Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Kyle Dubas

Snapshots: Marleau, Puljujarvi, Sheahan, Gardiner

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers are still in need of depth on the wing and remain in the hunt for players that could help fill a need. Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins, in his Sunday column, writes that one option that he’s hearing is that veteran winger Patrick Marleau has shown some interest in potentially signing with the Oilers.

The 39-year-old Marleau was traded to Carolina in a salary dump and the veteran asked the Hurricanes to buy him out with the intention of returning to San Jose and signing with his old team. While that still seems the likely outcome for Marleau, the Sharks have not signed the veteran to a contract yet and the veteran may be looking at other West Coast options. Edmonton could be attractive to him as the team needs help to fill out its top three lines, something the veteran could help with. While his skills have eroded some, Marleau still posted 16 goals and 37 points last season in a crowded Maple Leafs forward group.

  • Leavins, in the same article, adds that with little trade interest brewing for disgruntled Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi, the most likely scenario right now if he doesn’t want to return to Edmonton, which he has said numerous times, will be to accept at $200K contract in Finland this season and try to prove himself as a star in the Liiga and then can generate more trade interest next summer. In fact, the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont writes that with nothing even close to being lined up in Finland, the 21-year-old winger may have no choice but to return to Edmonton despite all of his agents’ demands.
  • The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell (subscription required) writes that the Edmonton Oilers remain in search for a third-line center and he believes that unrestricted free agent center Riley Sheahan might be a good fit with the team. PHR’s Brian La Rose looked at Sheahan’s free-agent status Saturday and noted that Edmonton could be a suitor for the UFA. It’s unlikely that the team will split their top three players at center in Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, but at the moment, their next best option would be Swiss center Gaeton Haas, which makes most people uncomfortable. With five full seasons under his belt at just 27 years old, the Oilers might be willing to take a chance on him.
  • The Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons writes that he believes that general manager Kyle Dubas is hoping to work out a way to sign Mitch Marner and unrestricted free agent Jake Gardiner. While that scenario would seem to be unlikely considering the state of Toronto’s cap situation, Simmons writes that the team could decide to sign Marner to a bridge deal, which could give the team some extra room to retain Gardiner who has been sitting unsigned on the free-agent market. The hope is that Gardiner would slot in as a third-line defenseman. However, that scenario remains unlikely as locking up Marner to a long-term deal is the team’s top priority this summer.

Poll: Which GM Will Be Fired Next?

at CDT | by 11 Comments

Despite missing the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, the Vancouver Canucks decided to extend GM Jim Benning today. The reasons for that are complicated—and obviously do not hinge entirely on his postseason record—just as they were when the Minnesota Wild made the decision to fire Paul Fenton just 14 months into his tenure with the team. The inner workings of an NHL front office are almost never made public (unless there is an intrepid reporter like Michael Russo of The Athletic who gets the incredible story), and it is hard to see why some decisions are made.

Still, even the most casual fan can see the seat of specific executives and coaches heating up. When the Edmonton Oilers decided to move on from Peter Chiarelli during another disappointing season, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. On the other hand, it was easy to see why the Carolina Hurricanes recently locked up Don Waddell after he interviewed for another job.

Looking around the league, who is next? Which GM will be let go, either this year or next summer?

It might be easy to look at the teams that have struggled recently, but many of them have replaced their top hockey operations executive over the last few seasons. The Oilers brought in Ken Holland to change the culture in Edmonton, while Steve Yzerman returned to the Detroit Red Wings to bring a new voice to a stagnant team. Florida has gone through quite a bit of turmoil in the front office since their ownership changed but Dale Tallon now seems to be entrenched as a veteran leader.

There are others though that may not be so lucky. The Ottawa Senators are heading in a new direction after shedding their previous core, but if the young talent doesn’t develop as hoped Pierre Dorion could be held responsible. John Chayka was the youngest GM in history when he took over the Arizona Coyotes in 2016, but they still haven’t made the playoffs under his watch and now have new ownership of their own. Jason Botterill was expected to have success in Buffalo after finding so much of it in Pittsburgh, but the Sabres haven’t been able to build a full roster around Jack Eichel despite some outstanding individual players.

Nothing is certain when it comes to front offices however. Cast your vote below and explain just why you think they’ll be the first to go!

