NHL Rumor Mill – July 11, 2025
The latest on the Maple Leafs, Canadiens and Bruins in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
SPORTSNET: Luke Fox believes the Toronto Maple Leafs still have some moves to make this summer.
Fox thinks general manager Brad Treliving must add a top-six winger, noting that they have salary-cap space to work with in the trade market. However, the Leafs lack the tradeable assets (first-round picks, desirable prospects) needed to make a major trade.
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving (NHL.com).
That’s why there’s speculation suggesting Treliving might peddle a defenseman like Brandon Carlo or Morgan Rielly (if he’ll waive his no-movement clause) instead. It’s also rumored Treliving could settle for a free agent like Jack Roslovic.
Fox also suggested waiting for better options to appear during the regular season, pointing out the Vancouver Canucks weren’t shopping J.T. Miller last summer.
THE ATHLETIC: James Mirtle also weighed in on what the Maple Leafs might do with their extra salary-cap space this summer.
Mirtle also noted the Leafs have been linked to Roslovic. He suggested they could free up more cap room by trading forwards Calle Jarnkrok and David Kampf. Mirtle shared Fox’s suggestion that remaining patient could be the best option.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Treliving remains busy trying to improve the Leafs’ roster. On Thursday, he sent little-used enforcer Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks for young defenseman Henry Thrun. Nevertheless, finding a suitable top-six winger will be challenging.
There aren’t many decent players still available via free agency, certainly not of the caliber that would bring in the type of top-six production they need. Finding them in the trade market won’t be easy given their limited trade resources. And no, Rielly won’t waive his NMC.
Turning to the Montreal Canadiens, Fox believes they must still address their need for a second-line center. However, GM Kent Hughes admits the limited options in the trade and free-agent markets mean it might not be fulfilled during the offseason.
One suggestion was signing Evgeny Kuznetsov as a placeholder. However, the 33-year-old’s performance has declined to the point where he’s probably incapable of filling that role. They could resort to trying oft-injured Kirby Dach in that position.
THE ATHLETIC: Arpon Basu reports Canadiens vice-president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton believes there could be more movement in this summer’s trade market. He cited that several teams were left unsatisfied thus far with the changes they’ve made, especially those with salary-cap dollars to spend.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens have already made two significant additions, acquiring defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders and promising middle-six forward Zack Bolduc from the St. Louis Blues.
Addressing the second-line center position, however, remains a difficult task. It’s a seller’s market for that type of player. Like the Maple Leafs, the Canadiens could be forced to wait and see if the market improves during the regular season.
NESN: Jay Pritchard observed Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman’s recent speculation suggesting the Boston Bruins seem to be setting up for something major.
Friedman was referring to the 2026 unrestricted free-agent class. He thinks the Bruins want a shot at signing one of those players.
Pritchard suggested the Bruins’ moves this summer support that theory. They added Viktor Arvidsson, who is in the final season of his contract with an affordable cap hit. Signing Tanner Jeannot to a five-year contract raised eyebrows for its term, not its $3.4 million AAV.
Next year’s UFA class could include Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, Vegas’ Jack Eichel, Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov, Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor, the New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin, Colorado’s Martin Necas, and Montreal’s Patrik Laine.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Most of those players could re-sign with their current teams before next July. Nevertheless, a few could be available, giving the Bruins a shot at landing one of them.
The Bruins have over $19 million in projected space for 2026-27 with 18 active roster players (including their core players) under contract. Their notable free agents are RFAs Matthew Poitras and John Beecher, who won’t put a significant dent into their cap room. They could have enough to win a bidding war for one of those top UFAs.
The much maligned Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook are number 10 and 9 in pts of the 2019 draft class.
The 2C position was handled by committee last year and there’s no reason to believe these two guys won’t improve over last year.
A team that barely got into the playoffs obviously has holes to fill and expecting them or hoping to fill them all in one offseason is folly.
There’s a better chance that the Habs pick up a bottom 6 center with strong defense and faceoff skills.
Training camp will determine if any of Owen Beck, Oliver Kapanen, Joshua Ror, Jared Davidson push their way onto the team like Emil Heineman did last year.
Yes, HF30, the Habs are still a work in progress. But the additions of Dobson, Bolduc and Demidov (who seems to be forgotten as a new player) to their regular season team they are stronger than the players they lost.
If you follow your own logic over the 2C position (which I agree with, and assuming they don’t land a legit 2C in a trade), then what is left ifs the 4C position; you note correctly that there are a # of candidates to stick and fill that roll. My money is on Kapanen. Roy is a winger, and Davidson’s offensive promise will not be developed on the 4th line.
