Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Salary Cap

Trade Rumors: Hall, Flyers, Panthers

at CDT | by 9 Comments

While he stopped short of stating that there is a lot of interest in Buffalo Sabres winger Taylor Hall, TSN’s Darren Dreger noted on “Insider Trading” this evening that the team is receiving different varieties of offers for the former MVP. While some teams see Hall strictly as a rental, Dreger reports that GM Kevyn Adams has also received calls from teams with interest in a trade-and-sign potential. Despite Hall’s struggles this season, it seems that there are clubs who still believe in his long-term value once he escapes Buffalo. Normally, these teams would not necessarily need to inform the opposing GM of their post-trade intentions. However, given Hall’s No-Movement Clause there seems to be more transparency from suitors in hopes that Hall would waive to come to their team. Dreger relays that Adams and Hall’s agent, Darren Ferris, recently met to discuss these offers as well as those from teams who have not yet expressed interest in an extended relationship with Hall.

GM, agent, and player will all need to be on the same page for a deal to get done, but Hall has already stated that he is open to waiving his NMC for the right move, so it seems likely that he will end up traded. Yet, don’t be surprised if the deal doesn’t happen until deadline day. Dreger believes that Adams could hold on to Hall as long as he can, allowing Hall’s pro-rated cap hit to decrease as much as possible, as a tactic to improve or at least maintain his trade value. With so many team’s facing a salary cap crunch, a cheaper Hall is a more valuable Hall. To this point, it seems teams have balked at Buffalo’s first-round price tag for Hall, but their best chance of netting that return will likely be on deadline day.

  • As young Carter Hart continues to struggle this season, it is becoming more and more likely that the Philadelphia Flyers will have to add another goalie if they want to compete for a playoff spot down the stretch. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that they are certainly considering a move, but have not made a decision yet. While the numbers for Hart as well as Brian Elliott are not appealing so far this season, bringing in a third netminder is not a simple decision. The Flyers would need to have the cap flexibility to carry three goalies and would also need to consider the mental status of Hart if they were to essentially bump the season-opening starter to a third-string role. LeBrun believes that Philadelphia will wait as long as possible to make a deal, hoping that their current tandem improves but also in order to take a realistic look at their playoff chances at the deadline and weigh whether a move in worth it. If the Flyers do opt to seek another goalie, LeBrun notes that the name they are being linked to is Detroit Red Wings veteran Jonathan Bernier.
  • It would surprise no one to hear that the Florida Panthers are looking for a defenseman in light of the season-ending injury suffered by stalwart Aaron Ekblad. However, Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards reports that the team was actually scouring the market for a top-four blue liner even before Ekblad’s injury, which only served to up their efforts. The Panthers had enjoyed strong seasons from Ekblad, MacKenzie Weegar, and Keith Yandle and had not hesitated to give considerable play time to Anton Stralman, Gustav Forsling, and Radko Gudas as well. However, the team recently waived Stralman, which just goes to show how much they value his contribution so far this season. And while Yandle and Gudas have played well, the two are somewhat of specialists, only excelling at one end of the ice. With Ekblad gone, the Panthers will have to rely on Weegar and Forsling as their most complete defensemen and neither has the experience needed to lead a contender on a deep playoff run. It is likely this concern that prompted a search even before Ekblad went down.

Senators Notes: Goaltending, North Dakota, Trade Deadline

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Senators GM Pierre Dorion spoke on TSN 1200 in Ottawa this morning and addressed many of the most pressing issues facing his team down the stretch this season. And while that won’t include a playoff push, as the Senators hold the NHL’s second-worst record and are well outside of a playoff spot in the North Division, Dorion still stated that he would like to see more consistency out of his roster the rest of the way. The position of greatest concern right now is obviously goaltending. Ottawa is allowing 3.91 goals against per game this season, the worst mark in the league by a wide margin. The Senators’ depth in net appeared to be strong entering the season with newly-acquired starter Matt Murray at the top, promising backup Marcus Hogberg ready for a full-time NHL role, college standout Joey Daccord as next man up, and top prospects Filip Gustavsson and Kevin Mandolese to fall back on as well. Yet, Murray and Hogberg have struggled greatly and the Senators’ goaltending actually improved when the pair were lost to injury, making Daccord the starter by default. However, Daccord is now expected to miss the rest of the season due to an injury of his own. This prompted not only the waiver claim of Anton Forsberg, but also for the team to send a chartered private plane to Winnipeg to pick him up, so as to avoid any quarantine period. Forsberg, who amazingly has not played at any level this season despite being claimed on waivers three times, will start for AHL Belleville on Saturday and is then likely to dress as backup behind Gustavsson on Monday, according to The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch. Gustavsson, who made his NHL debut by providing a shutout third period in relief of Daccord on Wednesday, will make his first start on Monday and he and Forsberg appear likely to split starts until Murray and/or Hogberg are healthy enough to return to action. Dorion considers Murray “week-to-week” and hopes Hogberg will be ready for an AHL conditioning stint before the end of the month.