[Mobile users click here to vote]

*We’ve used Kelly McCrimmon as the Vegas GM, though he won’t officially take that title from George McPhee until September

Free Agent Focus: Toronto Maple Leafs

at CDT | by 6 Comments

Free agency is now just a few days away and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Toronto has already locked up a few important names, but still has plenty of work to do before knowing what next season’s roster will look like. Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agent: F Mitch Marner — If this article had been written yesterday this section would have included the likes of Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, but it always all came down to Marner. The entire Maple Leafs’ offseason is revolving around him at the moment, with the uncertainty of when Toronto will sign his next contract. That is of course if it’s signed at all by the Maple Leafs, as offer sheet speculation has never been as high as it seems to be regarding the 22-year old star. A huge part of that speculation is the market he plays in, but Marner is reportedly seeking a huge raise that would make him one of the (if not the) highest paid wingers in the league.

There’s good reason for Marner to believe in himself and his abilities. The undersized forward dominated the OHL before and after the Maple Leafs selected him fourth overall in 2015, and he began his NHL career without missing a step. 61 points his first season, 69 his second and a whopping 94 points in 2018-19 made him one of the most lethal offensive weapons in the game, even if that last jump was at least in part due to the addition of John Tavares. Not only is Marner an incredible playmaker, but he also took on a penalty killing role with the Maple Leafs this season and became one of head coach Mike Babcock’s most trusted defensive forwards.

None of the reports and rumors from either side mean much to GM Kyle Dubas and Marner’s agent Darren Ferris, who need to work out a deal at some point if the Maple Leafs are going to proceed with the rest of their offseason. The team currently has just $6.9MM in cap space but can exceed the limit during the offseason or move Nathan Horton to long-term injured reserve. That still doesn’t leave much room for free agent additions because, as Dubas told Chris Johnston of Sportsnet today, they “have got to save space for Mitch.”

Other RFAs: F Michael Carcone

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: D Jake Gardiner — If the Maple Leafs had more cap space there is no doubt that they would be trying to keep Gardiner in town, given the state of their defense corps without him. Even though he’s not the right-handed option they so desperately need, his depature—and the potential trade of Nikita Zaitsev—could leave them with just three proven NHL options in the whole organization in Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin and Travis Dermott. That’s a horrendous position to be in, even if it is with several months remaining before the start of the year. Gardiner though will likely be priced out of the Maple Leafs’ range given his history as a top puck-moving option. Though he is derided by many for the occasional what-was-he-thinking giveaway, Gardiner has amassed 245 points in his 551 game career including a career-high of 52 in 2017-18. An excellent offensive catalyst at even-strength, he’ll likely earn himself quite the payday on July 1.

D Ron Hainsey — The other big departure from the Maple Leafs blue line is Hainsey, even if he did turn 38 in late March. His agent confirmed that he will continue playing as long as there is interest, and after a +30 season playing alongside Rielly on the top pairing there won’t be any shortage of teams calling. Hainsey is not the offensive player he once was—remember that years ago he was an excellent powerplay quarterback—but he can still contribute and log big minutes in almost every situation. A favorite of Babcock, he could sign a bonus-laden deal if teams aren’t willing to give him a second year.

F Tyler Ennis — Perhaps overlooked for the Maple Leafs this year because of their star-studded forward group, Ennis took a minimum salary contract in order to try and build his value back up and he did it wonderfully. Even fighting through an injury that limited him to 51 games, the undersized forward scored 12 goals from the fourth line and showed he can still play at the NHL level. A three-time 20-goal scorer, the 29-year old Ennis should secure another NHL deal to provide a little scoring depth at a relatively inexpensive price—but probably one the Maple Leafs can’t afford.

Other UFAs: D Igor Ozhiganov, D Martin Marincin, F Gabriel Gagne, F Chris Mueller, F Nicholas Baptiste, D Vincent LoVerde, D Jordan Subban, D Steven Oleksy, G Eamon McAdam

Projected Cap Space: The Maple Leafs currently sit a little more than $6.94MM under the cap ceiling according to CapFriendly, but can also put Horton’s $5.3MM deal on long-term injured reserve if necessary to give them some more flexibility. That number is only including the cap hits for 18 players however, meaning they actually have even less than that once they decide who will be making the roster.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Atlantic Notes: Backes, Kronwall, Reinhart, Zaitsev

at CDT | by 25 Comments

With the NHL salary cap set Saturday at $81.5MM for the 2019-20 season, cap room has become a premium. That became just as apparent Saturday when teams began unloading some of their expensive contracts, including Nashville’s P.K. Subban (to New Jersey), Tampa Bay’s J.T. Miller (to Vancouver) and Toronto’s Patrick Marleau (to Carolina). The latter trade of Marleau to the Hurricanes perhaps was the most interesting as Toronto also had to fork over a 2020 first-round pick as part of the package to unload Marleau’s $6.25MM contract.