So perhaps we can lay to rest any more speculation on a center of any type coming to the Habs any time soon.
Laine, Carrier & Dobes wasn’t there to start last season as well and they got off to a horrible start. Not only were they missing a 2nd line center but they never had 2nd line wingers for any center to play with.
The problem is that no one seems to have read about the results of his surgery. Plus, the kid was 18 and had a pretty rapid growth spurt; his muscles didn’t have time to keep up, and he actually gained more. People should stop talking about him as if he was harmful. He wasn’t even on the ice, wasn’t doing anything wrong, was paid by insurance all year to work on getting back in shape, and most importantly… he’s ONLY 24 years old and had 40 points and a +-0 differential in his first 60 games with the Canadiens before getting injured, and that’s on a team that’s rebuilding! At worst, he’d make an excellent big winger, that’s it! People keep yelling that we have too many small players and that we need to protect them (actually, there are only three, but…). The guy is 6’4, 221 pounds, and good at both ends of the ice, plus he has sandpaper.
2022-23 Montreal, Canadiens 58 games 38 points -2
2023-24 Montreal, Canadiens 2 games 2 points +2 Serious knee injury
2024-25 Montreal, Canadiens 57 games 22 points -29 Year following his first surgery
2025-26 Underwent a second knee surgery and is this time back at 100% in the best shape of his career (Arpon Basu, The Athletic) He needs to find his feet again at the start of the season, so give him about 20 games before criticizing him, and we’ll find out for sure with the last two-thirds of it.
As for Newhook, another first rounder. He had 34 pts in 55 games in his first season with the Habs playing on the third line almost by himself of a rebuilding team. Last year he was thrown on the second line with two badly injured players. He’s only 24 as well and offensive help is comming !
Can’t help but wonder if there’s some underlying issue with UFA Jack Roslovic.
I mean, here’s a 28y/o C/RW with good size (6′ 1″ 200lbs) taken 25th overall in 2015 by Winnipeg and who, over 526gp has 102g 158a 260pts for 82-game averages of 16g 25a 41pts -but who has now been on 4 different teams over the past 5 seasons.
His odyssey began when, as an RFA in 2020. his agent (Claude Lemieux) said he wished to be dealt. To that point he had played 180 games with Winnipeg, scoring 26g 41a 67pts, for 82-game averages of 12g 19a 31pts. It’s only a guess, but perhaps his request was based upon dissatisfaction with how he was being utilized. Whatever the case, the Jets complied by sending him and Patrick Laine to his hometown Columbus where he immediately signed a 2-year $3.8 mil contract and, in his first year there racked up 34pts in just 48gp.
Three years later, after 246gp with the Blue Jackets and 51g 95a 146pts – for 82-game averages of 17g 32a 49pts – stats that were up from his production in Winnipeg – they nevertheless dealt him to the NYR for a conditional 4th round pick – hardly in keeping with his decent production there. When that contract expired, he signed last season as a UFA with Carolina for 1 year @ $2.8 mil where he popped 22g 17a 39 pts – down slightly from his Columbus production, but not bad – the Hurricanes either didn’t try to re-up him there, or he wasn’t happy with whatever they offered if they did, so now he’s among the unsigned UFAs.
This one screams caveat emptor.
I’ve wondered that too, George. For a brief moment, now overtaken by my reply to HF30 above, I wondered if the Has might be interested.
Still, rumors have 4 teams sniffing around him, possibly waiting to clear room via a trade before signing him.
Roslovic is a right shot center who has been wildly inconsistent on the faceoff and general play.
He’s been used as a swiss army knife, playing up and down the lineup and both C and RW.
If this guy would have been used exclusively as a bottom 6 C, he’d be seen as an overachiever.
At this point he has no identity and he’s 28y/o
I have been wondering the same thing. His offense stats say I can be a decent third line center. I wonder about his defensive metrics and F/O prowess are poor, I am too lazy to look, but there has to be something there. Or he is holding out for too much term/dollars. Should have been signed by now.
redmonsters, last year Carolina signed him as a UFA on July 4 – 3 days after UFA season opened. This year it’s been 10 days and counting, so you have to think some sort of negative
“assessment” has been circulating.
Roslovic seems stuck between a 2C and 3C. He’s not good enough to carry a line as a 2C on a good playoff team and he’s not defensively tough enough to be a good 2-way, 3C.
So I think he moves around a lot as both player and teams are looking for the right fit. He can be useful, just not a game changer.