  • Without anything to play for this season, the stretch run could actually be an exciting time for the Senators as they take a look at some other options in action before next season. That could very well include any number of current members of the University of North Dakota, once their NCAA season comes to an end. Ottawa has spent a number of high draft picks on Fighting Hawks commits in recent years and now the No. 1 team in college hockey is seeking a National Championship, fueled by Senators property. For now, Dorion says that he has informed North Dakota forward Shane Pinto and defensemen Jacob Bernard-Docker, Jake Sanderson, and Tyler Kleven to simply focus on their pursuit of a title and worry about their pro futures later. However, once the postseason has ended for North Dakota – as early as next weekend or as late as April 10 – Dorion could sign any of the group and insert them into the Senators lineup right away. He specifically called Pinto, Bernard-Docker, and Sanderson “close” in terms of their pro readiness. Bernard-Docker, a junior, and Pinto, a sophomore, are more likely to sign this year than Sanderson, a freshman, even though he was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Beyond the North Dakota players that Ottawa already owns, their link to the program and the immediate opportunity available could give them a leg up in wooing a pair of the very best college free agents available. Seniors Matt Kiersted and Jordan Kawaguchi are certainly on the Senators’ radar and could be intrigued by joining the Ottawa rebuild. Dorion did not address the immediate pro future of North Dakota transfer Jonny Tychonick, another talented draft pick whose University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks are also hoping to make the NCAA Tournament.
  • As for players that could be leaving the Senators before the end of the season, Dorion opined that this could be a very quiet trade deadline for his team, a sentiment that many other teams have echoed. In a buyer’s market that is influenced by difficult salary cap situations and border restrictions, there is a feeling that there might not be much action before the April 12 deadline. Dorion claims that teams are “checking in” but there apparently hasn’t been much traction on forming actual deals. The Senators are not in a great position to trade this season anyhow. Recently re-acquired winger Ryan Dzingel is their most valuable rental piece, but may not even be available if there is mutual interest in an extension. Dzingel has already re-discovered his scoring touch back in Ottawa, notching four goals in eight games. Expensive and unproductive veterans Artem Anisimov and Erik Gudbranson, depth defensemen Mike Reilly and Braydon Coburn, and grinders Matthew Peca and Micheal Haley are the only other expiring contracts the Senators have and lack much, if any value. It could be a quiet deadline indeed in Ottawa barring a surprise move.

Chicago Blackhawks Willing To Take On Cap At Deadline

at CDT | by 1 Comment

If you want to make a deal in today’s NHL, there are several important hurdles to get past. The most important one may be the salary cap situation around the league, which is squeezed as tightly as ever after the cap ceiling stayed at $81.5MM. That number isn’t expected to go up for the next several seasons, meaning teams are hesitant to take on any money this season or into the future.

That is, other than the Chicago Blackhawks.

Two different reports have emerged this evening, from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Frank Seravalli of TSN respectively, explaining that the Blackhawks have let the rest of the league know they are willing to take on some bad cap at the deadline to facilitate moves or acquire assets. After moving Brent Seabrook to long-term injured reserve and admitting his career is over the team now has more than $20MM in potential cap space that they could use this season. A good portion of that can’t be used if Jonathan Toews is going to come back at any point, but that still leaves the Blackhawks with more than enough room to play matchmaker at the deadline if they want.

The Blackhawks are familiar with this strategy, given they used the Toronto Maple Leafs in a similar fashion last season to complete the Robin Lehner trade. The Maple Leafs were already deep into LTIR by the time the trade deadline rolled around, so they were used as a pit stop to unload part of Lehner’s remaining cap hit so the Vegas Golden Knights could fit him in. The Maple Leafs received a fifth-round pick for their trouble, but depending on what it is Chicago is taking on, the return could be even greater this time around.

As we discussed recently, the Blackhawks are in a peculiar situation this season, sitting somewhere between a buyer and seller. The team is currently in a playoff spot thanks to some surprising performances, but aren’t that far removed from declaring a short rebuild. It’s hard to imagine them believing they are really capable of contending for the Stanley Cup or even getting out of the Central Division given how strong the top three teams look, but stripping things down when you’re in a playoff spot also isn’t fair to a team that has performed so admirably this season.

By doing moves like the one detailed above, acting as a middle-man for teams, or a dumping ground for bad cap, the Blackhawks can give this group a chance to compete while also adding assets for the future.

