Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – May 4, 2025
What’s next for the Wild and Avalanche heading into the offseason? Has Patrik Laine played his final game with the Canadiens? Find out in the Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE WILD?
THE ATHLETIC: Michael Russo and Joe Smith looked at the offseason “to-do” list for Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin.
Topping the list is signing Kirill Kaprizov to a contract extension. He has one season left on his five-year, $45 million contract. Russo and Smith speculate they’ll re-sign the 28-year-old superstar winger to an eight-year deal worth between $120 million and $128 million (between $15 million and $16 million annually).
Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: John Shipley of The Pioneer Press acknowledged Kaprizov’s love of playing in Minnesota. However, he suggests money won’t be the critical factor. He raised the possibility that the winger might prefer playing in a bigger city, a bigger market, a warmer climate, a club better-situated to win the Stanley Cup, or one with more Russian players.
Shipley, Russo and Smith all believe the Wild must improve the roster around Kaprizov to show him they’re serious about building and maintaining a winner. They’ll have the salary-cap space this summer to do so ($20.5 million), but must ensure they leave enough long-term cap room for their superstar’s next contract.
Determining Marco Rossi’s future will also be on Guerin’s list. The 23-year-old center finished second among Wild scorers this season with 60 points, but he was buried on the fourth line during the playoffs.
Rossi rejected a contract offer from the Wild earlier this season. He’s a pending restricted free agent eligible to receive an offer sheet from a rival club.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rossi was the subject of trade speculation until December, when Guerin indicated he wasn’t trading the young center. The decline in his playing time in the postseason will only stoke the trade chatter this summer, especially with the threat of an offer sheet hanging in the air.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE AVALANCHE?
THE DENVER POST: Sean Keeler believes the Colorado Avalanche should part ways with head coach Jared Bednar and replace him with David Carle, the head coach of the University of Denver.
He believes Bednar has served the Avalanche well, but he’s been outcoached by Dallas Stars bench boss Peter DeBoer, going 0-4 in series against teams coached by DeBoer.
Keeler noted the Avalanche “maxed out their credit card” trying to buy a second championship for superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The club lacks a first-round pick until 2027, when Bednar’s contract expires. The return of Gabriel Landeskog is inspiring but also adds $7 million to their salary cap, while Makar is due for a significant pay raise when his contract ends in 2027.
THE ATHLETIC: Mark Lazerus wondered what the consequences will be for the Colorado Avalanche after suffering an early playoff exit for the second straight year at the hands of the Dallas Stars.
He considers it unlikely that Bednar or general manager Chris McFarland won’t be back.
Bednar is the second-longest-tenured coach in the league and is well-respected. McFarland was praised for his midseason makeover of the roster, but he mortgaged part of the farm for Brock Nelson, who was an awkward fit and likely to depart as a free agent this summer. The Mikko Rantanen trade will hang around his neck for good or bad, fair or not.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche have $8.7 million in projected cap space for next season with 18 active roster players under contract. Nelson, Jonathan Drouin, Ryan Lindgren and Erik Johnson are among their notable UFAs and are unlikely to return.
Lazerus pointed out that Nelson’s expected departure will leave the Avalanche still searching for a reliable second-line center. They don’t have many tradeable assets to work with, and peddling a roster player like defenseman Samuel Girard or Martin Necas will only weaken their current roster.
A coaching change might help, but it’s not guaranteed to change things. Carle is seemingly on everyone’s dance card, but he wants to find the right fit, as was apparent when he took himself out of the running for the Chicago Blackhawks’ coaching job. A veteran-laden club under pressure to keep its Stanley Cup window open might not suit his needs.
COULD THE CANADIENS PART WAYS WITH LAINE?
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE: Pat Hickey suggests Patrik Laine has reached a crossroads with the Canadiens.
A broken finger sidelined Laine from the Habs’ final three playoff games, but Hickey indicated they were a better team without him. He noted that Laine didn’t seem to be suffering as he practiced before the Canadiens departed for Washington for Game 5.
Hickey considers Laine as “a one-trick pony”, saying teams have to hope this big shot will compensate for his lack of effort in the defensive zone. He believes the winger doesn’t fit head coach Martin St. Louis’ system and he has to go.
Laine’s track record and $8.7 million cap hit for next season make him an unlikely trade candidate unless the Canadiens retain salary or add a draft pick in the deal. A contract buyout is another option.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Laine’s power-play goals helped power the Canadiens into a playoff berth by mid-January. However, his production noticeably declined following the 4 Nations Face-Off, and he wasn’t missed on their power play during those final games against the Capitals.
The Canadiens have a projected $8.6 million in cap space for next season with 18 active roster players under contract. However, they’ll garner $10.5 million in additional cap flexibility with Carey Price on permanent long-term injury reserve.
They could afford to retain salary if they want to move Laine to one of the teams not on his 10-team no-trade list. A contract buyout of his final season will count as $3.966 million against their cap for 2025-26 and $2.366 million for 2026-27.
