Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mammoth Rumors

Snapshots: Dillon, Jankowski, Devils

at CDT | by 1 Comment

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet the Washington Capitals are trying to move some money in order to free up enough space to keep Brenden Dillon from hitting unrestricted free agency, but if he does hit the open market a return home would be of interest to him. Dillon told TSN radio today that “any Surrey kid would love to play in Vancouver” and that he would be interested in signing with the Canucks should it fall that way.

While there is still so much to happen in the next few days that could complicate a move like that, the Canucks are obviously interested in adding a defenseman given the work they’ve done to try and acquire Oliver Ekman-Larsson so far. Perhaps Dillon, who is coming off a five-year deal that carried a $3.27MM cap hit, could be a potential fallback option through free agency.

  • Not only do they have a draft and free agency to navigate, but the Arizona Coyotes are still busy building out their front office again after hiring GM Bill Armstrong to change the direction of the franchise. Yesterday they added Darryl Plandowski from the Tampa Bay Lightning and today the Coyotes have hired Ryan Jankowski as the new associate director of amateur scouting. Jankowski has worked with the Buffalo Sabres for the past two seasons after a lengthy stint with Hockey Canada.
  • Speaking of filling out a staff, the New Jersey Devils are still looking for a goaltending coach and third assistant coach, according to GM Tom Fitzgerald who spoke to reporters including Corey Masisak of The Athletic today. Mike Grier was given a chance to return but declined, while Alain Nasreddine will be returning to his position as an assistant coach.

Coyotes Seeking First-Round Pick And More For Darcy Kuemper

at CDT | by 18 Comments

Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper has seen his name involved in trade speculation over the past several weeks amid reports that the team is looking to reduce its payroll for the 2020-21 season.  However, it appears that a lofty asking price has been set to get him as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Arizona GM Bill Armstrong is seeking a first-round pick plus another piece in order to part with the 30-year-old.

Kuemper has turned his career around considerably in the past few years after moving on from Minnesota in 2017.  Since then, he has posted a save percentage of .920 or better in each of those three seasons along with a GAA that has dipped from 2.52 to 2.22 since then.  Having said that, it’s worth noting that Kuemper only played in 29 games this season due to a lower-body injury that held him out of 28 contests plus the pandemic.  Overall, he has played in just 113 games over the past three seasons so while he has certainly played well, he also hasn’t shown that he can be a starting goalie over a full year which an acquiring team would envision him as to even consider paying that asking price.

Teams looking for a cost-effective goalie will certainly be intrigued by his $4.5MM AAV for the next two years.  That’s cheaper than what the top netminders will get in free agency and at a time where every dollar is going to count in this cap environment, that’s certainly important.

But with other goalies believed to be available for trade including Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray, Carolina’s Petr Mrazek, and potentially one of Columbus’ netminders as well, it will be difficult for Armstrong to have that price met.  There is considerable supply available and that, in theory, should drive the price down.

This is far from a must-move situation; even if they do have to trim payroll, there are other veterans that the Coyotes could try to move to accomplish that objective.  If they can’t get their price for Kuemper, Antti Raanta and his $4.25MM AAV (and only $2MM left in salary with his signing bonus of $2MM already paid) could potentially be in play at some point.  But if they can get their price, it would certainly be a great return for someone that they parted with only Tobias Rieder and Scott Wedgewood to get back in 2018.

Latest On Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s Trade Market

at CDT | by 13 Comments

The hot stove is heating up in the NHL and Oliver Ekman-Larsson is at the center of it all. He was listed as the top name on Frank Seravalli’s Trade Bait board for TSN and linked to the Edmonton Oilers. Darren Dreger threw cold water on the Edmonton connection as the Oilers are not currently on a short list of teams that the Coyotes captain would waive his no-movement clause for, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has turned up the heat once again. Friedman tweets that the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks are on that list of approved teams, while Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider says that Boston is a “favored destination.”

When a GM told Seravalli that a number of “franchise-changing” players are being discussed each day, perhaps this is what he meant. Ekman-Larsson is the Coyotes highest-paid player, their captain and has been an anchor on their blue line for years now. The 29-year-old defenseman has seven years remaining on a $66MM extension he signed in 2018 and carries an $8.25MM cap hit.