Trade Deadline Primer: Buffalo Sabres

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Although we’re not even two months into the season, the trade deadline is just over a month away.  Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Buffalo Sabres.

No team has received more media scrutiny this season than the Buffalo Sabres. The team is floundering yet again despite adding the top free agent forward in Taylor Hall and acquiring veteran center Eric Staal. Not only have Hall and Staal disappointed, but very few members of the team have exceeded or even met expectations this season. With failing veterans, stalled youngsters, and a number of expiring contracts, the Sabres are stuck and appear primed for a fire sale and resumed focus on rebuilding.

According to a number of sources, almost anyone on the Sabres could be made available. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Buffalo is “wide open” for business and The Athletic included four Sabres on their Trade Deadline Big Board. It all sounds very exciting to the other 30 teams and their fans, doesn’t it? Well, don’t get your hopes too high for major moves by Buffalo. Given the constraints of an NHL trade market impacted by a flat salary cap as well as real-life financial struggles, not to mention the restrictions on Canadian teams due to COVID-19 border policies, making trades this year is no easy feat. Trading a player like Jack Eichel in-season seems nearly impossible, even if the Sabres wanted to move him which is unlikely. Add in that rookie GM Kevyn Adams is new to the job and trying to build connections in a quiet market while trying to avoid being taken advantage of, and the Sabres suddenly look like a team that might end up playing it safe. Does Adams really want to move the likes of Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson, both of whom are among the productive minority in Buffalo, when the odds of winning such a move seem slim? Does he want to potentially overreact to the frustrations of Jeff Skinner and give away major assets to move his contract? Adams has a number of contracts expiring after this year and next that he can move without much risk of it coming back to bite him. Expect that “wide open” means he’s willing to move any amount of those players, but won’t be too keen to touch anyone else who the team may still be able to build around.

Record

6-14-3, .326, 8th in East Division

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$410,962 in full-season cap space, 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: BUF 1st, BUF 2nd, BUF 4th, BUF 6th, BUF 7th
2022: BUF 1st, BUF 2nd, BUF 3rd, BUF 4th, BUF 6th, BUF 7th

Trade Chips

Hall of course stands out as the top trade chip for the Sabres if you assume that the likes of Eichel, Reinhart, Olofsson, and Rasmus Dahlin are not going anywhere (a safe assumption despite the whispers). The former Hart Trophy winner may not be enjoying a strong season, but he is a known commodity who can play a top-six role for any team in the league. Hall has expressed some interest in re-signing with Buffalo, but without any evidence that he is a fit and with a ways to go in their rebuild, retaining the 29-year-old Hall on a heavy price tag makes little sense. The trouble with trading him though is a potential lack of suitors who can actually afford his $8MM cap hit. A lack of demand could impact what Buffalo is able to receive in a deal, but they should still end up with a nice package. Anything is better than letting him walk for free this summer.

Staal too could see his time in Buffalo come to a quick end. The veteran center is well-respected across the league and brings solid two-way play and postseason experience. While he has lost a step, that won’t stop contenders from seeing him as a worthwhile depth addition.

On defense, Brandon Montour is absolutely on the block. The puck-moving defenseman is headed for free agency and the Sabres have made it known that they are open to renting him out. Montour has not produced as they had hoped and is no longer in their long-term plans, so Buffalo has no reason not to trade the 26-year-old defenseman. Given his offensive upside, his ability to play either side of the blue line, and his palatable $3.85MM cap hit, Montour should be easy to move. Sadly, Jake McCabe also would have been easy to move and would have returned a prime package as arguably the best left-handed defenseman on a trade deadline seller. However, his season is over due to injury and the Sabres will lose out on his trade value.

Even with Montour and McCabe out of the way this off-season, the Sabres still face a potential expansion conundrum on defense. Should Buffalo choose to protect seven forwards and three defensemen, Dahlin is a lock but it leaves only two spots to split between top-four blue liners Rasmus Ristolainen and Colin Miller and young Henri Jokiharju. The Sabres could choose to move one of the three rather than lose them for nothing to the Seattle Kraken. Ristolainen had long been a fixture on the rumor mill, but those talks have cooled significantly since last season. Do the Sabres finally move the talented defenseman, especially as his stock has risen this season? Ristolainen only has one season remaining on his contract and could be tempted to pursue a more talented team in free agency after playing exclusively for Buffalo thus far in his pro career. Miller also has just one year remaining on his deal and comes with a lesser price tag than Ristolainen, albeit with a less complete game as well. Jokijarju, 21, is not necessarily safe either; the young rearguard has not met expectations thus far in his time with the Sabres but he does have impressive upside.

