Headlines

  • 2025 NHL Training Camp Rosters
  • Latest On Evgeni Malkin’s Future With Penguins
  • Anze Kopitar Announces Retirement Following 2025-26 Season
  • Flames Sign Mikael Backlund To Two-Year Extension
  • Mammoth Intend To Waive Connor Ingram
  • Maple Leafs To Hire Mark Giordano
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • MLB/NBA/NFL
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jets Rumors

Gabriel Bourque Signs With Winnipeg Jets

August 26, 2019 at 10:03 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Winnipeg Jets have signed free agent forward Gabriel Bourque to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will carry a salary of $700K in the NHL. Bourque has played the last three seasons in the Colorado Avalanche organization and will be joining his third NHL team overall.

Bourque, 28, was originally selected in the fifth round of the 2009 draft by the Nashville Predators, but continued to develop in their system and eventually found himself as an NHL regular. In parts of five seasons with the Predators, the former QMJHL star recorded 78 points in 242 games before failing to receive a qualifying offer in 2016. A free agent, Bourque decided to sign a one-year deal with the Avalanche which turned into two subsequent contracts, each only lasting a year. In Colorado he was a regular once again, and played 55 games last season before taking part in all 12 of the team’s postseason contests. He registered just nine points in those 67 games, but was a staple on the penalty kill.

Now joining his third Central Division team, Bourque will try to carve out a similar role in a new organization. The Jets have lost depth forwards like Brendan Lemieux, Brandon Tanev and Nic Petan over the last several months and may have an opportunity for a fourth-line player like Bourque to see regular minutes. His minimum NHL salary will only help them fit under the cap once Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor are signed, though players he will battle like Mark Letestu and J.C. Lipon have the same advantage of being a bit cheaper than some other minor league players.

The Jets actually have just nine forwards penciled into their NHL roster at the moment without Laine and Connor signed, meaning there will be plenty of competition for the last few spots. Bourque will need to clear waivers in order to be sent to the minor leagues, though he has done so several times in the past.

Winnipeg Jets Gabriel Bourque

0 comments

Free Agent Profile: Marc Methot

August 25, 2019 at 2:01 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

It doesn’t seem that long ago that Marc Methot was considered to be a high-end shutdown defenseman. Actually, it was just two years ago when the veteran was with the Ottawa Senators, that he averaged just short of 19 minutes per game for eight straight seasons. However, after signing a four-year, $19.6MM extension to remain in Ottawa in 2015, the Senators choose to expose his contract in the Vegas expansion draft and the defense-greedy Golden Knights opted to grab him, immediately flipping him to Dallas for a prospect and a 2020 second-round pick.

Unfortunately, the Stars didn’t capitalize on Methot’s impressive defensive play as he struggled with injuries in his two years in Dallas. In those two years, he has appeared in just 45 games and only nine of them came in the 2018-19 season. In fact, the knee injury that sidelined Methot for most of the season last year, could keep him out even longer than people had expected.

Having hit free agency this year at age 34, TSN reported in July that Methot might not be ready for the 2019-20 season at all due to the knee surgery that he underwent in January. However, despite the injuries, he still was a valuable commodity when he was on the ice with his defensive play and ability to play physically and provide key hits during the game.

Potential Suitors

The most obvious suitor could be retirement depending on how Methot’s knee responds from his surgery. TSN’s Shawn Simpson reported last month that Methot has started skating, which could increase his suitors if he can prove he is ready to return to the ice. If his knee can hold up, he could provide key depth on any team’s defense as a shutdown third-pairing defenseman, which plenty of teams would need.

A reunion in either Ottawa or Columbus might make sense, but Ottawa has already added a number of veterans to its defensive core, including Ron Hainsey and with a number of young blueliners waiting to get playing time, he might not be a good fit with his hometown. However, Methot could find a way there. In Columbus, the team is likely set on defense, but one injury could change that and a coach like John Tortorella would appreciate a defensive-minded veteran.

The New Jersey Devils are a team that could be interested in Methot as he might provide a good fit at the bottom of their lineup. There are plenty of other teams that might still need some depth on their defense such as the Anaheim Ducks, Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals. However, much of who might be interested in Methot, may be determined by team injuries and their needs.