Vancouver should give it a go, he better than anyone they have and he might see it as an opportunity, however they lack cap space. But I agree, he is a flawed player
A long way to Mike Sillinger 10 times
Paul Coffey was traded 8 times
Considered one of the all time best defence man
A lesser good player Brent Ashton several times
I wouldn’t read too much into it. If you are a problem you are out of the league.
Toronto is not replacing Marner’s offence. Not by committee not a chance .
What is the Over under on Dach playing 50 games
will the B’s go all in for home town boy Jack Eichel next summer? Vegas always wants a shiny toy so wouldn’t be surprised if Marner if the long term replacement for JE
mike: Eichel is a top line centre, hard to find. Marner is a winger. Besides which, why would Eichel go to a rebuilding team further away from a shot at the cup?
With LJ on this one, hometown boy but he can live there in the summer and when he retires. IMO Vegas will do everything they can to re-sign him.
Boston s best bet is to let Pasternak recruit his next center.He is the only attractive offensive player that they have.
The last time Boston had money to spend they whiffed on Lindholm and Zadorov.The last time they hit was on Chara and Marc Savard,and Sweeney was not the GM at the time.They whiffed on acquiring Noah Hanifan twice at the 2015 draft and when Calgary was trading him, before he became a UFA.If they were smart they would have Pasternak recruit someone to play with him.The shiniest toy for Boston would be Eichel.I don’t t think Vegas signed Marner without setting things up for Eichel s last contract.
Both Lindholm and Zadorov showed signs of returning to the players they used to be the last few months of last season. Too early to consider them whiffs. Sweeney’s problem is spending money on marginal players first and then having too little cap space to sign the top or even better than average players.
Well, career wise if you do the math, Lindholm is a 45 pts/season center he’s 30 and signed till he is 37, I didn’t see much change in Zadorov’s game. Add Swayman that hit the jackpot after one good year, Sweeney spent 160 million dollars on them and long term.
And in case you think Don can still save his job (2 more years, what the heck was Neely thinking ?) Remember that he his the one that fired Jim Montgomery, Had a awfull draft result in 2015 with three straight first rounders that could have made this team a dynasty for a long time had he pick Barzal,Boeser, Connor or Chabot instead of Zboril, Senychyn and DeBrusk.
He can also thank Jeff Gorton for his Stanley Cup (drafted Brad Marchand, signed Zdeno Chara), He didn’t draft his new captain either (Chiarelli drafted Pastrnak).
What I really think is that the Bruins should follow the Hab’s exemple and get rid of Neely and Sweeney and star a rebuild, they already have Dean Letourneau and James Hagens to start off with , which I think is pretty darn good ! Imagine what type of youngsters the team could get in exchange for Pastrnak who is 29 and probably wouldn’t be part of the Bruins next contending team.
Of course, that’s just my opinion, it’s worth what it’s worth ! 😉
Barry’s,his biggest problem was being to loyal and falling in love with his players.He never had a vision to replace Bergeron and Krecji.He waited to long to trade any players and the end result was the purge of players at the trade deadline this year. This retool would not be nearly as bad if he moved players earlier.Weare looking at a team this year that in order to compete Swayman is going to have to be lights out.Mcavoy is goingto need to stay healthy and be a Norris trophy candidate.We could be looking at a lottery pick in the next draft.
There is always a chance to do in-year trades
Start Dach at 2C
If he gels and plays productively; excellent
If he falters; then slide him down the depth chart and do an in-season trade
No need to make a trade now for the sake of making that trade because Dach may not work out
Trade for a 2C now; (1) could be costly in assets surrendered; (2) new acquisition still has a potential for expected performance slide and/or injury and/or not a good fit
No rush really
So many teams are looking for a good 2C these days, and at this time of year (when most teams are hopeful for the new season) very few teams are going to give one away unless they are already in tank-for-McKenna mode.
Barring a major player-for-player trade, all these teams are going to have to wait until the trade deadline to see what centers might become available from teams falling out of the race.
Some names that could be intriguing if these teams falter this year (in no particular order). But I don’t think any of these would be available now:
Rangers: Trocheck
Anaheim: Strome
Calgary: Kadri
StL: Schenn
Nsh: O’Rielly
Chicago: Teravainen
Islanders: JG Pageau
Bos: Zacha, Mittlestadt
Clb: Coyle, Sillinger
Buffalo: anyone not named Tage
Ottawa has a clutch of players who play – or have played – C
Stutzle, Cozens, Pinto, Giroux, Greig, Eller
@ George, I guess I don’t see Ottawa being potential sellers by the deadline, so I didn’t include them. Also, I’m assuming Stutz, Cozens, Greig are off limits. Pinto maybe. (And I don’t consider Giroux a center any longer, or at least someone who could carry a 2C role)
Foleyd7
Don’t see Rangers trading Trochek. They just brought in his buddy JT. I see those 2 as current leadership. Zib rumors still floating around.