In net, Buffalo will see both members of their NHL tandem hit the open market this summer barring an extension. The Sabres may be well-served to extend 27-year-old Linus Ullmark, but if the feeling isn’t mutual then they should move the net minder while he can still return value. If Ullmark is healthy, he could be a major trade chip for the Sabres. Veteran Carter Hutton is less likely to move given his struggles and his $2.75MM cap hit, but Buffalo will certainly make him available.

Others to Watch For: F Curtis Lazar ($800K, one year remaining), F Tobias Rieder ($700K, UFA), F Riley Sheahan ($700K, UFA), D Matt Irwin ($700K, UFA)

Team Needs

1) Draft Picks – Sabres fans rightfully want their team to be better and they want them to be better sooner rather than later. However, that isn’t easy to do. A rookie GM with few impact players and little cap space doesn’t have the means to immediately upgrade his roster. This team is headed toward a long, arduous rebuild. What makes accepting that reality even more difficult is that the Sabres do not even have their full complement of draft picks to build upon. Missing a third and a fifth this year and a fifth next year, Buffalo is in the unfortunate position of needing to add talent to their pipeline and don’t even have the complete means to do so. The goal for Adams and company at the deadline should be not only to recoup their missing picks but to add other high-value picks as well.

2) Prospects – If the Sabres are unable to add valuable future prospects in the form of high draft picks, they need to target current top prospects instead. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler recently ranked Buffalo’s pipeline as 15th-best in the NHL, an unacceptable position for a team that is supposed to be rebuilding. The Sabres need to move from middle-of-the-pack toward the top of the NHL’s prospect rankings if they want to speed up their rebuild. A projected top-four defenseman and center depth should be the specific targets of their aim to add youth.

Trade Rumors: Pearson, Flames, Capitals, Bruins

at CDT | by 9 Comments

As the Vancouver Canucks’ season descends further and further into an inescapable disappointment, TSN’s Darren Dreger states on “Insider Trading” this evening that no impending free agent in Vancouver is off limits to suitors. However, that doesn’t mean that all current impending free agents will remain as such through the trade deadline in just over five weeks. Dreger notes that the Canucks would prefer to re-sign forward Tanner Pearson, who is coming off a career year in 2019-20. Negotiations on a new contract have not yet begun, but GM Jim Benning would like to start talks as soon as possible in order to have a clear picture ahead of the deadline. If there is no meeting of the minds on a potential extension and seemingly little chance of progress ahead of the deadline, the Canucks will have to trade Pearson. The two-way winger is their most valuable rental trade chip, as depth options Brandon Sutter, Sven Baertschi, and Jordie Benn have lofty cap hits relative to their value and veteran defensemen Alex Edler and Travis Hamonic have No-Movement Clauses that they may not be eager to waive. If the Canucks can’t re-sign Pearson before the deadline, or at least get a handshake agreement in place, trading him to a contender is their best chance of leaving the deadline with a nice haul of picks or prospects without having to move a term player.

  • The rival Calgary Flames are currently buyers and their biggest need is a winger, but Pearson doesn’t meet their most important criteria. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that Calgary GM Brad Treliving is on the hunt for a right winger and, more specifically, a natural right-handed shooting right winger. The Flames’ best right-shot forward is Elias Lindholm and, while he has played on the wing many times before, the team prefers his fit at center. Unfortunately, that leaves the club with a lack of top-six caliber righties to put on the wing. Josh Leivo, Brett Ritchie, and the recently-waived Dominik Simon (a lefty) have not been the answer. The team also prefers to keep top-nine lefties like Andrew Mangiapane and Dillon Dube on the left side if possible and certainly do not want both on their off side. As a result, Calgary is seeking a trade partner. Seravalli does not address whether the Flames are only seeking rentals or if, seeing as the righty problem isn’t going away, they are looking at all options. The team already faces some difficult Expansion Draft decisions in regards to its deep forward corps, so a term acquisition could prove problematic. Among rentals, New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri and Nikita Gusev or Detroit’s Bobby Ryan stand out as the few top available options at a shallow position on the market.
  • Seravalli notes that another team with a very specific need could be the Washington Capitals. While Washington has received a stellar performance in net from rookie Vitek Vanecek, pressed into the starting role temporarily while Ilya Samsonov was sidelined, both Samsonov and Vanecek lack a crucial component to playoff success: experience. Seravalli wonders if the Capitals trust the young tandem enough to ride them into the playoffs, with veteran Craig Anderson as the third-string, or if the team needs to make a trade. Bob McKenzie echoed this same concern on NBC Sports on Wednesday. Experienced rental options include Devan Dubnyk, Antti Raanta, Jonathan Bernier, and possibly Pekka Rinne. But the question becomes whether or not any of these older goalies are an upgrade to Vanecek based only on experience, as only Rinne has outplayed him this season.
  • While it should come as no surprise to anyone who has reviewed their salary cap status, Bob McKenzie appeared on NBC Sports’ broadcast on Wednesday night and essentially stated that the Boston Bruins have the cap flexibility to do whatever they want at the trade deadline. He added that the team is in this situation “by design” and that GM Don Sweeney is open to any and all possibilities. The Bruins have dealt with injuries on defense and at forward and have experience concerns on the back end and scoring issues up front, so fans were happy to hear McKenzie say they could add a prominent defenseman or forward, “or both”. Currently pressed by injuries, the Bruins have just under $3.5MM in cap space which still prorates to nearly $8.7MM at the deadline, per CapFriendly. However, the Bruins banked cap space earlier this season when they had fewer injuries and could still get healthier before the trade deadline. With no one on the injured reserve eating up cap space at the deadline, CapFriendly estimates that Boston could have upwards of $12.7MM in prorated cap space. For context, that could be enough to add top-priced rental Taylor Hall and a defenseman like Ryan Murray while staying under the cap. The Bruins will be a team to watch over the next five weeks.