That deal may become a precedent for teams hoping to move out a bad contract. In fact, because of that trade, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) suggests that the Boston Bruins will likely have to keep forward David Backes on the roster for at least another year. The Bruins still owe $6MM to the 35-year-old Backes for another two seasons, which isn’t helping the team as they must re-sign a number of key free agents, including restricted free agents Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Danton Heinen and also wouldn’t mind keeping unrestricted free agents Marcus Johansson and Noel Acciari. Backes has struggled the last couple of seasons, but his numbers really fell off this season as he posted just seven goals and 20 points in 70 games and has fallen into a bottom-six role.

While the team wouldn’t mind unloading that contract, Shinzawa writes that the Marleau deal, which has a similar number to Backes’ contract, except for one more year, would almost guarantee cost the Bruins a first-round pick (and possibly more) to unload, which they are unlikely willing to do.

  • The Detroit Free-Press’ Helene St. James reports that the Detroit Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman won’t change their offseason plan as they wait for defenseman Niklas Kronwall to make a decision on whether he wants to return for a 16th season. The veteran may not make a decision until late in the offseason. One reason to suggest that the 38-year-old could return is that he is 47 games shy of having played 1,000 games. The long-time Red Wings blueliner still fared well last year, scoring three goals and 27 points in 79 games.
  • The Athletic’s John Vogl writes that while the Buffalo Sabres need a second-line center to give Casey Mittelstadt time to adjust to the NHL, general manager Jason Botterill said that it is unlikely that Sam Reinhart will be moving there. Reinhart, originally drafted as a center when he was the second-overall pick in 2014, saw his career take off when the team moved him to the right wing position two seasons ago. Since then, he’s tallied 47 goals in those two years. “Look, it’s always a possibility there,” said Botterill. “You have to be open to it and we’ll see how things go with Ralph (Krueger) with that discussion, but I also think in the last year or so, he’s excelled on the wing and I think he’s in a position where he can drive a line from the wing.”
  • The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel reports that Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said Saturday that there is nothing new on the trade front when it comes to moving defenseman Nikita Zaitsev. The team has made it clear to other teams they aren’t just going to use him as a salary dump. “We’re willing to try to accommodate him and work with him, but we need a similar player back,” Dubas said. “We don’t have the depth on D and we don’t want to rush our prospects.”

Free Agent Notes: Salary Cap, Marner, Gusev, Duchene, Dillon

at CDT | by 4 Comments

With rumors of the 2019-20 salary cap possibly being lower than the $83MM that teams initially expected, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that an NHLPA spokesperson told him that there should be an announcement on the salary cap this evening.

With talks that the salary cap could be as low as $81.5MM, LeBrun writes that the NHLPA is taking their time to weigh that number. That number is expected to have a significant effect on teams, especially on those that are tight to the cap as that leaves them even less room to work with and could force teams to dump salaries even more than ever.

  • LeBrun also tweets that the agent for Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner, Darren Ferris, is expecting to hear from other teams on Wednesday, the day the RFA speaking period begins. With plenty of talks of high demands and a suggested willingness to sign an offer sheet, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas has his hands full. Dubas and Ferris did not meet this week in Vancouver and Ferris is expected to leave the draft for home, although there is plenty of time for both Dubas and Ferris to meet next week.
  • While many fans of the Vegas Golden Knights have been looking forward to seeing KHL star forward Nikita Gusev play this season, TSN’s Darren Dreger suggests that the restricted free-agent may not end up getting the chance. With plenty of cap concerns, Vegas may not have enough money to sign the 26-year-old winger, and the Golden Knights may opt to trade him to relieve some of those cap issues. Dreger adds that multiple teams have inquired about Gusev, who currently would be penciled in on their third line and could be expendable for the right price. Gusev signed a one-year deal, $925K in April of this year, but he didn’t appear in a game for the Golden Knights. He won the KHL MVP award in 2018 and has scored 63 goals in the last three season for SKA St. Petersburg.
  • The Athletic’s Craig Custance reports that he has heard there won’t be any deal between the Columbus Blue Jackets and unrestricted free agent center Matt Duchene before the speaking period opens on Sunday. While that isn’t a major surprise, of all the Blue Jackets’ big-named free agents, Duchene was their best hope to re-signing. However, especially after the recent P.K. Subban deal, it is believed that Nashville has become the front-runner for Duchene’s services.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that the San Jose Sharks would be open to moving defenseman Brendan Dillon for the right price. Dillon, who is currently slated to play on the top defensive pairing next to Brent Burns is making $3.27MM, but with significant cap issues coming this offseason, the team could use the extra cap room to try and make sure it can sign all of its top free agents, including restricted free agent Timo Meier, as well as unrestricted free agents Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Joonas Donskoi and Gustav Nyquist, although the latter two are less likely to return.