In a normal year, it’s hard to imagine Arizona even considering a move like this. But with new management in GM Bill Armstrong and a payroll that could need to be drastically slashed thanks to lost current and future revenue, Ekman-Larsson may have played his last game for the Coyotes.

If that’s true, he leaves behind quite a legacy in the organization. The sixth-overall pick in 2009, Ekman-Larsson was a full-time player for the Coyotes by the 2010-11 season and tallied 364 points over 723 regular season games. That puts him behind only Teppo Numminen for the franchise lead, even counting the original Winnipeg Jets years. His 125 goals lead all franchise defensemen and put him among the upper-echelon in scoring defenders in the NHL.

That offensive production could certainly be why the Bruins have checked in, given they could be losing Torey Krug to unrestricted free agency in the coming days. Krug is one of the top offensive defensemen in the league, but his role could certainly be filled by Ekman-Larsson in the coming years.

How either Boston or Vancouver fit an $8.25MM cap hit into their current structure is unclear, but a deal like this would require plenty of moving pieces even without cap implications. Vancouver for instance could potentially get out of a bad contract like Loui Eriksson, who is owed just $5MM in actual salary over the last two years of his contract once his signing bonus is paid. That said, adding long-term cap doesn’t seem prudent for a Canucks team that will have to sign Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes before long.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Arizona Coyotes Hire Darryl Plandowski

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

You may have never heard of Darryl Plandowski, but a lot of his work just resulted in a Stanley Cup. Serving as the Tampa Bay Lightning assistant director of amateur scouting under legendary scout Al Murray, Plandowski was integral in helping build a roster that had plenty of homegrown talent. He was only named to that position in 2019 but had previously spent over a decade as the team’s head amateur scout.

Now, Plandowski is headed to the desert. The Arizona Coyotes have announced his hiring as the team’s new director of amateur scouting. New GM Bill Armstrong released a statement on the move:

We are very pleased to add another Stanley Cup Champion to our organization. Darryl is an excellent talent evaluator and his fingerprints are all over the Tampa Bay Lightning roster. We are thrilled to have him lead our amateur scouting department.

Notably, the Coyotes do not have have a pick in the first three years of this year’s draft thanks in part to discipline handed down for scouting violations. If they don’t move to acquire some higher picks, they’ll have to find some hidden gems in the later rounds. If that’s what you’re looking for, it’s hard to not want to emulate an organization like the Lightning. Greg Wyshynski of ESPN reports that Plandowski will not be working at this draft for the Coyotes in an agreement with the Lightning, but you can see how he, Murray, and the rest of the Lightning have found talent outside the first round in the past.

Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli, Ondrej Palat, Cedric Paquette, and many other names being engraved in the Stanley Cup were Tampa Bay picks outside of the first round, with Palat, in particular, being an incredible late-round steal. Yanni Gourde and Tyler Johnson weren’t even drafted at all but have become key contributors for the team.

Obviously, there is more work to be done to right the ship in Arizona, but bringing in proven talent evaluators is an important step.

Trade Rumors: Ekman-Larsson, Mrazek, Virtanen, Tampa Bay

at CDT | by 24 Comments

Name a top trade target or impending free agent and they seem to be linked to the Edmonton Oilers. While the team clearly needs to help superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they have cap constraints because of those players as well and holes to fill all over the roster. The team must be confident that they can perform some cap magic, as they have their sights set on making a big splash this off-season. TSN’s Darren Dreger backed up previous rumors today that the Oilers have been talking to the Arizona Coyotes about elite defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. In fact, Dreger notes that discussions have been preliminary, but the interest is serious. It’s a complex situation given the cap situations in both Edmonton and Arizona, but the teams appear to be working through their options when it comes to moving Ekman-Larsson, a proven top-pair commodity. Of course, it’s worth noting that Ekman-Larsson has a full No-Movement Clause and could nix a deal to Edmonton if he chooses. Dreger adds that the Boston Bruins also remain interested; Ekman-Larsson may very well prefer landing alongside Charlie McAvoy on the top pair of a perennial contender.

