that Lou may be offered an advisor role with the Isles. I don’t think that would be a good idea. The new GM doesn’t need Lou hanging around. I think they should hire Darche but they also need to build up the management and scouting teams. Hire an assistant GM or two with hockey management experience. Plus guys to oversee player personnel and player development.
I disagree that Vegas should be concerned about their prospect pool. The advantage of the Vegas franchise is that it is an attractive place for top free agent players to sign. Eichel, Stone, Pietrangelo and a handful of FAs from the next tier of talent have signed previously. Taxes, climate and the Vegas glamour make them a front runner for every FA they can fit in the cap.
When you can attract top FAs you don’t need to key on development of prospects. The odds of any 1st round pick developing into an Eichel, Stone or Pietrangelo is about one in 5. Why not try to add a Marner even if it is at the expense of the prospect pool?
The advantage doesn’t end with top FAs as players who round out the lineup at 1.5m cap hit will also see the same benefits of life in Vegas.
They don’t need the farm, look for them to fuel the future from the FA market.
Depth wins cups. If a team is really top heavy with the cap, the bottom 6 won’t be very good.
In a salary cap world, its not sustainable to build your team and depth with UFA’s. The two top UFA’s that Vegas has signed is Petro and Stastny. Everyone else was a resigning after Vegas traded for them, depleting their prospect and draft pool. The two drafted players who have contributed the most, on ice, to Vegas is Dorofeyev and Hague. If Vegas had a few more of those home grown, COST CONTROLLED players, maybe they could dump some salary and take a run at Boeser or Marner.
Eichel had one goal in playoffs and was a -8. At least Matthews was a plus player, he’s shown up in his own end. He just hasn’t shown up in the opponents’ end.
Vegas has put themselves into a pickle and it will be interesting how they work themselves out of it. Vegas has ZERO interest in developing a prospect pool. Since 2017 they have gotten roughly 110 Games played out of their 1st round picks. Their prospect pool is one of the worst in the league, and now they are one of the oldest, by age, teams in the league. Petro has a No Movement Clause, and is owed roughly 23 million over the next 2 years. Stone another NMC with 2 years left and roughly 19 million in actual salary owed. There most tradable assets are likley Karlsson, Barbie, Theo *(Until July1) and maybe the rights to Hague? They have roughly 9 million in cap space with 16 skaters and 2 goalies. If they are going to make a big splash in UFA, they are going to have to dump some salary. Oh Yeah Eichel will be a UFA next summer…so there is that as well. Eichel is going to get 12-14 million AAV deal in UFA, if he gets that far. You have to think he would love to play at home in Boston to finish his career.
Hmmmmm. Wonder if Swayman, Lohrei & that #7 2025 pick for Eichel & Hill would be of interest.
Lol As a Flames fan we are hoping for a real bad off next year for Vegas & that 2026 unprotected 1st we have turns into a lottery pick. One can dream I guess.
great points Howard. Laughton is already signed next year.
Marner will end up in Utah, Anaheim (well with Quennville now I dont know), San Jose, Seattle..
Here’s one for the leafs media, or at least that I’d like to see.
Marner signs in Edmonton for cheap in the offseason as he is sick of playing for a loser and wants to play for a winning team!
Make up for all the mcdavid wants to sign in Toronto bs. He looks pretty happy winning in Edmonton.
Marner’s ego would never allow that lol- he is better than McDavid- just ask him he will tell you.
MM will probably go where the money is – net money after taxes. That is not Alberta.
Saying the Knights cup window closed makes as much sense as suggesting that the Kings needed a rebuild after also being beaten by the Oilers.
Tweeking. Retooling. Sure. Every team should unless you are cup champs. But the Knights won the division and were seen as a favorite by many just as the Kings were in the earlier series against the Oilers.
I don’t think it is fair to say the window has closed.
Relying on overrated Eichel
Vegas will make some tweaks. Probably get in on the Isaac Howard sweepstakes. Edmonton looks like the team to beat. Everyone looks slow when McDavid is out there. Last year everyone jumped on Florida bandwagon saying you need size and grit. Now it’s speed? It’s such a grind. So many factors into winning cup. Congrats to teams that made it this far.
Only if Howard will de-commit and play for Henderson or Vegas. Fat chance, Howard goes to FA in 8/26.
The Toronto situation will be fascinating to watch. Nylander seems to be the most consistent of the Core4. Tavares has a very strong season. Marner has been consistent in a playmaking role. AM is a huge threat, but I saw a stat that he has never scored a goal after round 1 of the playoffs. Snakebit? Or does he become small?
If money/cap wasn’t an issue, I would keep all 4 of them. But with cap it seems best to move on from Marner and put money elsewhere.
I’d bring Tavares back if the $ is reasonable.
Not a Tor fan, but I thought they were actually going to take down Florida this round.
They really need AM to put the team on his back and win this series, otherwise it will be a long summer for him.
I don’t think Matthews played small, snakebit,?injured? Unlucky? I dont know.. I just want to see this team without Marner for one playoff. He is the one guy that never fully buys in to the playoff style hockey and it shows…Not producing is one thing, but making bad turnovers is another. Guy is soft- I know there are a tonne of marnerites out there will say “what about Matthews”… but you cant watch these playoffs and say Matthews wasnt playing well…Hits a couple empty nets, and gets that deflection and he has 5 goals…AND it would have mattered bc he he has to be better but not for lack of effort.. He needs to be better but Marner, for me anyway, is what ails this team. These guys throw their bodies around and sacrifice then watch this guy get 25 mins a game- it has to irk them
Sam Marner played his best hockey when Matthews was injured, same with the rest of the team. They gave the “C” to Matthews in hopes it would elevate his game. Marner wants to be the No.1 guy somewhere, whether it`s Toronto or another city. Matthews 3 goals in his last 21 games tells the tale and that`s with Marner on his wing. I think it`s time for Matthews to move on. Oh where Oh where is Arizona when you need them
Yogi – you should qualify that- marner played his best “during the regular season” without Matthews and that’s a load as well. There is no one that can watch him play in the playoffs and tell me he can be effective. Matthews has not been dominant by any means- but he plays the game right in the playoffsand doesnt shirk the defensive aspects. I think you miss what im saying, marner on his line is why he has only 3 goals! He is an anchor in the playoffs, cant cycle, wont sustain board play and holds the puck too long. Sorry its just obvious. You talk about points but marners all come from floaters from the blueline on the powerplay. Marner is the most over rated player in the league.