Projected Contract

Methot’s situation might require him to wait to sign a contract until he can prove that he’s healthy and can really contribute to an NHL team, meaning he might have to wait until well into the 2019-20 season before signing a deal. Once he can prove he’s healthy, assuming he can and doesn’t opt to retire instead, Methot will likely have to settle for a minimum-salaried deal and prove his value to the team.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Anaheim Ducks| Dallas Stars| Free Agency| Injury| New Jersey Devils| Ottawa Senators| Washington Capitals| Winnipeg Jets Marc Methot| Ron Hainsey

1 comment

Central Notes: Schenn, Burakovsky, Poolman

August 25, 2019 at 12:30 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

The St. Louis Blues expect to have almost everyone back in their lineup from last season with a few exceptions. However, what about the season after that? General manager Doug Armstrong will have to make some tough decisions with players like Alex Pietrangelo, Joel Edmundson and Brayden Schenn all hitting unrestricted free agency. While it’s likely that all three would like to return on long-term deals, that isn’t likely due to the team’s salary cap situation, growing list of developing prospects as well as the approaching expansion draft.

With that in mind, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon writes that the team’s top priority will be to sign Pietrangelo and that could cause problems for the others, especially Schenn. After an impressive 2017-18 season, Schenn’s numbers dropped as going from 70 points to just 54 last season. However, if Schenn returns to his old numbers, which is very possible as the Blues struggled on the power play last year, he could easily price his way out of St. Louis.

On top of that, with the way players have been paid this offseason on the free-agent market, Schenn could easily command $7MM per year, he’d be an expensive player, especially with ever improving play of Robert Thomas and the Jordan Kyrou. With those two top talents, the Blues’ need for Schenn shouldn’t be as necessary for the 2020-21 season. The team might also not want to bring Schenn back because any deal would likely force them to add a no-movement clause, something the team might be reluctant to do with the expansion draft quickly approaching.

  • The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark (subscription required) writes that Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic is banking that Andre Burakovsky’s biggest problem in previous seasons with the Washington Capitals was his lack of playing time. The GM believes that if the Avalanche increase his ice time, Burakovksy should be able to take that next step into becoming a solid top-six player. The 24-year-old did score 17 goals and 38 points back in the 2015-16 season, but hasn’t been able to take the next step. He averaged just 11:08 last season and put up just 12 goals and 25 points. With that in mind, Burakovsky is expected to play on the second line for the Avalanche this season and the hope is that new center Nazem Kadri will give him the guidance he needs to develop into a solid scoring winger. The team has struggled with finding a solid No. 2 center, but the GM believes that the team’s second-line woes are about to be over.
  •  The Winnipeg Free Press’ Jason Bell writes that with two gaping holes in the Winnipeg Jets defense this year after the team lost Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot in free agency this summer, Tucker Poolman remains a top candidate to claim one of those two spots. The 26-year-old blueliner has dealt with injury problems in the past, but believes himself to healthy and at 6-foot-4, 215-pounds could be a valuable asset and a cheap one (two years at $775K). The fact that Poolman is right-handed is another advantage as the team only has two veteran right-handed blueliners in Dustin Byfuglien and Neal Pionk. After seeing 24 games with the Jets in 2017-18, he didn’t make an appearance with the Jets last season, but an ankle injury derailed half his season as he only managed to appear in 43 games for the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

Colorado Avalanche| St. Louis Blues| Winnipeg Jets Alex Pietrangelo| Andre Burakovsky| Brayden Schenn

0 comments

College Notes: Niagara, Simmons-Fischer, Cheremeta

August 23, 2019 at 8:40 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 1 Comment

Niagara University officially announced their 2019 recruiting class today, including three notable NCAA transfers. The most well-known name is likely former UMass-Lowell defenseman Croix Evingson. A 2017 seventh-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets, Evingson was the NAHL’s Defenseman of the Year in his draft year and his size and scoring ability made him an intriguing prospect. However, after two seasons of limited usage and production at Lowell, Evingson opted for a change of scenery and is now set to join Niagara. The big, offensive defenseman will look to re-establish his pro value this season and next in hopes of landing with the Jets down the road. Joining Evingson are Merrimack College graduate transfer defenseman Ryan Cook and former Air Force Academy forward Walker Sommer.

