NHL Rumor Mill – September 6, 2025
What’s the Canadiens’ next move after trading Carey Price’s contract to the Sharks? Could the Maple Leafs trade Brandon Carlo? What’s the latest on Evgeny Kuznetsov? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: Marc Dumont reports the Canadiens are now under the $95.5 million salary cap (by over $4.5 million, according to PuckPedia) after trading Carey Price’s contract to the San Jose Sharks on Friday. That means they should have the necessary funds to make a trade that improves their roster.
Former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (NHL Images).
If they sit on that cap space, they will accrue over $20.8 million by the March trade deadline.
RG.ORG: Marco D’Amico also pointed out that the Canadiens have ample salary-cap room to start the season, leaving them open for more moves.
“Be it before camp or toward American Thanksgiving (Nov. 27), sources confirm the club is looking to add,” writes D’Amico.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It’s no secret that the Canadiens want to add an experienced, reliable second-line center. They remain among the clubs linked to Mason McTavish of the Anaheim Ducks, but reports out of Anaheim suggest they intend to re-sign him.
THE ATHLETIC: James Mirtle was recently asked about recent rumors suggesting the Toronto Maple Leafs should use Brandon Carlo as a trade chip to add a forward. Before the March 2025 trade deadline, the Leafs acquired the 28-year-old right-shot defenseman from the Boston Bruins.
Mirtle believes the Maple Leafs are still seeking an upgrade up front. He considers Carlo to be a viable trade chip because they don’t have much else to offer, plus he thinks they’d like to add another puck-moving defenseman.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Leafs remain linked to unrestricted free-agent forward Jack Roslovic, but he’s not going to be an upgrade to their top-six forwards. They would likely prefer a scoring right winger, but those players aren’t easy to find. They might have to wait and see which ones become available in the trade market later this season.
Moving Carlo would work if the Leafs could also find that puck-moving blueliner that Mirtle was referring to, but that could also be difficult given their limited trade capital.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Sammi Silber reports the agent for Evgeny Kuznetsov said his client is closing in on a decision as to which NHL team he’ll sign with for this season.
Agent Shumi Babayev said the 33-year-old center has decided on two clubs, which are currently resolving issues within their budgets.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens freed up some cap space on Friday, but I doubt they’re targeting Kuznetsov. They tend to pursue younger players who will best fit within their system. Feel free to offer up your opinion on this topic in the comments section below.
I still say Habs SHOULD go after McTavish
Great team on the rise
Good PTO move by Wild on Leason
Not a contract for Leason; but a potential spot
Devils inked 4 PTOs: Rooney (32) , Glendenning (36) , and 2 mid 20’s tall goalies Romanov (25) and Scheel (26)
Few “real” spaces left throughout NHL; many still in the unemployment line
Per PuckPedia; all but 4 teams are at 23 of 23 on their rosters:
@ 22/23: just Cannucks, Preds, Black Hawks, Ducks
Setting aside that we all know PuckPedia is making some guesses on some teams for bottom players; the above effectively means there are 4 or so absolute/total true “blanks” /“openings” for NHL contracts throughout the league
Then just look at RFAs…. McTavish, Hughes who WILL get NHL contracts; and Kupari, Holtz “Likely”
to get NHL contracts
Then add UFAs Fabbri, Roslovic, and maybe Tater-Tots “likely” to get NHL contracts
That leaves 2 RFAs (Kaiser,
Evangelista) , about 3 dozen (mostly very long in the tooth) UFAs and dozens of eager beaver youngsters (AHL AND recent drafts) vying for extremely rare available spots
Logic says likely more retirements and/or pond-hopping
The Ducks have 4 center prospects all picked in the top 50 picks…. i would think they could let a Strome go to the Habs who would give them a decent middle 6 center
with Leo+McTavish+Granlund they are set down the middle for now
Yes I’m sure Ducks would punt Strome
The return won’t be that big
Return on McTavish would be substantial
I’ve said it before; a true all in move (short term and long term) for both Habs and Ducks is a McTavish/Hutson flip (with sundry picks/prospects) to balance
Ducks have Lacimbe, Mintukov and Zellweger as LHDs
Hutson would seriously move them in the right direction
Ducks have (as you’ve pointed out, Leo, Strome, Granlund; AND they just drafted big boy McQueen
McTavish on Habs absolutely moves needle
Habs already have Ghule, Matheson, Xhekaj and Struble as LHD ; only 2 RHDs; Reinbacher (R) ready to move up
I would not move McT unless it was Hutson. he is good on faceoffs and between he and leo you are set no matter if none of the prospects pan out. the ducks do have to pay a few more rfa next summer but lots of salary comes off the books
Strome is a third line center at best. Habs don’t need him now. He had three solid years with the Rangers playing with Panarin. Otherwise he never topped 50 points,
Canucks expect one or more prospects (most likely Willander) to make the team out of camp, so they’re not really looking for additional players now. They will probably try to acquire a 2C during tge season, though.