Morning Notes: Perry, Marleau, Senators

at CDT | by 5 Comments

After being bought out earlier this week, former Anaheim Ducks superstar Corey Perry now has his choice of landing spot for the 2019-20 season. Though he may not be worth the $8.625MM cap hit he carried for Anaheim, there will likely be teams willing to bet on his history as a perennial 30+ goal scorer and give him a short-term deal. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that several have already shown interest, and links the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks to the veteran forward.

Perry is actually eligible for a one-year bonus-laden contract despite being only 34, thanks to his injury from last season. That could be a perfect way to mitigate risk for an acquiring team while providing Perry with an opportunity to make back some of the money he lost from the buyout.

  • Patrick Marleau seemed destined for a new team just a few weeks ago, but Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas told reporters yesterday that there is a “strong chance” the veteran remains for at least the start of the season. The Maple Leafs could desperately use the cap space a Marleau trade would create, but are obviously limited by his full no-movement clause. Marleau is due a $3MM signing bonus this season, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported last month that it is paid out in two installments—July and December. It is expected that the forward only wants to return to California, where his family has returned to their San Jose home.
  • The Ottawa Senators could be a landing spot for several veterans on expensive deals, as Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia writes that five or six teams have spoken with GM Pierre Dorion about sending bad contracts the the Canadian capital. With the Senators embracing their rebuild with an extremely low salary base, the team could welcome expensive veterans along with a “sweetener” in order to provide some leadership for their young group while also adding to the future. Ottawa currently projects to have just $48.5MM in commitments to next season.

Patrick Marleau, Toronto Maple Leafs Ready To Part Ways

at CDT | by 12 Comments

A rumor several days ago suggested that the Toronto Maple Leafs would like to move on from 39-year-old winger Patrick Marleau, who is coming off a disappointing season this past season. With Toronto’s general manager Kyle Dubas trying to balance multiple players and their contracts into the team’s already full salary cap, the team was expecting more out of Marleau, who posted his worst goal totals (16) since his rookie campaign back in the 1997-98 season.

While many have squashed the rumors that Toronto was trying to send him to the Los Angeles Kings Friday, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported late last night during a Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada that Marleau would like to leave Toronto and would prefer to be moved to a west coast team:

It sounds like Marleau and the Maple Leafs are set to part ways. The family is going to move back to San Jose. Patrick Marleau has made it clear to the Toronto Maple Leafs that he’d like to get closer to his family once again, which means moving to the west coast area.

That could make Los Angeles a legitimate candidate, despite reports to the contrary. Kypreos also mentioned the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes as other options for Marleau, while can you never totally rule out a return to San Jose. The original belief is that with a no-movement clause, the Maple Leafs might have had a challenging time finding a trade partner considering he could reject any offer, but it now looks like Marleau will be much more willing to move on from Toronto. Marleau, who will be wrapping up the final year of the three-year, $18.75MM deal he signed back in 2017, will make only make $4.25MM next season, but does carry a $6.25MM AAV. The Maple Leafs would likely have to attach a pick or prospect to any deal to unload Marleau’s contract and might even have to retain salary to make a deal work.

The Avalanche might be one of the best options for Toronto as Colorado should have more than $37MM in available cap space, although the team has a number of important restricted free agents they must re-sign, including winger Mikko Rantanen. However, Marleau could be a veteran presence the Avalanche wouldn’t mind adding for one season. The other teams would require sending another significant contract back to Toronto, perhaps one with a lower AAV, but longer term. The Kings would have to send back a contract and while they might be willing to move on from some players such as forwards Ilya Kovalchuk (two more years at $6.25MM), Dustin Brown (three more years at $5.875MM) or defenseman Dion Phaneuf (two more years at $5.25MM), none of whom would fulfill Dubas’ desire to free up salary cap space. Arizona, which is another team that must deal with salary cap issues starting this off-season, has a few cheaper options and could be an interesting option, including forward Michael Grabner (two more years at $3.35MM) or defenseman Jason Demers (two more years at $3.94MM).