  • Braidan Simmons-Fischer, son of former NHL defenseman and current Detroit Red Wings Director of Player Personnel Jiri Fischer, has committed to nearby Western Michigan University, according to MIHockey. Entering his draft year, Simmons-Fischer remains somewhat of an unknown commodity. Splitting his early years of hockey between several pedestrian seasons of bantam-level play in Michigan and a dominant season at the junior level in Austria, Simmons-Fischer has had one of the stranger developmental paths of any prospect to this point. However, there is enough to his size – similar to his father’s frame but even more menacing as a forward – and hockey bloodlines that a strong program like WMU is willing to bet on his progression. More will surely be known about Simmons-Fischer’s potential after this upcoming season, which he will spend with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers in his first true test against top competition.
  • Mark Cheremeta has left Boston University, marking yet another loss for the storied program. Since the end of last season, BU has seen Jake Oettinger, Joel Farabee, Chad Krys, Bobo Carpenter, Dante Fabbro, and Shane Bowers leave for the NHL, as well as a couple of players transfer to another school, and now young role player Cheremeta is headed to the USHL. The Dubuque Fighting Saints announced Cheremeta as a member of their training camp roster after selecting him in the third round of the USHL Entry Draft this year, marking his departure from BU after just one year. What Cheremeta will do next with his developmental path remains a mystery. Ironically though, he is set to play alongside Terriers commit and L.A. Kings prospect Braden Doyle with Dubuque this season.

Detroit Red Wings| NCAA| USHL| Winnipeg Jets Chad Krys| Dante Fabbro| Jake Oettinger| Joel Farabee

1 comment

Jack LaFontaine Joins The University of Minnesota

August 21, 2019 at 7:35 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

Carolina Hurricanes prospect goalie Jack LaFontaine is back in the NCAA. The 21-year-old keeper has enrolled at the University of Minnesota and will play this season, the program announced. LaFontaine had been away from the college game for one year with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL, having previously spent two seasons with the Big Ten rival University of Michigan.

LaFontaine was a third-round pick of the Hurricanes back in 2016 out of the NAHL. While some considered the pick to be a reach, seeing as Fontaine had not been challenged at an elite level yet and was raw in terms of his skill development, Carolina was clearly happy to select a player with good size and athleticism who they could groom as a long-term project. LaFontaine jumped right into the college ranks after being drafted, but failed to take advantage of no clear starter in net for the Wolverines. In each of his two years, the young netminder posted a GAA over 3.33 in just eleven appearances. Seeking a fresh start, LaFontaine left Michigan and signed with Penticton. He was beyond impressive last season, recording a .923 save percentage and 2.19 GAA in 45 starts and earning the BCHL’s Top Goaltender honors.

Having re-asserted himself as a promising young goalie, LaFontaine is ready to give the NCAA another go. He has two years of eligibility remaining, after which he hopes to have proven himself to be a pro-caliber prospect. Much like when he began with the Wolverines, the Gophers net is wide open; all three goalies who made an appearance last season, including starter and recent Minnesota Wild signing Mat Robson, have departed. LaFontaine is the odds-on replacement, but he will have to hold off 20-year-old Jared Moe, a sixth-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 2018. If he can do so and can put up numbers similar to this past season in Penticton, perhaps the Hurricanes will come calling even sooner than two years from now.

Carolina Hurricanes| Minnesota Wild| NCAA| Winnipeg Jets

0 comments

Prospect Notes: 2020 Draft, Reinhart, WHL

August 19, 2019 at 6:57 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 5 Comments

It may only be August, but The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler is already hard at work evaluating next June’s draft class. The 2020 Draft promises to be chock full of talent, with Wheeler calling it more impressive than the most recent draft class and deeper at the top. In fact, he believes it could be the strongest class since 2015, which produced superstars like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Zach Werenski, Mikko Rantanen, Jake Debrusk, Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor, and Thomas Chabot in the top 20 picks alone. Also unlike recent drafts, Wheeler feels the 2020 class will be deeper at forward than defense and will be lacking impact American prospects, with the scout failing to see a U.S. product even enter the conversation as a top-ten pick. So who might be in contention for one of those elite slots? Canadian forward Alexis Lafreniere has long been considered the presumptive top pick and finds himself at No. 1 on Wheeler’s initial draft board as well. However, Swedish forwards Lucas Raymond and Alexander Holtz could push him for that top spot. College-bound Dylan Holloway is an interesting name to watch as a top-ten candidate, as is Wheeler’s highest-ranked defenseman, Jamie Drysdale. Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov also intrigues Wheeler; he feels the Russian keeper could be the best goalie prospect of this decade. Plenty could change in the ten months still to come before the 2020 Draft, but it never hurts to get a head start on researching who your team could be eyeing next year.