  • The Oilers are also known to be eyeing an addition in goal and have kicked the tires on a number of netminders on the trade block. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the latest name on that list is the Carolina Hurricanes’ Petr Mrazek. LeBrun believes that Mrazek could be more of a fallback option if Edmonton cannot add Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray or Arizona’s Darcy Kuemper or can’t woo Jacob Markstrom in free agency. Of course, if Mrazek is even available for trade, it may mean that Carolina has already landed one of those three Oilers targets for themselves. Mrazek had a fine season for the ’Canes, but the team is looking to upgrade at starter. Unfortunately for Edmonton, Carolina’s castoff would still be an upgrade for them.
  • From GM Jim Benning’s comments since his Vancouver Canucks were eliminated from the postseason, it should come as no surprise that he is listening to offers for restricted free agent forward Jake Virtanen, according to Dreger. Virtanen has failed to live up to the expectations of being the 2014 sixth overall pick, but is still due a significant upgrade over his expiring $1.25MM AAV. The cap-strapped Canucks have greater needs than Virtanen’s third-line scoring totals and may be able to put his cap space to greater use via trade. Dreger reports that there is plenty of interest in the 24-year-old power forward, who could still grow into the dangerous scorer that he was in junior.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning are less than a day removed from taking home the 2020 Stanley Cup title, but GM Julien BriseBois is already back at work. LeBrun speculates that Tampa must clear at least $10MM in cap space in order to re-sign RFA’s Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, and Erik Cernak and to rebuild a defense with numerous pending UFA’s. As such,  BriseBois can’t afford to waste any time with free agency approaching. LeBrun notes that the two most talked-about names on the Lightning roster right now are forwards Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde. However, he notes that both players have full No-Trade Clauses and would have to accept any trade. As a result, LeBrun believes there is a growing suspicion that the Bolts may trade a player or two that no one is suspecting in order to clear cap space. That could mean one of the RFA’s themselves is dealt, or perhaps it could be a player lacking trade protection, such as Brayden Point or Andrei Vasilevskiy. One way or another, the Cup-winning roster will look very different next season.

West Notes: Golden Knights, Stars’ Injuries, Coyotes’ Changes, Samberg

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Vegas Golden Knights seem to be a team that is being mentioned in multiple rumors for many pending unrestricted free agents despite having little to no cap room to speak of. The most recent one has the Golden Knights ready to pounce on St. Louis Blues star defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who currently isn’t expected to re-sign with St. Louis.

David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal confirms that the Golden Knights are ready to go after the right-shot defenseman, who finished fourth in the Norris Trophy voting this year, assuming he reaches free agency on Oct. 9 and the team will deal with the salary cap juggling after that. Much of the reasoning comes from owner Bill Foley’s will to win and spend to the cap ceiling, while other teams are trying to refrain from that.

Of course, if Pietrangelo does opt to return to St. Louis or chooses another destination, the scribe notes there are other options for the team to upgrade on defense in free agency, including a pair of blueliners who spent time playing for head coach Peter DeBoer in San Jose, Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo.

  • ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski reports that the five Dallas Stars’ players who were “unfit to play” for Game 5 are still unfit as of Sunday. Ben Bishop, Roope Hintz, Radek Faksa, Stephen Johns and Blake Comeau are all expected to miss Game 6 on Monday. A new player to monitor, however, will be defenseman Andrej Sekera, who is considered to be a game-time decision, according to NHL.com’s Mike Heika. Sekera missed half of the first period and all of the second period after blocking a shot during Game 5 Saturday. He did return for the third period, but forced himself to play through the pain.
  • Coyotes beat reporter Craig Morgan reports that the scouting cleanout in Arizona is continuing. The team, who recently fired scouting director Lindsay Hofford and assistant to the GM Jake Goldberg, has removed two more names in the front office. Phil McRae, director of North American Amateur Scouting and Mat Milbury, an amateur scout, are both no longer with the team.
  • Murat Ates of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Winnipeg Jets defensive prospect Dylan Samberg’s ability to make the NHL squad out of training camp next season could be critical to the team’s playoff chances. Samberg, the 6-foot-4 defenseman out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, is believed to be close to NHL ready, but might need more seasoning in the AHL. However, with just four defenseman under contract and little cap room to maneuver with, the scribe believes that the quicker that Samberg can get acclimated to the NHL pace could be critical for the team. While there is little worry about this defensive game, there are questions on how well his offense will translate over.