I suspect Habs will keep Laine and then possibly move him at the trade deadline. Not expecting much. He could be useful at getting a team to the playoffs. No point in buying him out as he is a pending UFA.
I would like to see MTL try and move Laine to Anaheim for Zegras. Both had similar injury riddled seasons and both had similar point production totals. Maybe if MTL kicks in the Pittsburgh 2nd (2025) and a 3rd this year, maybe that gets it done.
I just can picture a team going hard for Zegras. He’s a career -48, can’t stay healthy, and doesn’t appear to be built for playoff hockey, physically or otherwise.
Pat Hickey should have been put out to pasture years ago. He was once a solid writer but the quality of his columns has long since declined.
Laine contributed goal scoring for the Habs, which was what they needed. And it must be mentioned that he did not have a decent center playing with him. He deserves the chance to show what he could do playing with a real center. Which hopefully the Habs will pick up this summer.
Speaking of which, Rossi might be a good pick up for the Habs to fill that second line center role. He put up pretty good numbers this year and managed two playoff goals despite being buried on the fourth line by the nitwits who run the Wild. My one concern is his size, only 5’9”.
Hell no on Rossi, if we learned anything against Washington is we need to get bigger. Plus we need a 2C who is a L shot (Suzuki, Dach, Evans, Kapanen and even Beck are all R shot). Only options for 2nd line C Mtl should be looking at are Bennett or Nelson from the UFAs and only if Bennett is reasonable (less than Suzuki’s 7.875M) or if Nelson will sign for 2-3 years so they can see what they have with Dach, Kapanen, Beck, Hage and even Florian Xhekaj. I don’t know if there’s any other L shot centers that could be available on the trade market, Mtl had interest in Zegras but he is not really looked at as a C. My preference would be Nelson for $7M x 2 years, brings more size and offense than Bennett. Really my preference would be a trade deadline pick up of Crosby but likelihood of that is probably less than 1%
I like your reasoning. Let’s start by establishing what we need first, and not settle for what is expedient. We need a left-shot C who can feed Demidov and Laine, win face-offs and not be a liability on defense. Size is preferable in my book, but not imperative (would we turn down Sydney for lack of size?).
I certainly see your point, Drive. As I wrote, my concern is with Rossi’s size. But there can be no doubting that a second line center is a necessity for the Habs next season. And there is no one currently in the organization who could fill that role. I don’t see Beck or Kapanen as having the offensive upside to be more than third line. Florian would be a role/depth forward. And Hage might be a good second line center but he’ll need at least one more year in the NCAA and one in the AHL. The Kirby Dach experiment did not work out and Newhook is better suited as a third line winger who could move up periodically to the second line or slide to center in event of an injury.
Unfortunately good top 6 centers are very hard to trade for. Who might be available for trade other than Rossi? Maybe Pavel Zacha but it’s far from a sure thing that Boston would trade him, especially to the Habs. At this point, Zegras would be a big risk and is more likely to end up at wing.
Sam Bennett would be a good option, but he’ll have numerous suitors and could very well top $8m. on a 7 year deal. My preference would be a veteran like Nelson, Granlund or Duchene on a 2 or 3 year deal until Hage is ready, but in the open market, those guys could end up with a 4 or 5 year deal that’ll be an albatross the last couple of years.
The Habs, after a surprise playoff berth this year, must keep moving forward. And the lack of a true second line center will prevent them from getting the best out of Laine and Demidov and allow opponents to key on the Suzuki line. A second line center is an absolute necessity. While Rossi is not a perfect option, he must at least be considered. And he’d likely require only a 3 or 4 year bridge deal.
Couldn’t agree more. The guy was recovering from injury, did not have a proper center to feed him 5-5, what do you expect? He performed well at the four nations tournament.
What about Tavares? Could the Habs make a better offer than the Leafs? Prying Tavares from TO is a long shot, but so is getting Crosby.
YC, Crosby is a pipe dream. He will finish his career in Pittsburgh. And I don’t see JT leaving Toronto. Even if he has to take a pay cut. Especially if Marner leaves.
Any questions as to Rantanen’s bonafides and value evaporated last night, he’s clearly the real deal even without MacK. Trading him away may haunt the Avs for a decade and should absolutely get their GM fired.
Laine produced beyond expectations but up to past history despite health and injury.
Without him the Habs wouldn’t have made the playoffs and nobody on the Habs shoots the puck like he does.
Rossi would be a good addition to the Habs despite his size which didn’t stop him from putting up 24G and 36A.
Rossi feeding Laine and Demidov would be a 2nd line to reckon with.
We covet players with a “200 ft game” which usually means strong defensive game but can’t hit the side of a barn door.
Defense can be taught, most of the defensive specialists were scorers in Junior but you can’t teach offense.