  • Unsurprisingly lost in the shuffle of an off-season that has left many major names unsigned is a former top NHL prospect in Griffin Reinhart. NHL teams have been tantalized by Reinhart’s upside seemingly forever without any real results to show for it, but it seems that luck has finally run out. The fourth overall pick in 2012 by the New York Islanders, Reinhart recorded one lone point in eight NHL games in his first pro season before the Edmonton Oilers traded a first- and second-round pick for him. He proceeded to score just one more point in 29 games over two seasons in Edmonton before being selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Expansion Draft. In two years in Vegas, he did not see any NHL action and became a Group 6 unrestricted free agent. Reinhart received the benefit of the doubt for many years, but it seems no longer, as there has been practically no talk of the young defenseman this summer.
  • The WHL is headed outdoors for just the third time in league history. Sportsnet reports that the Regina Pats will host the Calgary Hitmen in an outdoor game this season on October 27th. The game will take place at Mosaic Stadium in Saskatchewan just one day after the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames square off there for the NHL’s Heritage Classic. The last WHL outdoor game took place back in 2011 and was another Pats-Hitmen contest, again coinciding with the Heritage Classic.

Calgary Flames| Dallas Stars| Edmonton Oilers| Expansion| NHL| New York Islanders| Prospects| Vegas Golden Knights| WHL| Winnipeg Jets Alexis Lafreniere| Connor McDavid| Griffin Reinhart| Jack Eichel| Jake DeBrusk| Kyle Connor| Mathew Barzal| Mikko Rantanen| Mitch Marner| Thomas Chabot| Zach Werenski

5 comments

Minor Transactions: 08/18/19

August 18, 2019 at 5:24 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

It’s the dog days of summer, and while many prominent free agents, restricted and unrestricted, remain unsigned, major NHL signings are few and far between. Yet, minor league teams, foreign clubs, and college programs continue to make make moves in preparation for the coming season. Keep up with all of those minor transactions here:

  • Northeastern University landed a pair of high-quality graduate transfers last week in University of New Hampshire forward Brendan van Riemsdyk and Merrimack College goalie Craig Pantano, both of whom are expected to be major contributors. However, they’ve also now suffered a loss. After two disappointing seasons to begin his collegiate career, center Bobby Hampton has opted to leave the program, reports USCHO. Hampton will enroll at Penn State University and will join the Nittany Lions for the 2020-21 season with two years of NCAA eligibility remaining. Hampton joined Northeastern in 2017 with high expectations after leading the USHL’s Cedar Rapids Rough Riders in scoring the season prior, but recorded just seven points combined in his first two college seasons.
  • Trevor Yates had up and down between the AHL and ECHL last season and he’s already well on his way to a similar start to the 2019-20 campaign. After signing with the ECHL’s Reading Royals on Friday, Jason Guarente of the Reading Eagle already reports that Yates will be in camp with their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, trying to instead earn an AHL contract, with Lehigh or elsewhere. A former star for the Cornell University Big Red, Yates’ pro career got off to a slow start last year, but he finished strong with a point-per-game stretch in the ECHL. The 24-year-old forward has the size and intelligence to be a key two-way forward in the AHL or, as he slowed late last season, a top-line forward at the “AA” level.
  • The AHL’s Manitoba Moose have re-signed defenseman Charles-David Beaudoin to a one-year extension, the team announced. Beaudoin has played a part-time role for the Moose in each of the past two seasons, recording 15 points combined over the past two seasons. The 25-year-old righty took an unorthodox route to the AHL, spending two years at the University of Quebec – Trois Rivieres after his QMJHL junior career before jumping from USports to the pros, and will look to take on a larger role in his third AHL season.

AHL| ECHL| NCAA| QMJHL| Transactions| USHL| Winnipeg Jets

0 comments

Free Agent Profile: Andrew MacDonald

August 17, 2019 at 5:00 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 3 Comments

The Philadelphia Flyers had to make a tough decision earlier this summer when it opted to buy out veteran defenseman Andrew MacDonald. The veteran has been a key piece in the Flyers’ locker room, but the team felt it had to make a change. Regardless of the buyout, there should still be a place for the 32-year-old defenseman in the NHL. He just needs to find it. The blueliner may not be putting up big numbers on offense, but he could easily provide depth as a bottom-line defender for plenty of teams

MacDonald was acquired by Philadelphia back in 2014 from the New York Islanders and was promptly signed to a long-term extension, signing a six-year, $30MM deal a month after the trade. While the defenseman provided solid defense when on the ice, the veteran was often injured and slowly has seen his play decline as his $5MM AAV became a target of criticism for fans. The buyout was largely expected, but many Flyers praised the veteran for his leadership skills.

That ability to lead could give MacDonald an advantage as teams with a young defense might gravitate towards a player who could help lead. Unfortunately, perhaps the main reason that he hasn’t been signed yet is the fact that he has dealt with injuries and has slowed down a bit and certainly wasn’t worth the $5MM AAV that he signed years ago.