Trade Rumors: Market, Virtanen-Heinen, NMCs, Red Wings

at CDT | by 15 Comments

While the NHL Trade Deadline is exactly six weeks away and trade whispers have grown louder in recent days, a number of sources warn that it may be a mistake to expect an active trade market. The factors at play are what one might expect: the flat salary cap and clubs’ financial limitations as well as the U.S.-Canada border restrictions. Speaking on Sportsnet 960 in Calgary today, Elliotte Friedman noted that the market is much quieter than recent rumor and speculation has led everyone to believe. He cites the border issue – a mandatory 14-day quarantine for any player heading north – as limiting potential trade partners, but states that finances are an even greater inhibitor. Friedman said that many clubs are not looking to add salary and stress is being placed more on actual dollars than on cap hits. The Athletic’s Craig Custance and Eric Duhatschek take it even one step further, reporting that “few teams have permission to add salary” and noting that some non-contenders have been ordered by ownership to cut salary if at all possible. There is also the issue that many of the teams who may have the financial ability to add salary lack the cap space to do so. CapFriendly currently lists 16 teams – more than half the league – with projected cap space that amounts to less than a minimum salary and only seven teams currently in a playoff spot are among those with flexibility.

Fortunately, we may not be entirely without fireworks at the deadline. Friedman notes that major investments on players whose impact on teams will last beyond just this season or next could be seen as exceptions to the rule when it comes to adding salary. These additions can be excused as a financial commitment beyond the current financial and flat cap crises. Custance and Duhatschek also point out that for those Canadian teams with the means and desire to add, the deadline may be a little late given the possibility of lengthy quarantines, meaning trades could start up well before six weeks from now. There is hope that there will still be some transactional excitement this season and possibly even sooner rather than later.

  • It sure seemed like a notable trade was about to occur this weekend. On Saturday, it was reported by a number of sources that the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks were nearing a deal that would have swapped Jake Virtanen and Danton Heinen. However, the deal never occurred and Friedman questions whether it was really as close as it was made out to be. The two sides certainly did discuss a trade and those two players in particular, and by all accounts continue to do so, but Friedman says that things got “carried away” before a firm deal was in place. The two sides are committed to balancing out the salaries in the trade and while Virtanen and Heinen do have very similar cap hits, their salaries are not even. In the final year of his contract, Heinen carries a $2.8MM AAV and near-equal amount of actual salary. Virtanen’s contract carries a $2.55MM AAV and he is owed only $1.7MM in salary this year, but he has an additional season remaining and $3.4MM in salary. That discrepancy is significant and a major hurdle and the reason why Friedman says a one-for-one swap was never a possibility. He notes that Derek Grant was discussed as a possible addition from Anaheim’s side and he could still be part of a final deal. In the first year of a three-year contract, Grant’s $1.5MM salary next year and $1.75MM in 2022-23 could help to offset Virtanen’s cost to Anaheim next year, but it doesn’t entirely cover the the difference and it is of course discounting the fact that Grant is a valuable player in his own right and not just a salary dump. There is clearly still more work to be done by the Ducks and Canucks if this heavily-rumored deal is to actually become reality. In the meantime, Friedman stated that Virtanen’s salary next season is a turn-off for most teams and could hinder Vancouver’s ability to trade him, especially if these talks with Anaheim fall apart.
  • One other limiting factor for the current trade market is that a pair of notable rental candidates may not be willing to waive their No-Movement Clauses. While there could be interest in Arizona Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, especially in a lacking rental market for blue liners, don’t expect the respected veteran to be on the move. Custance and Duhatschek write that Hjalmarsson has no interest in waiving his NMC and appears content to play out the final year of his contract in Arizona. Hjalmarsson does appear to have lost a step, scoring at a career-low rate and getting penalized at a career-high rate, so perhaps it’s in the best interest of all parties if he finishes out the year and rides off into the sunset. The more surprising note from Custance and Duhatschek on a player who also may not be willing to waive their NMC for a potential trade is Taylor Hall. Signed to a one-year deal this off-season, it was expected that Hall would again be the top trade deadline target if the Buffalo Sabres were not on a postseason trajectory. Well, the Sabres are certainly not playoff-bound, but Hall doesn’t seem to mind. Custance and Duhatschek cite sources who believe that Hall, ranked at just No. 24 on The Athletic’s trade board, is happy in Buffalo and would like to stay. There is a belief that an extension may be more likely than a trade at this point, even with the Sabres’ season in shambles and the team in need of the immense trade capital he would return.
  • Another year, another season in which the Detroit Red Wings will be sellers at the trade deadline. However, the team may be looking to move more than just rentals in the coming weeks (or in the off-season). A rival executive tells Custance and Duhatschek that GM Steve Yzerman is listening to all offers and wouldn’t be surprised if a young core forward such as Anthony Mantha or Tyler Bertuzzi were moved. Mantha, 26, is struggling this season and it remains unclear what his ceiling may be in the NHL as he has dealt with injury and inconsistency over the years. Bertuzzi, also 26, actually got off to a great start early this season, scoring at the best pace of his career albeit in nine games. He has since been sidelined by injury and without building on his hot start, there remain concerns that his development has flatlined in Detroit. If the Red Wings doubt that either player can be an effective part of the young core they are growing in the pipeline, they could be moved.