Trade Rumors: Kuemper, Laine, Penguins

at CDT | by 4 Comments

There are many factors that have contributed to Darcy Kuemper being one of the most talked-about names on the rumor mill over the last couple of months. The first and most important is simply that the Arizona Coyotes must shed salary this off-season. The team is arguably in the worst salary cap situation of any NHL club, lacking any room to maneuver under the cap ceiling but with several restricted free agents and superstar trade acquisition Taylor Hall in need of new contracts. One area where they can trim the fat is in net, where Kuemper and Antti Raanta combine for $8.75MM against the cap and Adin Hill is also signed to a one-way contract and will need to clear waivers this season. Of the three, not only does Kuemper carry the highest cap hit, he is also undoubtedly the most valuable on the trade market. The 30-year-old was one of the best goalies in the NHL this season and is signed for two more years at a bargain relative to his performance. While this is seemingly a perfect storm of reasons why Kuemper should be dealt, new GM Bill Armstrong won’t let him go that easy. AZ Sports’ Craig Morgan reports that after Armstrong was hired last week, the asking price for Kuemper went up. An offer must now surpass the value of just one first-round pick in order to pry the talented netminder out of Arizona. If they are not satisfied, the Coyotes will not trade Kuemper. Although his trade value is depleted after a pair of injury-plagued seasons, the team could get nearly as much cap savings from moving Raanta, whose contract expires after this season. While Kuemper is the morename, don’t be surprised to see Raanta move instead barring a top-notch offer.

  • Patrik Laine is another one of the hot names on the rumor mill right now, with reports that the Winnipeg Jets are “serious” about moving the young scoring forward. However, Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe doused those flames somewhat by stating that the Jets’ priority is still to re-sign Laine. It would be difficult for the team to get fair value for Laine and although they have more pressing needs than winger elsewhere on the roster, they could very well be better off holding on to the 22-year-old. A restricted free agent after next season, Laine will command a substantial salary that Winnipeg may find difficult to afford. Yet, Wiebe believes that current trade talks may be overblown so long as the two sides are still amenable to an extension, believing a trade to be more likely next summer – if a deal cannot be reached – rather than pulling the trigger early this off-season. Unless the Jets get exactly what they ask for in exchange for Laine, they have time before they need to get too serious about a trade.
  • The most active team on the trade market so far has been the Pittsburgh Penguins, but things may begin to slow down for GM Jim Rutherford and his club. In a radio interview on Friday, Rutherford stated that his recent acquisition of defensemen Michael Matheson is not a precursor to another major trade regarding his top defensemen. Although there is a considerable logjam on the left side of the Pittsburgh blue line, top-four lefties Brian Dumoulin and Marcus Pettersson will not be traded. Matheson is expected to play on the left side of the team’s third pair, forcing Jack Johnson and Juuso Riikola to compete for a starting job on their off-side with righty Chad Ruhwedel. Matheson’s acquisition has also squashed the Penguins’ interest in free agent defenseman Chris Tanev and others, as Rutherford added that he does not anticipate adding to his defense corps on the open market.

