Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – February 26, 2023
Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup – February 26, 2023
The Blackhawks and Rangers are believed working on a Patrick Kane deal, the latest on Timo Meier, what’s next for the Jets and Predators, the Flyers are shopping James van Riemsdyk, plus the latest on the Oilers, Blue Jackets, Senators and Leafs in the Sunday NHL Rumor Roundup.
BLACKHAWKS & RANGERS WORKING ON PATRICK KANE TRADE
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports the New York Rangers have started moves to clear cap space in anticipation of acquiring Patrick Kane from the Chicago Blackhawks. They traded winger Vitali Kravtsov to the Vancouver Canucks and placed forward Jake Leschyshyn on waivers. However, there’s nothing official yet regarding Kane and the Rangers.
He believes the earliest the Rangers could acquire Kane would be Tuesday when they would’ve accrued sufficient cap space. However, that could become as early as Sunday if Ryan Lindgren ends up on long-term injury reserve after he was injured during Saturday’s game against Washington.
TSN: Chris Johnston reported Kane would not play in Saturday’s game against the San Jose Sharks as he returned home to Chicago. His agent said the decision was a collective one based on the situation.
NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks reports Rangers general manager Chris Drury still has to find a third team to broker this deal and spread around Kane’s $10.5 million cap hit after the Blackhawks retain half of it. Brooks feels this deal could be inevitable with Kane perhaps joining the Rangers lineup by Wednesday.
THE ATHLETIC: Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus report Drury remains stuck to his position of not parting with a first-round pick in June’s draft or any upcoming year or surrendering prime prospect Brennan Othmann. They also suspect the Rangers GM could be unwilling to part with prospects Matthew Robertson, Will Cuylle, Dylan Garand or perhaps even Adam Sykora.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It doesn’t sound like the Blackhawks will get much of a return for the Rangers for Kane. At this stage, a second-round pick and defenseman Zac Jones could be the main pieces of a return based on recent speculations.
LATEST ON TIMO MEIER
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports the leading contenders for Timo Meier (New Jersey, Carolina, Vegas) want to get an answer from the San Jose Sharks. As of Saturday, the Devils remain the lead contenders while the Hurricanes don’t sound as likely though Friedman cautioned that could always change. Some teams wanted to make a contract extension for Meier as part of the deal but that doesn’t sound as likely now.
TSN: Pierre LeBrun reported things seemed to be heating up on the Meier trade front. The list of suitors is shrinking as the Sharks zero in on what they want to do.
SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW: Sheng Peng cited a source claiming the Golden Knights are “in hard for Meier.” Peng remains doubtful they can win a bidding war citing the lack of depth in Grade-A prospects within their system. One option could be for the Golden Knights to become a middle-man team that re-routes Meier to another club. There is the possibility of Vegas offering up their 2023 first-rounder plus a future unprotected first-rounder in a package offer.
THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Luke DeCock reports the Hurricanes have the cap space to spare, the prospects to dangle and could perhaps part with their 2023 first-rounder for a roster upgrade. Meier would make sense as the pending restricted free agent would be a “sort-of” rental but the asking price would be expensive. DeCock believes the Hurricanes would be willing to move a prospect such as Jack Drury or Scott Morrow but not both while Alexander Nikishin is untouchable.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: It sounds like Meier could be moved well before Friday’s 3 PM ET deadline. The Devils remain the favorite but I don’t rule out the Hurricanes. The St. Louis Blues are reportedly willing to offer up two of their three first-rounders in this year’s draft but not their own pick, which could be a deal-breaker for the Sharks. I don’t see the Golden Knights having a realistic chance unless the Devils, Hurricanes and Blues drop out.
PREDATORS ARE SELLERS
THE TENNESSEAN: Paul Skrbina reports Nashville Predators GM David Poile confirms his club is a seller after shipping winger Nino Niederreiter to the Winnipeg Jets. Poile isn’t going to forecast anything and won’t just make a trade for the sake of doing so. However, he adds that most teams know he’s willing to listen to offers.