Vegas Owner Bill Foley: Marc-Andre Fleury Trade “Never Close”

at CDT | by 13 Comments

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was the topic of many trade rumors this off-season. The veteran was coming off a disappointing season and a second straight year of decline in his third season with Vegas, which at 36 years old was cause for alarm. Not only that, but his $7MM cap hit was also causing problems for a team right up against the salary cap who had just re-signed Robin Lehner to a $25MM extension with the intent that he was to be the starter. It was easy to understand why the Knights might have considered moving Fleury this off-season, but it seems a deal was always unlikely to occur. Speaking with Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland and former NHLer Cam Janssen on their “Cam and Strick Podcast”, Vegas owner Bill Foley stated that Fleury “never came really close to being part of a deal”, and for a number of reasons.

While Foley himself admitted that Fleury’s contract was part of the reason that Vegas’ salary cap was “fouled up”, eventually forcing the likes of Paul Stastny and Nate Schmidt to be traded for pennies on the dollar, he accounts for Fleury remaining with the Golden Knights as being about much more than an immovable contract. Foley does note that there were trade talks including Fleury, but the offers “didn’t make sense.” This is likely referring to any interesting teams also wanting the Knights to add additional sweeteners to any deal in which they acquired an aging goaltender with poor numbers and two years and $14MM remaining on his contract. However, Vegas still valued Fleury as a number one goalie according to Foley, which explains why they didn’t agree with the idea of losing additional assets to move him. At the end of the day, Foley claims that he and the team always wanted two number one goalies and were happy to stick with Fleury and Lehner rather than trade the former in a deal they didn’t like, even if it meant losing valuable players elsewhere in the lineup.

While it seemed like a strange decision in many ways at the time, Vegas is now reaping the benefits. With Lehner slowed by injuries, Fleury had to reclaim the starter’s job and has excelled in the role. He has seen a resurgence of epic proportions this season, currently leading the NHL with a .942 save percentage and 1.55 GAA while picking up eight wins in eleven starts. Without Fleury, the West Division-leading Golden Knights may be having a very different season thus far. His formerly frustrating cap hit is now well worth it as the team looks like a Cup contender even with their intended starter still limited.

As for the future, Foley’s comments imply that if Fleury was ever even truly available, he certainly isn’t now. Discussing this past off-season, Foley stated that any trade involving Fleury would have required the owner’s approval and he would not have taken it lightly. He also recalled a story from early in Vegas’ inaugural season, in which he promised Fleury that he would retire a Golden Knight. Now that Fleury has rewarded his owner’s faith in him this season, it seems more likely than not that the veteran will play out the final year of his contract in Vegas next season rather than being traded away while his stock is high. (Barring yet another Expansion selection, that is.) It’s fair to assume that any potential Fleury trades would still need to be approved by Foley moving forward, and it’s very doubtful now more than ever that the owner would move the player he calls the “face of the franchise.”

