NHL Rumor Mill – June 16, 2025
NHL Rumor Mill – June 16, 2025
In today’s NHL Rumor Mill: Mitch Marner appears headed to market, the Sabres are entertaining offers for JJ Peterka, and the latest on the Rangers
NO TALKS BETWEEN MITCH MARNER AND THE MAPLE LEAFS
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports Mitch Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs appear headed for a breakup.

Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner (NHL Images).
The 28-year-old right wing is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Friedman claimed the Marner camp has not engaged in contract discussions with the Leafs. He believes the winger will head to market and sign with a new team.
FanDuel Sports Network’s Andy Strickland reported on Friday that Marner wouldn’t return with the Maple Leafs. Friedman didn’t contradict Strickland’s claim, suggesting the Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights could be interested in talking to the winger.
Friedman believes Marner could take his time deciding where to sign. He could also decide on a shorter-term deal (perhaps four years) rather than the full seven-year term, enabling him to return to the UFA market while still in his playing prime.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: No one should be surprised that Marner and the Maple Leafs will part company. It’s been expected for some time. He’s probably had enough of being the scapegoat in Leafs Nation for the club’s recent postseason failures.
The Ducks, Hurricanes and Kings have the cap space to sign Marner this summer to a short-term contract with an average annual value of what could be $14 million. However, the Golden Knights cannot afford him without shedding salary through a cost-cutting trade or if one of their high-salaried players ends up on long-term injury reserve for next season.
How long it takes for Marner to decide where he’ll sign will affect the market for other notable UFA forwards like Nikolaj Ehlers, Brock Boeser and perhaps Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand if those two don’t re-sign with the Florida Panthers.
SABRES ENTERTAINING TRADE OFFERS FOR JJ PETERKA
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports Buffalo Sabres winger JJ Peterka could be on the trade block. The 23-year-old winger is coming off a career-best 68-point performance. He’s a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level contract and lacks arbitration rights.
The Sabres had been rejecting the interest that rival clubs have in Peterka, but they’ve lately begun listening to offers. Friedman believes the young forward is unhappy and wants to play elsewhere. He thinks the Sabres still don’t want to move Peterka, but are now at least considering it.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: They won’t give away Peterka or trade him just for the sake of it. They’re well-stocked with prospects, so they don’t want a return of draft picks and prospects. The Sabres will prefer a player-for-player swap, like when they shipped Dylan Cozens to Ottawa for Josh Norris at the March trade deadline, or when they sent Casey Mittelstadt to Colorado in 2024 for Bowen Byram.
THE LATEST ON THE RANGERS
NEW YORK POST: Mollie Walker reported the Rangers shipping Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks last week cleared his $6.5 million average annual value through 2026-27 from their salary-cap payroll. It ensures that general manager Chris Drury has cap flexibility and cost certainty heading into the NHL Draft (June 27-28) and the start of free agency on July 1.
The trade left the Rangers with nearly $15 million in cap space for 2025-26. It ensures they can match any offer sheets from rival clubs, and gives Drury the freedom to explore different options to improve the Rangers for next season.
Walker believes K’Andre Miller won’t be playing for the Rangers next season. He’s an RFA with arbitration rights on July 1. Drury will have to find someone who can replace the minute-munching defenseman.
Walker’s colleague, Larry Brooks, shares her take that Miller could be traded. He also thinks there’s no guarantee Alexis Lafreniere will still be a Ranger when next season begins, as Drury seeks to make multiple moves that change the mix on the ice under new head coach Mike Sullivan.
THE ATHLETIC: Arthur Staple believes Drury could consider offer sheets among his offseason options to shake up his roster.
Sabres winger JJ Peterka is among the offer-sheet options. However, the Rangers lack their own 2026 second-rounder, which would be required as part of the compensation to Buffalo if Peterka signed a deal with an annual cap hit between $7 million and $9.3 million.
Any significant offer-sheet signing by the Rangers would include their 2026 first-round pick. That would mean Drury would relinquish the conditional 2025 first-rounder sent to the Vancouver Canucks (and subsequently flipped to the Pittsburgh Penguins) in the JT Miller trade in January.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Sabres are in a position to match that type of offer sheet for Peterka, and no one’s going higher than $9.3 million to get him. Drury will have to swing a trade to get him, and the Sabres likely aren’t keen to send him to a nearby Eastern Conference rival.