NHL Rumor Mill – January 20, 2024
NHL Rumor Mill – January 20, 2024
Could the Canucks pursue Jake Guentzel? Will the Kings attempt to land Jake Allen? Which players could become Blues trade candidates? Find out in the latest in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
COULD THE CANUCKS PURSUE GUENTZEL?
SPORTSNET: During his latest “32 Thoughts” podcast episode, Elliotte Friedman expressed his belief that the Vancouver Canucks would be interested in acquiring Jake Guentzel if the Pittsburgh Penguins winger becomes available before the March 8 trade deadline.
Friedman noted that Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford knows Guentzel from his days as Penguins general manager. However, he also said a lot of other clubs would be interested in the 29-year-old winger, who’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Penguins GM Kyle Dubas earlier this week dismissed recent trade speculation about Guentzel, saying he hasn’t had discussions about him with other clubs. Dubas also said at some point they’ll evaluate what’s best for Guentzel and the Penguins going forward.
With the Penguins jockeying for a wild-card berth Dubas could hang onto Guentzel as an own rental for the remainder of this season. Perhaps he’s already decided that he’s keeping the winger in the fold and has no plans to move him regardless of where his club sits in the standings.
Rutherford has said he’d like to add a top-six forward before the trade deadline. He’ll probably look into the cost of acquiring Guentzel if he’s available. Whether he’d be willing to pay what could be a steep asking price or can outbid other clubs is another matter.
JAKE ALLEN TO THE KINGS?
TVA SPORTS: cited Friedman also talking about where Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen might end up. He believes the Canadiens’ asking price is a draft pick but that could go higher if an interested club wants the Habs to retain part of his $3.85 million average annual value through 2024-25.
Friedman said at one point earlier in this season he thought the 33-year-old Allen would be headed to the Edmonton Oilers but he’s not convinced of that now. Instead, he suggested the Canadiens goalie could be a trade target for the Los Angeles Kings.
“I think they’re going to acquire a goalie,” said Friedman. “Whether it’s Allen or whoever, I think they will add a goalie.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Kings were getting good goaltending from aging starter Cam Talbot but he’s had his difficulties in recent games. With Pheonix Copley sidelined for the season by a knee injury, call-up David Rittich has performed well in limited action.
It remains to be seen if Kings management is willing to stick with Rittich as a backup for the rest of the season. They could look for someone with a more reliable record.
WHICH BLUES COULD BECOME TRADE CANDIDATES?
THE ATHLETIC: Jeremy Rutherford recently looked at which players the St. Louis Blues could attempt to move if they become sellers before the March 8 trade deadline.
Sammy Blais, Oskar Sundqvist, Kasperi Kapanen, Jakub Vrana and Marco Scandella are their notable pending unrestricted free agents. Of these, Rutherford expects Sundqvist might the the only one with a chance of re-signing with the Blues.
Other trade candidates could include Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Binnington, Justin Faulk, Brandon Saad, Nick Leddy and Torey Krug. They all have term remaining on their respective contracts, making them more likely to be off-season trade candidates.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Krug used his no-trade clause to nix a move to Philadelphia last summer. Unless he has a change of mind or a preferable trade destination, I don’t see him going anywhere. The same goes for Binnington, Saad, Faulk and Leddy as they also possess full no-trade protection.
Buchnevich, meanwhile, has a 12-team no-trade clause while Scandella’s is a seven-team NTC. That makes them easier to move than the others but still limits the number of potential trade partners.