With so many teams looking for a legit 2c, now is time to get him to waive nmc.
Skinner signed with SJ. Another guy who can’t seem to stick with 1 team.
The best bet for Toronto, is going to be to add older prospects who have run away to Europe and want a new organization. Swapping the rights of European and Russian prospects MIGHT convince a younger player to try another NHL camp. Other than that, wait and see what transpires in training camps. It is inevitable that some veteran or high formerly ranked prospect is going to falter and need a second chance. It happens every year.
Foleyd7 Agree 100% on waiting to trade the above players until the deadline and then Max Out on the teams that think they have a chance for the cup!Only other option is trading during the season if you want to fill a roster spot if you have a player on LTIR. Example being the Jones trade by Florida.
Habs 2C dilemma can be “easily”solved IF (and that’s a strong IF ) Dach remains healthy and comes close to the player he’s be touted to be. His whole career he’s had issues getting off the runway for a sustained period. If he does then the search is over. I am hoping for another Sean Monaghan scenario where he shows what he can do when healthy .
Honestly, I don’t think the Habs should be in any kind of hurry. They just finished the 4th year of their rebuilt, made the playoffs after only 3, some of their best prospects aren’t even here yet (Reinbacher, Hage and Fowler). I know it’s a great topic for journalists but as far as we know, there aren’t any 1st or 2nd line centers available. I think Dach will get another shot for the reasons I wrote in my other text. We also often hear that the Habs and Blues might not be finished talking, Hughes and Gorton apparently are still intereted in Kyrou and their were some rumors he’d be willing to flag his NTC to come to Montreal. I guesse time will tell but with Hughes, you never know. That guy is a genious
The things he pulled of since his arrival… Just an example :
Trades Jordan Harris for Patrick Laine and a 2nd round pick
He picked up Monahan with a first-round pick as compensation. He then traded him for another first-round pick (Monahan).
Used the pick received for taking Monahan’s contract to acquire Noah Dobson: Total investment: 17th pick + Emil Heineman
The second first-round pick (Winnipeg’s) was traded with the second-round pick received from the Baron and some little change to move up in the 2024 draft and select Michael Hage. Total investment: a second-round pick and some change.
Then he traded Barron for Alexandre Carrier, and Logan Mailloux for Zachary Bolduc
Final result: 17th pick + Heineman + 2nd pick + Barron, Mailloux, Jordan Harris and some change
in exchange for:
Noah Dobson, Patrick Laine, Michael Hage, Zachary Bolduc, Alexandre Carrier and a 2nd rounder. He didn’t trade a single player on his team (core) nor did he touch his top three prospects (Reinbacher, Hage, and Fowler).
Simply amazing, I’ve been following hockey for 40 years and I don’t remembre the team having such a great G.M 🙂
Sorry for the typos !! French speaking guy here that learned English by himself lol 😉
Hey, none of us will ever be confused with Shakespeare, Mike … and there are times when I look at some of my posts and figure I’ve had a “senior’s moment” and typed with my elbows.
I wish I was as proficient with French as you are with English.
Heh … Mike – if it’s been 40 years, you started in 1985 by which time Serge Savard had been the GM for 2 (and would last to 1995), during which his team went to the finals 3 times and won 2 Cups – including the last one by a Canada-based team (1993). So, I’d say he was a pretty good GM, overall.
After that, however, it was a parade of futility with Rejean Houle, Andre Savard, one exception in Bob Gainey, who certainly wasn’t horrible over his tenure, then back to futility with Pierre Gauthier and Marc Bergevin.
First of all thanks for encouraging me George, you’ve always been a real gentelman ! 😉 Savard was pretty good, some others too but what Hughes is doing right now is astonishing and the way he does it too. Might become the best Habs GM since Sam Pollock, still has some work to do but I think he’s having a heck of a start 🙂
Please do not dredge up a forgettable past.
This might seem off the wall but why don’t the Maple Leafs look within rather than paying to get someone that may not even replace Marner.
How about Nick Robertson, he’s the sand size as Marner, he’s faster than Marner, he has upside, he can shoot. He’s working hard on his defensive gane.
Put him on the right side of Matthews and see if he can produce.