Howard and HF30, as Drive for 25 said the Washington series showed the Habs do not need another small player. Rossi would be the 4th player at 5’9″ or less. That’s a line up that gets you a mini golf championship.
Howard: Get rid of Hickey and we are left with the dynamic duo of Stu Cowan, whose insight is limited to reporting what day of the week it is, and Brendan Kelly who is the worst writer I have come across.
As for Drive’s suggestion of Nelson at 7 million, too expensive without moving Laine.
LJ, with the final season of Prices contract going on LTIR, the Habs will certainly be able to handle a $7m. contract. Putting Price on LTIR would leave them with over 19m. available. Hopefully they can sign Dvorak to about the same money he’s been making and then there are RFAs Dobes, Struble and Heineman, who shouldn’t be too pricey. That’ll leave room for a UFA to fill the second line center spot.
LJ,
The Washington series was much less about size than people think.
It was an aggressive forecheck getting physical with with the D-men, driving them into the boards and finishing their checks.
It wasn’t the case on offense where the Habs speed and structure has the Capitals chasing the puck forcing Thompson to make huge saves keeping them in the game.
The “small Habs” Caufield, Gallagher, Hutson were effective in the series..
The Habs roster as is could play the same system but it wasn’t MSL’s gameplan. Slafkovsky, Heineman, Armia could have joined Anderson in “banging”.
It was a choice of style and gameplan, and the series was closer than could be reasonably expected. The Habs had a lot of trouble with “heavy” teams early in the year but modified systems handle them.
You have more faith in Dvorak than I do, Howard.
He played well down the stretch but he has never been an offensively gifted player – the most he has scored in a season with the Habs is 12 goals. That limits his role to 3 or 4 C, and that is where Kapanen and Beck might come in, without factoring in Evans.
And remember Dvorak is 28. Would he sign a short term contract?
Yes, Price’s cap relief will help but remember that LTIR comes with restrictions on player movement in and out of the line up, call ups, etc.
I know, we can’t get a legit 2C without paying a price, and the Habs can’t have 1/3 of a team of rookies without regressing. So it becomes tricky.
May I say one more time what a mope Brendan Kelly is?
HF30: You make a # of good points.
But playoff hockey is a war of attrition. A bruising line up short on talent is a limitation, but so is a skilled line up short on size.
Aside from Anderson, and the nearly ignored Pezzeta, who plays a physical brand of hockey for the Habs? Certainly not Armia, who I doubt returns. Heineman, hopefully, grows his offence.
The newbies to be auditioned, Beck, Roy, Kapanen, and perhaps your fav Davidson, are more finesse than physical. And the Habs can’t expect Anderson to continue to be the only forward to be able to be a physical presence.
I may be overempha”sizing” this (groan), but I am pushing back on adding another 5’9″ forward.
LJ, I agree that Dvorak is no better than a #3 center but he played well down the stretch and the Habs should try to sign him to a reasonable deal.
LJ,
You’re tired of another small player, like Rossi, 5’9 185.
Caufield, 5 gp- 3G 1A
Gallagher, 5gp- 2A
Hutson, 5gp- 5A
Rossi, 6gp- 2G 1A
It isn’t as if the bigger guys put more in the net despite what our eyes, as fans, tell us.
If banging the D was an important part of MSL system and game plan Pezzetta would have dressed every game as that’s all he does
After Price is paid his July 1 bonus his salary is $2mil but $10.5 against the cap. I don’t think he’s LTIR because they can move him to a team wanting to get to the floor. They will have lots of room short term to spend. I think Nelson is their target. He can play 2C until they know what they have in the kids
I don’t want to keep this going, HF30, but nowhere did I advocate for “banging the D.” Contact happens all over the ice, every shift.
Just saying .. Getting bigger also means in most cases getting slower the 2025 Boston Bruins proved that ..
You Cannot count on Laine Stands around doesn’t use his size defensively and a bit of a suck. Maybe even a bit of a hypochondriac . Yes he shoot’s BB”s. On the PP . That’s an expensive specialized role
I think one more go for the group in Colorado . If the Av”s have cap issues without Rantanen is likely the reason they moved him in the first place.
The posts on here are so funny. I remember when people on here were claiming that Rantanen was overated and not worth paying him. Now, they all want to claim him as there’s, lol!!! I was for paying him but he didn’t want to take less. Someone, has to be sacrificed for all the cash they dish out to superstars? The ending for this series or reason the Avalanche couldn’t get it done is because they lack the focus mentally in key moments: not scoring on PP at the end of regulation and OT in games 2 and 3. Taking bad penalties @ bad times. Not taking advantage of the split they had in Dallas. Could have gone up 3-1 in the series? It is not so much about Rantanen as it is about all the little things that they didn’t do with their opportunities presented to them. That’s hockey!
The comments around whether Rantanen was elite or not without MacK were totally fair given the lack of data, but clearly he’s proving himself a clutch player even without his Hart winning line mate.