Trade Rumors: Predators, Fleury, Vesey

at CDT | by 4 Comments

While Mattias Ekholm may be the name that teams are clamoring over right now, whether he’s actually available or not, he isn’t the only Predator that might eventually be on the block. Many, including top analysts Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Pierre LeBrun of TSN, believe that the Predators are quickly approaching the point of no return this season and will begin to move players shortly. Despite a talented roster on paper, Nashville sits in seventh place in the Central Division with a points percentage of just .400 through 15 games. More than a quarter of the way through their campaign, the Predators face a slim chance of turning it around and making the playoffs, especially in this season’s difficult makeshift format.

While Nashville may not quite be ready to fully blow up their roster, both Friedman and LeBrun agree that impending free agents Mikael Granlund and Erik Haula are as good as gone. Both had significant interest on the open market late into this past off-season before deciding on Nashville and that interest should remain. Granlund especially has performed well – he’s arguably Nashville’s second-best forward thus far – and should net a decent return. That may not be the end of the list, though. Veterans Brad Richardson and Luca Sbisa may also hold rental value, while term forwards like Nick Cousins, a disappointment in his first season with Nashville, Rocco Grimaldi, or Calle Jarnkrok could also find themselves on the block. Friedman notes that top-six centers Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen may be made available, but given their massive contracts and lacking production in the current flat cap climate, interest will likely be slim. Their potential availability is still a sign that the Predators could be considering a major shake-up nonetheless.

  • Although they considered moving him this off-season in an effort to open up cap space, Friedman does not believe that Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is still available. The fan favorite has been stellar this season, especially in light of the struggles of “starter” Robin Lehner. While Lehner has battled injury and inconsistency, Fleury has posted a .937 save percentage and 1.56 GAA, and most importantly seven wins through nine starts. He has been a major reason why the Knights are off to such a hot start; a start that likely would have gone the other way had Fleury been moved this off-season leaving the frustrated Lehner as the only experienced goalie on the roster. So while Fleury remains an aging asset on an expensive contract who at least had the appearance of only being a backup moving forward, he has proven himself invaluable to Vegas. With a number of teams troubled in net, including Fleury’s former Pittsburgh Penguins, there is a renewed interest in taking on Fleury’s contract in order to take advantage of his current hot streak, but don’t expect the Golden Knights to give him up this season.
  • Following their acquisition of Alex Galchenyuk, Friedman wonders if the Jimmy Vesey experiment has already come to an end in Toronto. The free agent addition has just three points in 16 games despite having been given ample opportunity to produce. Given the Maple Leafs’ tight salary cap situation, even with a pair of players currently on Long-Term Injured Reserve, Toronto has to be measured in every roster decision. Once Wayne Simmonds and Jack Campbell return to health and especially if Galchenyuk has earned a role in the starting lineup by that time, the team likely will not have room to carry Vesey, even at just $900K against the cap. An affordable (to most) impending free agent with size and goal-scoring ability, it seems likely that someone would be willing to give Vesey another shot, especially if they can get him for free on waivers. If the Maple Leafs feel that Vesey will not clear, the countdown may have already begun for the team to make a trade before he is lost for nothing on the waiver wire.

Five Players Clear Waivers

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Despite some major names being available on the waiver wire over the past 24 hours, all five players have cleared. Montreal’s Paul Byron, Detroit’s Danny DeKeyser, and new Carolina acquisition Alex Galchenyuk were all waived for roster flexibility and will be reassigned to their respective taxi squads. Young Columbus defenseman Gabriel Carlsson has been reassigned to the taxi squad for now but will soon join the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters in order to get some play time. Boston’s Par Lindholm has signed a new contract with the SHL’s Skelleftea AIK and will see his NHL contract terminated. No new players have been placed on waivers today.

Of the group, the player who was quietly the most likely to be claimed was Carlsson. The big 24-year-old blue liner, a 2015 first-rounder, lost his waiver exemption this season and the Blue Jackets did not want to risk him on the wire earlier this season. However, through the first quarter of the campaign he has not seen any NHL game action sitting behind a deep Columbus defense corps. With the AHL season now up and running, the team opted to take the chance with Carlsson in order to get him some play time in the minors and it paid off. The stay-at-home defenseman has played in at least one game for Columbus in each of the past four seasons and will likely be back with the team at some point this year. However, the team will try to avoid another trip through waivers as they might not be so lucky a second time putting the sturdy and affordable defender back up for grabs.