Poll: Where Will Nikita Zaitsev End Up?

at CDT | by 12 Comments

As the Toronto Raptors prepared to host the first NBA Finals game in franchise history, their hockey counterparts were making news of their own. Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas admitted that defenseman Nikita Zaitsev had requested a “fresh start” elsewhere, after Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet had broken the news a few hours earlier. Dubas wouldn’t commit to trading Zaitsev at all costs, but did tell reporters that he would try to find a landing spot if possible:

I met with Dan [Milstein, Zaitsev’s agent] here and I don’t want to get too much into the details, that’s up to Dan and Nikita on their end. That will be our goal, to try and find a fresh start for him, for his own personal and private reasons. I’ll leave that to Dan and Nikita to talk about. In the case of what it means for our team, it’s not any definitive type of, “he’s definitely not going to be back.” Especially as the year went on, especially as he was paired with [Jake] Muzzin, his value began to shine through a little bit more. His penalty killing, his right shot, he plays in our top four and he’s signed reasonably for a long time.

Already speculation has started on where Zaitsev could end up. Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun suggests that the Ottawa Senators could be a potential fit, given their need to add salary to reach the cap floor this season. The 27-year old defenseman has five years remaining on his current contract which carries a $4.5MM cap hit. That would immediately become the Senators’ most expensive contract among defensemen, though Cody Ceci’s impending deal would likely surpass it in terms of cap hit for next season. Interestingly, Zaitsev is owed a $3MM signing bonus on July 1, reducing the cost for a team like Ottawa even further.

There is also the obvious connection to the New York Islanders, where former Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello now runs the ship. Lamoriello was an integral part in recruiting Zaitsev in the first place, and was the one who signed him to the seven-year extension after just one season in the NHL. He obviously felt at one point that the Russian defenseman was worth investing in, and perhaps he still does.

There’s no indication yet though of where Dubas would be looking, or even what kind of return he’d be after. The Maple Leafs were already likely considering a move of Zaitsev given their cap constraints this summer, with new contracts due for Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. The smooth-skating defenseman is valuable to the team, especially given his handedness, but may be too expensive to hold on to anyway. That would also mean they can’t take a lot of salary back in any deal, unless Dubas and the rest of the front office plan on cutting cap dollars somewhere else.

So where will Zaitsev end up? Will any team even come forward with a legitimate offer? Cast your vote below and let us know what you think in the comments.

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Combine Notes: Marner, Dubas, Johnson, Turcotte

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Toronto Maple Leafs fans may be nervous about the prospect of a Mitch Marner offer sheet, especially after some recent comments, but GM Kyle Dubas isn’t. Dubas tells NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger that he has used the ongoing NHL Scouting combine as an opportunity to meet with Marner’s agent, Darren Ferris, in hopes of getting a new deal done with their star forward as soon as possible:

We’re not letting any time slip away. Any chance we’ve had to have time with Darren, we’re taking it. We’re trying to move it along. That’s really the key. I don’t see any need to delay it. We would like to come to agreements the very first minute we can. Unfortunately with the way things are it’s not overly realistic to think we can do that. Just keep working. I think I said before — we have to go back to check the tape — everyone knows how we feel about Mitch. I’m not afraid to say that Mitch holds a special place in the cosmos of our group… The reality is, Mitch is a great player. We’ve been very clear how we feel about him as a player and a person. He’s been a great Maple Leaf. He should be a Maple Leaf his whole career. I think Mitch and Darren have both stated that at times. We’re going to keep working with Darren to move this along and progress it ahead and come to an agreement which will make Mitch feel like he’s compensated at the level he’s deserved and us with a way to navigate our way ahead. I think if we’re all willing to work towards it we’ll get there. That’s what we have the time for here.