SPORTSNET: Jeff Marek believes captain Roman Josi, goaltender Juuse Saros and winger Filip Forsberg are the only untouchables. He anticipates defenseman Dante Fabbro could be moved this week with the San Jose Sharks as a leading contender for his services. Teams have been calling about power forward Tanner Jeannot. Marek wondered if the Dallas Stars could pursue him though the asking price is high.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jeannot might be drawing interest from contenders but he might not be available. Poile opened contract extension talks recently with his agent. Unless those discussions have gone south, Jeannot could also be untouchable.
WHAT NEXT FOR THE JETS
SPORTSNET: Ken Wiebe expects the Winnipeg Jets will have a busy week leading up to deadline day after acquiring Nino Niederreiter on Saturday. They could have up to $5.5 million in accrued cap space by Friday to add one or two more players, though Timo Meier isn’t expected to be one of them given the Sharks’ high asking price and the difficulty of working out a contract extension. A middle-six forward like St. Louis’ Ivan Barbashev or Arizona’s Nick Bjugstad could make sense.
THE ATHLETIC: Murat Ates also believes the Jets aren’t done shopping before Friday’s deadline. He also sees them looking at rental players like Barbashev, Bjugstad or Vancouver’s Luke Schenn. James van Riemsdyk would be worthwhile if the Flyers agree to retain half of his $7 million cap hit.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I don’t believe the Jets are done here. They’ve got sufficient cap space and wouldn’t have to give up a lot to land that middle-six forward.
COULD THE OILERS AND BLUE JACKETS BECOME TRADE PARTNERS?
THE ATHLETIC: Daniel Nugent-Bowman believes the Edmonton Oilers must do something to improve their defense after watching their dispiriting 6-5 loss on Saturday to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He feels they can’t just stand pat or pick around the edges at the trade deadline.
The odds of acquiring Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks seem minuscule while it’s unlikely they can pry Jakob Chychrun away from the Arizona Coyotes.
Aaron Portzline, meanwhile, wondered if the Oilers could become a destination for Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov now that the deal with the Boston Bruins has fallen by the wayside. He wondered if packaging Gavrikov with goaltender Joonas Korpisalo might convince Oilers GM Ken Holland to part with his 2023 first-round pick along with picks and prospects. The Jackets would also have to acquire winger Jesse Puljujarvi and his $3 million cap hit to make the dollars work for the cap-strapped Oilers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Oilers clearly have to do something to improve their defense. I don’t see how Karlsson is possible given his expensive contract and the high asking price that the Sharks would set for him. The Coyotes remain steadfast in their demand for two first-rounders plus a top prospect for Chychrun.
Gavrikov could help the Oilers. He has his critics but I don’t believe he could do any worse than what they’ve already got playing left-side defense on their second pairing. They can’t afford Korpisalo what with Jack Campbell and his $5 million cap hit already on their books.
FLYERS SHOPPING JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK
SPORTSNET: Jeff Marek reports the Philadelphia Flyers have let teams know that James van Riemsdyk is available. Teams like the Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets have been lined to the 33-year-old winger, though Marek isn’t certain if the Jets’ acquisition of Nino Niederreiter changes things for them.
SENATORS, LEAFS SHOPPING FOR DEFENSEMEN
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman reports the Ottawa Senators are in the market for a right-side defenseman. He believes they have a little bit of flexibility to add a blueliner with some term remaining on his contract.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are committed to seeing what the trade market is for defensemen. There’s a surplus of blueliners in the market right now and cap-strapped teams like the Leafs could be hoping the prices come down as sellers get squeezed.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel and James Mirtle believe the Leafs must shore up their defense for a matchup with the Boston Bruins or Tampa Bay Lightning in the playoffs. They indicated that Canucks blueliner (and former Leafs) Luke Schenn is among their targets. Another enticing option would be Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm if the Predators are willing to move him and retain some salary.