Time to blow it up for the Leafs. It’s a mental thing with this team, and no matter how much tweaking in the bottom 6 you do, the shaky mental problems with the top 4 will always sink this version of the leafs
Yogi they gave the C to him after a 69 goal season- where did they want to elevate Matthews game too? Matthews has won Rookie of the Year, Hart and Richard Trophies , meanwhile we paid Marner for 6 years at 10.9 million like an elite player who just had his 1st 100 point season, it was a contract year btw. That was mentioned all season last year for Nylander but oddly never for Marner.
When was the last time Matthews scored a goal in an elimination game? I think it has been a while, I could be wrong
Sam, Since Matthews and Marner entered the NHL Marner leads all Leafs players in points. Marner has lead the Leafs in points 5 out of those 9 years. Maybe that is why Marner gets the contract he does. Would Matthews even get close to his 69 goals if it wasn’t for Marner dishing him the puck?
” but he plays the game right in the playoffsand doesnt shirk the defensive aspects.”
There is plenty of video evidence of how weak Matthews is along the boards giving the puck up. Matthews hasn’t show any heart or leardership ability during these playoffs, or any other year in the playoffs.
I don’t understand how you Leafs fans let Matthews off the hook so easily and yet pile on Marner.
FYI – that blind pass last night wasn’t on Marner. The puck got to where he wanted it too, it was Matthews weak attempt to coral it that lead to it being turned over.
@Owen
So you say blow up the Leafs. I’m ok with that, but who stays and who goes? And who makes those decisions?
You gotta ask yourself, why is JT, Marner, Knies, and Nylander ALL getting more even strength minutes then AM?
Why is Marner getting more Short Handed minutes then AM?
Why does the coaching staff seem to trust MM with that ice time?
Sam “qualify” as in the fact Toronto has a better winning percentage without Matthews than with Matthews in the lineup. Toronto`s PP was scoring at a higher rate without him and defensively they were slightly better. But the really weird stat is that Marner kept producing at the same rate whether Matthews was there or not. Hell I`m not much of a Marner fan, but I do know one thing. Matthews needs Marner a lot more than Marner needs Matthews. The problem is that they can`t afford both players anymore and still have enough money to pay the much needed support players. Matthews 3 goals in his last 21 playoff games, his shooting percentage is below 5% this year. He`s shooting more, hitting less. You can`t blame Marner for Matthews problems, even tho you`re trying to. Both players disappear when the rough play starts. If you get rid of Marner, who`s gonna feed the puck to Matthews, Domi? Don`t say Nylander because over the years Nylander and Matthews haven`t meshed well and Keefe tried many times. Matthews got the embarrassment started last night by giving the puck away for the 1st Florida goal. I`m at the point where both Matthews and Marner can take a flying leap off a tall building, with their disappearing acts in the playoffs. When Carolina offered Rantanen for Marner I was a hoping. If I was the GM in Toronto, that`s a trade I`d make all day long, every day. I`d also trade Matthews, where`s Arizona when you need them. Facts are Toronto can play and win without Matthews, strangely Toronto doesn`t do as well when Marner or Tavares is out of the lineup. Sam if you`re looking to defend Matthews poor play, try someplace where nobody watches hockey
Lol- Im not a fan of either but I dont think Matthews needs marner at all. You think Marner generated his 69 goals lol? The team played better without Matthews, was the case the year before when marner went down and Matthews played with Domi and Bertuzzi. Moot point in both cases- it was the regular season!
I have never seen a 70 goal scorer be told he needs the little winger for his success- only in this market do they discredit a a generation scorer.
The blind pass was totally on Marner lol, come on evert hockey pundit said the same thing. Even if you want to ignore that he got beat back door on the same play, shades of pastrnak last year, or maybe that was Matthews fault too? I have seen no evidence from anyone on Matthews poor play defensively- he has been lauded for it , his goal scoring or lack there of has been the major issue. 8 of Marners points came on the powerplay and soon as they started pressuring him – that was gone too. He is without a doubt the most over rated overpaid player currently in this league
Move Reilly to Vancouver (if her permits) and do no resign Marner. That allows for $20 million to spend.
Overpay Bennett, whose mentor was Doug Gilmour.
Robertson and Cowan inserted into the line up.
Laughton moves up the line up away from 4th line duties.
If Tavares does not return to Toronto then I am guessing he could end up in either Colorado(more likely) or Detroit.
I see a dark horse in the Marner sweepstakes and I think it s the Utah Mammoth Their owner thinks BIG!
Playoff hockey has become cycling the puck low, scrims after the whistle, accidently on purpose bumping the goalie and refs being inconsistency.
I’d like see the play blown dead while cycling and if it’s a forward doing it, faceoff outside the zone.
Bumping the goalie should be penalized of he’s in the blue paint.
Refs need to call the overt physical play to cut the boarding and charging.
Hockey is a fast skilled game and should be elevated in the playoffs ins4af of regressing to smadhmouth hockey.
https://x.com/user/status/1923086107249365386
Hiller still has a job.