I think the Habs will be patient with that cap space, and see how Kirby Dach works out this season – which could be his last in Montreal. I could see Hugo making a deal in the first half of the season but nothing big. I’m not sure the Habs would be willing to part with what it would take to land McTavish, which I suspect will be some combination of a 1st, Hage, and Reinbacher. Hage is supposed to be their future 2nd line centre and Reinbacher is supposed to replace Matheson after this upcoming season. If Verbeek is willing to accept a 1st, Hage, and Matheson for McTavish then I think Hugo agrees. Hugo might have to outbid other teams and that could mean no deal.
No to Kuznetsov.
One name that has not been mentioned is Matty Beniers. He just signed a new deal and I don’t think he’s on the block, but if things don’t go well in Seattle during the first half of the season then I wouldn’t be surprised if Hugo makes some phone calls there. But again, the Kirby Dach experiment has to be over by then.
Hugo could just as well make a few tweaks and let Dach and Matheson walk at the end of the season and promote Hage and Reinbacher.
The extra cap space is needed for bonus overages and Hutson’s new contract so it’s not like Hugo is looking to spend. He’ll play it safe with that cap space, as I think it’s unlikely he uses it to land a pending UFA 2nd line centre at the trade deadline.
Dach, Reinbacher and a top 3 protected 1st for McT
Sign McT for 6 x $8.2M 👍
Agreed Boots. At this point Reinbacher is not going anywhere. It’s possible that Hage might be included in a trade for McTavish but I’m not sure Hughes wants to trade him. I think the Habs, and a lot of teams, will proceed with what they have and see how the season plays out.
And I agree on Kuznetsov. The Habs are not interested in him. His agent said as much earlier this summer. They wouldn’t have signed Veleno if they were interested in Kuznetsov. His name starts with a K and so does the league he’ll be playing in.
Bruins did very well in Trade with Toronto for Carlo
i wouldn’t write off Kutnetsov to the Habs. Who knows if Dach will be able to be healthy enough to be relied on to stay in the lineup. Another Russian forward, especially on the same line, with Demidov, surely won’t hurt the Habs. And now they have the cap space for it. A Laine-Kutnetsov-Demidov line is pretty promising, even if 2/3 of the line are past their prime
mike, Everyday had it right in his first sentence, IMO, for the following reasons:
The Habs are taking the long view. Giving up a RHD with a strong projection is making the team strong in one area and weakening it in another. Matheson is probably in his last year in Montreal, so Reinbacher is important to their future.
Hage would be worth moving for McTavish in a package, but why would the Ducks move McTavish? We know how difficult 2Cs are to find, and the Ducks are rich with picks, prospects and legit young NHLers. They have 3 well rated D in their prospect pool. Moving McTavish this year will not get them closer to the playoffs. What Montreal asset not named Reinbacher helps the Ducks?
Back to the overarching position of Everyday, the Habs will wait to see how Dach (and others) do early in the season. While the Habs could slip out of a playoff position this year, they are already stronger than they were last year, and no worse off at 2C.
As for Kuznetsov, his production tanked the last two years in the NHL. A remote possibility if he signed a dirt cheap one year deal, but I think he sees himself as deserving more.
i f the ducks let go or trade mctavish do they have a second line center ready?
no unless you want to run Granlund there.
they have 2 prospects that might have 2nd line potential but not yet
Even when healthy, Dach has not shown much. Over 6 seasons he’s got a per 82 game average of 13goals/24 assists. At best right now he’s a decent 3C. What’s Laine’s future in Montreal?
Lane gets moved to Carolina to help the PP imho at the TDL
An enduring mystery to me is why people think the Habs would move Hutson. In your post, ds, you would be correct that he would help Carolina’s powerplay. What about the Habs’ power play?
It accompanies the enduring mystery as to why people think the Ducks would trade McTavish – unless he wants out of Anaheim.