Dubas continues that he would be surprised if Marner were to entertain the idea of an offer sheet and has never been led to believe that it has been discussed as an option by Marner’s camp. Dubas knows that Marner, as well as Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, could be popular targets for the elusive offer sheet, but is prepared to deal with that scenario if it arises:

I think you have to study what the probability may be. You can’t ignore it. You can’t just say that because something hasn’t happened, it won’t happen. You have to be realistic. You have to look around and identify which teams have the capital, which teams have the cap space, and which teams have the combination of both… That’s the way we’ve gone about it. As a management group, our focus has been on finding contract resolutions with Mitch and Johnsson and Kapanen.

By all accounts, Dubas is farther along in talks with all three of Marner, Johnsson, and Kapanen than he was with William Nylander at this time last year. Nylander of course held out well into the start of this past season, but that doesn’t appear to be the likely outcome for any Toronto RFA’s this year. And while the threat of offer sheets exist, that too doesn’t seem to be a probable ending. The question thus becomes, if new contracts can be signed with Marner, Johnsson, and Kapanen, where does it leave the Maple Leafs in salary cap terms and who will have to move this summer to make the team cap compliant?

  • While NHL executives and agents alike obviously use the NHL Scouting Combine as an opportunity to talk to one another, the focus of course is on the draft class. One prospect in particular has been busier than just about anyone at the combine. NBC Sports Chicago’s Slavko Bekovic reports that American defenseman Ryan Johnson is the only player in attendance thought to have met with all 31 NHL teams. Johnson is not your typical popular top-of-the-first prospect, though. Instead, he has been ranked as high as No. 18 and as low as No. 55 by reputable scouting sources and many teams are likely still trying to gauge whether or not he is a first-round caliber player. To his credit, Johnson will at least likely go ahead of many highly-regarded U.S. National Team Development Program defenders after he himself did not make the team. The stalwart defenseman for the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede is a solid, mobile defenseman and a strong locker room presence, but the question is whether he is a top-31 player in this draft. Every team in the league will apparently get the chance to answer that question.
  • Bekovic also reports that Illinois native Alex Turcotte, a top-ten prospect, has met with his hometown Chicago Blackhawks this week. While the Blackhawks have met with several other intriguing prospects who they could select at No. 3, including Bowen Byram, Dylan Cozens, Kirby Dach, and Peyton Krebs, it’s hard to ignore the fit that Turcotte would have with the organization. The USNTDP standout told Bekovic that he grew up a big Blackhawks fan and has always dreamed of playing for the team. He also models his game after Jonathan Toews and relishes in the frequent comparisons between the two. GM Stan Bowman is not going to let sentiment dictate a crucial pick for his franchise, but Turcotte’s talent alone may make him the third-best player in this class, with the local ties just an added bonus.

Snapshots: Marner, Coffey, Vilardi

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Mitch Marner’s next contract continues to be the talk of the town in Toronto—at least the hockey part of town—and Darren Dreger was on TSN radio today discussing what’s next in the negotiation. Dreger suggested that the Marner camp will be speaking to other teams when the free agent interview period begins in late June, to see what kind of opportunity would be out there if he were to pursue the infamous offer sheet.

The 22-year old forward is coming off an incredible season with the Maple Leafs where he immediately found chemistry with John Tavares and ended up with 94 points in 82 games, and now has a chance to be among the record-setting group of RFA wingers this summer. Names like Mikko Rantanen, Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine also all need new contracts and could very well change the landscape for top wingers coming off their entry-level contracts. The Maple Leafs and GM Kyle Dubas meanwhile have always seemed very confident they can get a deal done with Marner without an offer sheet coming into play, given the complete lack of them over the last several years.

  • It looks like another one of the “old boys club” in Edmonton is on his way out, as the team has parted ways with skills coach Paul Coffey according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet. The Oilers organization has been criticized heavily in the past for allowing their former players to have too much influence over the team, but have also recently seen Craig MacTavish leave by way of the KHL. This comes on a day when new GM Ken Holland announced the hiring of Dave Tippett as the next head coach of the team, another huge change of leadership as they try to get back to playoff contention.
  • According to Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider the Los Angeles Kings are still in a “holding pattern” in regards to top prospect Gabe Vilardi’s rehab, as they wait for clearance before getting him into a skating and rehab program. Vilardi has unfortunately dealt with a serious back injury since being drafted 11th overall in 2017 and suited up for just four minor league games last season on a conditioning loan. The 19-year old forward has incredible offensive upside given his big frame and puck protection skills, but will need to get back to health before ever really figuring into the Kings plans.

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

scroll to top