Of course, the bigger names available were Byron, DeKeyser, and Galchenyuk. The Montreal Canadiens, short on cap space but not on forward talent, have been playing Byron in a checking role, making him an expensive fourth liner. The club had been trying to trade the veteran, but there were no takers on his contract despite his solid career numbers. The team hoped that Byron would clear waivers so that they could retain the player, who is absolutely still a serviceable top-nine forward, while also opening up some salary cap space by transitioning him to the taxi squad. Galchenyuk was in fact traded already and just on Saturday as a matter of fact. The skilled forward was dealt by the Ottawa Senators to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of a three-player deal. Playing on an affordable and expiring contract, Galchenyuk was a risk-free acquisition for the ’Canes but was even more valuable if he could be stashed on the practice squad and used in case of emergency in a scoring role. Their plan succeeded and now Carolina simply has to decide whether the now-flexible Galchenyuk is worth more to them on their taxi squad or as a trade asset to flip to another team. The surprise inclusion was DeKeyser, one of the few holdovers of the most recent Detroit Red Wings’ powerhouse teams. DeKeyser has been in decline for several seasons now, but playing for a rebuilding club – especially with limited ice time this season – and dealing with injuries does not make for flattering statistics for anyone. A player who still has the support of his coaches and teammates may end up on the taxi squad but is likely to still be a prominent presence for the organization, especially with another year remaining on his current contract.

Lindholm was the outlier of the bunch. After clearing waivers earlier this season, the underutilized veteran was placed on the wire again to begin the process of a contract termination. Lindholm was not expected to be claimed and even if he had been, there still would have been a conflict with the multi-year contract he just recently signed in Sweden. Lindholm may actually be capable of being a reliable fourth line center in the NHL, but that opportunity was not available in Boston and seemingly nowhere else in the league at the current time, so the veteran will return home.

League Notes: Hurricanes, 2021-22 Schedule, Canadian Rivalries

at CDT | by 22 Comments

On Monday night, the Carolina Hurricanes answered a common question from many fans: what happens if you can’t fit under the salary cap? With four players injured (all unrelated to COVID), including late scratch Vincent Trocheck, but none who they were willing to lose for 24 days by shifting to Long-Term Injured Reserve, the ’Canes found themselves in a conundrum. The team had fewer than 18 healthy skaters to ice a full lineup, but also had less cap space available than even a minimum salary contract whom they could recall. As a result, Carolina took the ice against the Columbus Blue Jackets – in front of rookie goalie Alex Nedeljkovic in the second game of a back-to-back no less – with just eleven forwards and six defensemen.

By playing this game short-handed, the Hurricanes have now established that they are in an “emergency” state. Following Monday’s match-up, the team will now be eligible for an emergency roster exception in accordance with the CBA. This will allow them to go over the salary cap moving forward, if need be, to recall a player making less than $1MM AAV. This roster exception can be used until such time that they can get one of the four players healthy or opt to give themselves more flexibility by transferring one or more of the injured players to LTIR.

  • In putting together the delayed and shortened 2020-21 season, one of the main objectives of the NHL was to make sure that the 2021-22 season would not be impacted in any way. They formulated the length and scheduling of the current campaign to ensure that next season started on time and ran normally. Well, that plan seems to be somewhat on track. Sportsnet’s Nick Alberga reports that the league is anticipating a start date of Wednesday, October 13 for the 2021-22 regular season. Opening day is typically the first Wednesday in October, but the current plan is to open on the second Wednesday, extending the off-season by one week. All things considered, this is still an ideal result however as the off-season will still be shorter than usual. The postseason is expected to extend into July and free agency is scheduled to open nearly a month late on July 28. One extra week will hopefully allow for off-season transactions to be given a fair amount of latitude, especially as teams deal with the repercussions of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, and will not rush training camp and the preseason either.
  • One of the highlights of the makeshift 2020-21 season structure has been the all-Canadian North Division. The realigned division is only a temporary fix, but the constant battling between Canada’s seven teams, which has been accompanied frequently by high-scoring affairs, has been not only by fans but also by the teams themselves. Players, coaches, executives, and owners of the Canadian clubs are all feeling the increased excitement surrounding their games, even without fans in the building. This begs the question: how can the NHL keep this up? An all-Canadian division does not seem feasible beyond this season, but The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun posits that scheduling could be better implemented to encourage rivalries, like those seen in the North Division this year. Rivalry is the key too; LeBrun notes that the North Division is not the strongest, nor does it contain any of the teams that he sees as the top candidates to win the Stanley Cup this year. Instead, there is simply an excitement about teams from Eastern and Western Canada getting to play each other far more frequently than in a standard campaign. Perhaps the residual effect of the current temporary divisions will be a focus on more regional match-ups moving forward. There will always be an emphasis in the NHL on divisional play as well as on every team facing every other team at least once each year. However, more Canadian clashes, Bible Belt battles, and Northeast fixtures could help to use those extra games in the schedule to maintain some of newfound emphasis on regional rivalries.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top