Moving McTavish and future 1-2 at center is Leo-McQueen
The return (big) for McTavish NOW, to me , is better than either having McQueen as 3C in 3 years; or moving McQueen then, for less than they can get for McTavish now
RIP to Ken Dryden as an Isles fan glad he retired when he did. Under rated goalie as good as Roy or Brodeur in his prime which was too short. He was unbeatable.
Dryden wasn’t as good as Roy. Brodeur, yes, but not Roy. Hell, Carey Price is better than Dryden was. Dryden has oh gee I don’t know only the best teams in hockey history in front of him. Dryden was a very good goalie but just barely in the all-time goaltending top 10.
Alan, Dryden is without a doubt one of the best goalies ever. Okay, he had an exceptional team in front of him. But he was the teams backbone. Always reliable, always consistent. He made everyone on the team better and more confident.
Dryden and Parent dominated the 70’s goaltending. Winner, and that is all that needs to be said.
Kuznetsov on a 1 and done to the Habs isn’t a bad idea. I also wouldn’t mind a PTO extended to Adam Ruzicka. The former Flames prospect put up a decent season in the KHL and might be worth a look from the Habs.
Habs would love to have McTavish though none of the proposals here are possible.
Trading Price’s contract only puts the Habs $4.5m so they need to trade contracts to afford him.
Reinbacher, Hage, a draft pick, aside from their value to the Habs they don’t count against the cap.
Actual cap assets have to go the other way like Laine, Matheson, Anderson, Gallagher.
The only one that could interest them is Laine if for no other reason than his power play prowess.
In 52 games last year he had 15pp goals, Anaheim had 26pp goals in total last year.
At this point the Habs are most likely going to wait and see how things shape up.
The Habs had an atrocious start to the season last year, out of the race after just 15 games.
The season turned around after Carrier, Dobes and Laine joined the team, so maybe that 2C isn’t as urgent as it’s made out to be.
Considering how big a splash Hugo made with Dobson re trade and contract $, they must have felt that the RD need was more important than 2C.
They could have had any available centre for that payout.
I have a pre-emptive move that improves Habs and post that trade; will allow for McTavish trade
Laine and Thorpe
For Rust
That puts Habs nigh $8.2 M in space
Then Hutson/McTavish flip (with sundry picks/prospects exchanged to balance trade)
Bring Reinbach up
McTavish/Rust/Reinbach in vs Hutson/Laine/?(23rd player on roster down); is a big needle mover for Habs
Want an even bigger needle mover:
Rust and EK (50%)
For Laine, Dach, Newhook
Again sitting then at over $8 M in space; then do the McTavish Hutson flip
Bring up Beck; Reinbach ready to jump up when needed
Result:
McTavish replaces Dach at 2C
Rust replaces Laine
Beck replaces Newhook
EK replaces Hutson
That’s a massive improvement in Habs for the next two years; plus big improvement (McTavish over Dach) for a few years past next 2; Beck will be better than Newhook next year anyway; EK in and Hutson out for next two years is close to a saw off; after that Reinbach is in
So absolutely huge improvement this year anc next vs present value of 3 years from now to 8 years from now) of Hutson vs Reinbach
8787,
What I have learned and I think many here would agree, if you were a GM and I saw your number flash on my phone, I’d just decline the call.
Habfan30, I think we are in agreement but the Habs wouldn’t have to make the dollars work in a trade for McTavish. Hugo has proven quite capable of making savvy cap deals and could make the dollars work in a deal with another team. I don’t see the Ducks taking any player they don’t really want just to make the dollars work. Your points are valid, though. Cheers!
There have been posts here in the past where the lack of signing a player has been attributed to the ego of a GM as the reason, thus spawning lasting player resentment. While that cannot be ruled out entirely, how likely are ego, snits, or other such things driving decision?.
Here is a quote from Isles GM Mathieu Darche which illustrates the far more likely way GMs and player agents conduct their business:
“People always think when you trade a player because you can’t sign him to a contract, it’s acrimonious, but there was never any animosity,” Darche said. “I had a value that I thought was my threshold, the agent (Judd Moldaver) saw something else, and then instead of arguing, it was like, ‘If you think you can get that deal somewhere else, let’s work together to make that happen.’ I wanted to keep the player, but at the end of the day, we couldn’t agree to a contract. That’s business. But there was never any argument. Both sides agreed to make the best of it.
“That’s something I learned from Julien: take the emotion out of the decision.’’
An interesting comment in the middle of that is whether a player could get a better deal elsewhere. I wonder how often a GM has come back with: I couldn’t find another GM who values the player the same as you do.