NHL Rumor Mill – August 7, 2026
What’s the latest on Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrik Laine? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
THE SICK PODCAST: Nick Lariviere cited Jimmy Murphy and Shayne Gaumond discussing the possibility of Vladimir Tarasenko being a free-agent option for the Montreal Canadiens.
Former Minnesota Wild winger Vladimir Tarasenko (NHL Images).
Murphy and Gaumond believe the 34-year-old Tarasenko could be a good fit with the Canadiens, who need second-line depth. Murphy cited the winger’s versatility as the best “plug-in” piece for the Habs.
However, Murphy’s Eye Test podcast co-host Pierre McGuire disagrees, saying he doesn’t believe Tarasenko would have a spot among the Canadiens’ top six.
Lariviere acknowledged Tarasenko lacks the speed of Canadiens’ second-line winger Alex Newhook. However, he believes the veteran’s pure skill and experience could make him a good short-term fit alongside fellow Russian Ivan Demidov on the Habs’ second line.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s no secret the Canadiens seek a suitable linemate for the talented Demidov, preferably a center. Trade rumors have linked them to Toronto Maple Leafs power forward Matthew Knies and Columbus Blue Jackets winger Kirill Marchenko.
Canadiens management has been unwilling to bring in aging veterans, preferring players in their mid-to-late 20s that would mesh well with their young core. If they wanted Tarasenko, they probably would’ve signed him by now.
THE MONTREAL GAZETTE: Herb Zurkowsky reports former Canadiens winger Patrik Laine has been linked to several NHL clubs this summer.
Laine, 28, is an unrestricted free agent coming off a four-year contract worth an average annual value of $8.7 million. The sniper spent the past two seasons with the Canadiens, with injuries limiting him to 57 regular-season games.
Zurkowsky noted that Laine had been linked to the New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and, more recently, the Philadelphia Flyers. He believes a team could land the former 44-goal scorer for around $1.5 million on a one-year deal.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Laine’s skating has slowed, his defensive game is weak, and he’s become more of a power-play specialist at this stage of his career. Still, his powerful shot could land him with a team seeking additional scoring while playing with the man advantage. Whether it’ll be with one of the clubs mentioned by Zurkowsky remains to be seen.
Tarasenko and Laine are both intriguing.
Laine – How does a team find a way to balance the cons to have the pros thrive? Still has a great shot but isnt top 6 any longer on a good team and doesnt have the skill sets to be particularly useful in the bottom 6. If he wants to remain an NHLer he is going to figure out a way to reinvent himself (and that is not easy to do either).
Tarasenko, you have to think its more about salary and term. Yea he is slowing but unlike Laine he is a more versatile option in your lineup. If he was willing to sign at a lower aav for 1 year…you’d have to think he’d be off the board already. This feels similar to Roslovic last season. Useful player that maybe the agent has mis read the market on? Idk.
I’m guessing there’s a few teams willing to get Laine on cheap deal. Like a lot of these guys, he’s looking at best deal. Can’t believe he’s washed up at age 28. Buffalo had 21st ranked PP. both Tuch and Byram played about a minute and a half per game on PP and both are gone. Sabres GM Kekalainen is guy that brought Laine to CLB and gave him last contract. Seems like a good fit. Hard to imagine a 28 yo athlete not putting in the work to get back to where he was or at least close. These should be prime years.
Tarasenko was terrible with the Wings 2 seasons ago. He had many chances to score and was snake-bit that whole year producing only 11 goals in 80 games.
Can’t say I’m surprised that neither Laine nor Tarasenko have yet to land jobs, as both have severe defensive limitations that, over the course of a season, can over-shadow any significant contributions.
But the fact none among Eeli Tolvanen, Michael Bunting and Logan Stanley have been yet signed does surprise me a bit.
The 6′ 186lb LW Bunting is the oldest of the 3, but he’s only 31 and, over 418gp, has 82-game averages of 21g 28a 49 pts.
6′ 7″ 230lbs LD Logan Stanley is just 28, and while not an offensive threat in any way, he will get you around 4 goals 14 assists while providing a big body presence on D.
And then there’s 27y/o 5′ 10″ 185lbs left-shot RW Eeli Tolvanen who, over his 423gp has 82-game average of 18g 19a 37pts.
Surely some teams somewhere could use a bottom 6 F and 3rd pairing D like those 3.
I don’t get the Laine debate across the league including Montreal, especially now when he can be signed to a league minimum performance laden contract.
Many teams carry players getting 5-8 minutes a game because they fill a specific role, usually physicality.
Why not give Laine those minutes as a powerplay specialist and select offensive zone draws?
Yvan Cournoyer did it for his first few seasons of his career, getting almost exclusively powerplay minutes, scoring 20 goals a year because Toe Blake didn’t trust his defensive game.
I get HF30.
Not a Laine expert, but from what I can tell what he does is bang pucks at the net from his spot on the off wing on the PP. No good at anything else.
If anyone should understand his value it’s the Habs. Their PP got better last year when he wasn’t there for the 52 games he was the year before.
Teams average between 5-7 minutes of PP time a game. So say 6 as the #.1st group gets max 4 minutes.
Most teams play their regular 4th line guys a minimum of 10 minutes, unless they are injury call ups from the minors. Some teams, like the Habs were 12 minutes for a MTL regular forward, Veleno as 12:05.
Laine out there trying to check for 8 minutes is a problem, especially on the road when the other team gets last change.
Sounds like a good guy, but it’s PTO time and maybe Europe if that doesn’t work out.
IMO I think most teams start playing the 4th line more, not less.
Ahhh yes … the Roadrunner… I’ll never forget an antsy crowd in a game the Habs were losing at home in one of his early seasons’ games as they began chanting “nous voulons Cournoyer … nous voulons Cournoyer ….” (“we want Cournoyer” for the non-bilingual).
At one point Toe Blake went to him seated on the bench, tapped him on the shoulder, leaned over and said “Yvan, better go see what they want ….”
Cournoyer himself told this story often some years later after he became a regular under Ruel to emphasize that, if you wanted to play every day for the Habs, you’d better become a two-way player.
Laine won’t play 40 games.
Great shot , Big man made of peanut brittle