Coyotes Part Ways With Jake Goldberg

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Wild will not buy out center Victor Rask, GM Bill Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription link).  The 27-year-old has struggled mightily over his two seasons in Minnesota, compiling just 16 points in 66 games while being a frequent healthy scratch along the way.  That’s hardly production that’s worthy of a $4MM price tag for two more years which made him a strong candidate to be released.  Instead, they’ll hold onto Rask and hope that he’ll be able to rebound and perhaps fill one of the vacancies created by the departures of Eric Staal and Mikko Koivu.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch posits that the Blues will likely add a veteran goaltender in free agency. While the team has high hopes for Ville Husso, he has yet to play at the NHL level and they’re counting on him to be a capable backup for Jordan Binnington.  Adding a veteran third-string option that could start out at the AHL level but be brought up if Husso struggles or injuries arise would be a wise move although getting someone that may be willing to leave some NHL money on the table in favor of a higher two-way deal (or a fully guaranteed one-way contract) will be important with their salary cap situation.
  • The front office changes continue in Arizona as new GM Bill Armstrong makes his mark. Just days after firing scouting director Lindsay Hofford, the Coyotes have parted ways with assistant to the GM Jake Goldberg, reports Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider (Twitter link).  The 30-year-old had been promoted to that role this season after spending the previous two years as their director of hockey operations.

Snapshots: Entry Draft, Daccord, Koivu

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The NHL Entry Draft is just around the corner and the Ottawa Senators will be almost living at the (virtual) podium. Ottawa owns seven picks in the first two rounds including the third and fifth overall selections. Jeff Marek gave his thoughts on that fifth pick in today’s 31 Thoughts podcast for Sportsnet, including some interesting names that may be in play.

Five’s gonna be interesting. I’m told there are three different beliefs in that organization.

There is the “let’s take a defenseman here.” There is a belief that that would be Jake Sanderson, Geoff Sanderson’s kid. There is another belief within the organization that they are thin on the right side as it comes to prospects after players like Drake Batherson. That Jack Quinn, who was a 50-goal scorer two-way player with the Ottawa 67’s, the local boy, might be the right fit for Ottawa…and then the wildcard in all of it is the goaltender.

Yaroslav Askarov, that goaltender Marek mentions, is one of the more interesting prospects to follow in the draft given the wide-ranging opinions on where netminders should be taken in the draft. In the same podcast, Elliotte Friedman suggests that even the New Jersey Devils would consider Askarov at seven, despite having Mackenzie Blackwood in the organization already.

  • The Arizona Coyotes have named Brian Daccord special assistant to the general manager and director of goaltending operations. Daccord comes to Arizona by way of Toronto after spending the last several seasons with the Maple Leafs. Father of Ottawa Senators goalie prospect Joey Daccord, Brian comes with plenty of experience in professional hockey including seven years as the goaltending coach for Adler Mannheim in the DEL.
  • Mikko Koivu’s time in Minnesota may be over, but that doesn’t necessarily mean his playing career is done. Koivu told reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic that he is returning to Finland to start training as if he is playing in 2020-21, though he hasn’t made a decision on his future just yet. Koivu, 37, scored just four goals in 55 games for the Wild this season and has played in nearly 1,100 games over a long career.

Niklas Hjalmarsson Won’t Waive No-Move Clause

at CDT | by 6 Comments

It has been widely reported that cost-cutting measures are expected in Arizona as a result of the ongoing pandemic.  Accordingly, several veterans have seen their names bandied about in trade speculation in recent weeks.  One of those is defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson and his $5MM price tag.  However, the veteran is unwilling to waive his no-move clause, reports Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider (Twitter link) which means he’ll be staying in the desert barring a change of heart.

While the 33-year-old isn’t known for his offensive prowess – the last time he scored multiple goals in a season was 2016-17 – he has been a steadying presence in his own end for most of his career and can still more than hold his own in a checking role.  The Coyotes have used Hjalmarsson at times with Oliver Ekman-Larsson to allow the latter to get more involved offensively, a role that other teams could conceivably have tried to fit him into.

However, merely staying in the lineup has been tricky in his three years with the Coyotes as Hjalmarsson has missed considerable time in two of those three seasons including a fractured fibula that cost him 43 games this season.  That won’t help his value come next year on the open market but as far as a one-year investment goes, there would have been some interest in him for 2020-21.

Now, Arizona will have to turn their focus to shed payroll on other players.  Veterans Derek Stepan, Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers, and Michael Grabner will each be entering the final year of their contracts next season and could free up some money in the short term while Phil Kessel has two years left with the team on the hook for a $6.8MM price tag.  If they are trying to save money, one or more of these players may be on the move before too long.

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top