The holiday roster freeze has ended, but the rumor mill didn’t sleep during that period. Check out the latest on Auston Matthews and Marc-Andre Fleury, plus updates on the Flames in the Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup.
THE LATEST ON THE MAPLE LEAFS
On Dec. 22, SPORTSNET’s Nick Kypreos said he believed that the Toronto Maple Leafs could talk with Auston Matthews next summer about a possible trade.
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews (NHL Images).
Matthews is under contract with the Maple Leafs through 2027-28. Kypreos acknowledged that Matthews’ no-movement clause means it would be a joint effort between the player and management to find a suitable destination if one side or the other believes it’s time for a change. He felt that this would also be a move that occurs in the summer rather than during the season.
Despite the recent drop-off in Matthews’ performance, Kypreos doesn’t think that it’s permanent. He suggested that other clubs could share that view, speculating the Los Angeles Kings could see the Maple Leafs center as a replacement for the retiring Anze Kopitar.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kings would undoubtedly be interested in Matthews if he became available next summer, and they have the cap space to absorb his $13.25 million average annual value for the next two seasons.
However, the Kings could lack the assets the Leafs would want in return. They’d want a good young center as part of the deal, meaning they will likely ask for Quinton Byfield. They’ll also want a first-round pick and a couple of other pieces as well.
The Kings wouldn’t be the only club getting into the bidding. Unless they are willing to include Byfield, they might not win a bidding war over other teams that Matthews might consider acceptable trade destinations.
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday that former NHL head coach Peter DeBoer reached out to Maple Leafs bench boss Craig Berube to address recent rumors suggesting he could replace him.
DeBoer sent a note to Berube telling him to ignore the speculation. He stated that he hasn’t been in discussions with the Maple Leafs and isn’t taking his job.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: A classy move by DeBoer, who knows what it’s like to deal with speculation about being fired. He’s currently serving as an assistant coach for Canada’s men’s hockey team for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
COULD A TEAM TEMPT MARC-ANDRE FLEURY OUT OF RETIREMENT?
BLEACHER REPORT: Frank Seravalli suggested the Edmonton Oilers should try to coax goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury out of retirement.
The 40-year-old netminder hung up his pads at the end of the 2024-25 playoffs following a 21-season NHL career. Seravalli noted that Fleury recently played in an outdoor game in Aspen, CO, with some NHL alumni, and before that, took some shots with some Minnesota Wild extras. He also played one period of a preseason game with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a way of bringing his long NHL career full circle.
Seravalli isn’t entirely convinced that Fleury is done, but admitted it would take a special circumstance or situation to convince the future Hall of Famer to come out of retirement.
TSN: Pierre LeBrun reports some teams have checked in with Fleury to see if there’s any chance he’d consider coming out of retirement. LeBrun isn’t surprised that teams with goalie needs would look into Fleury’s availability.
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reports he’s heard that Fleury is open to the right opportunity for a comeback. He thinks the Oilers could be a team to watch, especially after the Tristan Jarry trade, pointing out that Jarry and Fleury were former teammates in Pittsburgh.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It says something about the lack of quality goaltenders in the trade market when teams are checking with a recently retired netminder, especially what that goalie was in a backup role last season.
Fleury was asked about whether he’d reconsider retirement after his brief preseason appearance with the Penguins in September. “I am tired. My hip is sore,” he replied, prompting Penguins beat writer Josh Yohe of The Athletic to proclaim that Fleury’s career is over.
Some clubs with shaky goalie depth could be calling Fleury’s agent to see if his client might consider a comeback. The Oilers could be among them, but they’re likely to stick with backup Calvin Pickard and call-up Connor Ingram until Jarry returns from injury, which could take about the same amount of time that Fleury would need to get up to NHL speed if he were pondering a return.
By the way, Fleury and Jarry weren’t teammates for long in Pittsburgh. The latter played only one game with the Penguins during the former’s final season.
THE LATEST FLAMES SPECULATION
VICTORY PLUS: Before the holiday roster freeze, Frank Servalli reported there’s been “a lot of tire-kicking” on Rasmus Andersson. The 29-year-old Calgary Flames defenseman is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Servalli acknowledged that the Flames received an increase in calls about Andersson following the Quinn Hughes trade earlier this month. He believes the interest in the Flames blueliner is genuine, but teams aren’t ready yet to start making offers, especially when they don’t know if he’s willing to consider a contract extension.
Andersson isn’t the only player on the Flames drawing attention in the trade market. According to Seravalli, his sources claim 20 clubs have expressed interest in Blake Coleman. The 34-year-old winger is signed through 2026-27 with an AAV of $4.9 million and a 10-team no-trade clause.
Servalli said the Flames aren’t in a rush to move Coleman. He believes it will take “something good” to tempt them into moving the veteran winger.
Coleman is a Dallas native, which had Seravalli musing over the possibility of the Dallas Stars attempting to acquire Coleman and Andersson. However, he doubted they had sufficient trade assets to pull that off, suggesting they would likely target Andersson.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Flames clawed their way out of the bottom of the Western Conference standings to within five points of a wildcard playoff berth. If they fail to gain more ground, they’ll likely be sellers by the March trade deadline, or before the Olympic break in February.
However, if they keep rising in the standings, management might be less inclined to sell, preferring instead to keep Andersson as their own rental for the playoffs.