Potential Suitors

A possible return to the New York Islanders could always be a possibility. MacDonald played his best years here and could serve as a veteran who could fill in as a 6/7th blueliner and another veteran who could help out with a bunch of up-and-coming defensive prospects such as Noah Dobson and Bode Wilde. However, the team does have several veterans already and likely wouldn’t show a significant interest unless some of those players went down with injuries.

Although they have been mentioned often in regards to blueline free-agents, the Winnipeg Jets will be expected to add a few blueliners to fill out its depth eventually after the team locks up restricted free agents Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. The veteran could also look to return to Canada and find a home there, but again teams like Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa may not be in need of a veteran blueliner as they all have quite a bit of depth.

In the end, however, MacDonald will likely just have to wait until teams lose a player to injury.

Projected Contract

MacDonald will never get anything near $5MM and likely at this point will have to accept a minimum salaried deal. Considering that he is still getting quite a bit from Philadelphia, that money should make it easier to accept any deal that might come along for him.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agency| New York Islanders| Philadelphia Flyers| Prospects| Winnipeg Jets Andrew MacDonald

3 comments

Poll: Which GM Will Be Fired Next?

August 16, 2019 at 7:53 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 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!

Which GM will be fired next?
Pierre Dorion, Ottawa Senators 9.00% (256 votes)
Marc Bergevin, Montreal Canadiens 8.54% (243 votes)
Stan Bowman, Chicago Blackhawks 8.50% (242 votes)
Kevin Cheveldayoff, Winnipeg Jets 7.94% (226 votes)
Bob Murray, Anaheim Ducks 7.73% (220 votes)
Jason Botterill, Buffalo Sabres 6.54% (186 votes)
Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings 6.36% (181 votes)
Jarmo Kekalainen, Columbus Blue Jackets 5.59% (159 votes)
Kyle Dubas, Toronto Maple Leafs 5.20% (148 votes)
Jim Rutherford, Pittsburgh Penguins 5.13% (146 votes)
John Chayka, Arizona Coyotes 4.88% (139 votes)
Brad Treliving, Calgary Flames 3.27% (93 votes)
Jim Benning, Vancouver Canucks 3.02% (86 votes)
Jim Nill, Dallas Stars 2.60% (74 votes)
Chuck Fletcher, Philadelphia Flyers 2.39% (68 votes)
Ken Holland, Edmonton Oilers 1.93% (55 votes)
Doug Wilson, San Jose Sharks 1.72% (49 votes)
Jeff Gorton, New York Rangers 1.62% (46 votes)
Don Sweeney, Boston Bruins 1.23% (35 votes)
Dale Tallon, Florida Panthers 1.02% (29 votes)
David Poile, Nashville Predators 0.84% (24 votes)
Julien BriseBois, Tampa Bay Lightning 0.84% (24 votes)
Doug Armstrong, St. Louis Blues 0.67% (19 votes)
Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings 0.63% (18 votes)
Lou Lamoriello, New York Islanders 0.56% (16 votes)
Don Waddell, Carolina Hurricanes 0.53% (15 votes)
Kelly McCrimmon, Vegas Golden Knights 0.53% (15 votes)
Brian MacLellan, Washington Capitals 0.53% (15 votes)
Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche 0.39% (11 votes)
Ray Shero, New Jersey Devils 0.28% (8 votes)
Total Votes: 2,846

[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

Brad Treliving| Chuck Fletcher| Dale Tallon| David Poile| Detroit Red Wings| Don Sweeney| Doug Armstrong| Doug Wilson| Edmonton Oilers| Jarmo Kekalainen| Jason Botterill| Jeff Gorton| Jim Benning| Jim Nill| Jim Rutherford| Joe Sakic| John Chayka| Kelly McCrimmon| Ken Holland| Kevin Cheveldayoff| Kyle Dubas| Lou Lamoriello| Marc Bergevin| Pierre Dorion| Polls| Ray Shero| Rob Blake| Stan Bowman| Steve Yzerman Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

11 comments

Latest On Patrik Laine, Winnipeg Jets

August 16, 2019 at 12:45 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 6 Comments

When perusing the front page of CapFriendly, one might notice the Winnipeg Jets at the very bottom of the salary chart and think “boy, they have a lot of cap room!” The Jets project to have just under $64MM committed to the 2019-20 season, leaving them with the most available cap space in the league. That sentiment would be a little premature however, as the Western Conference contender still have high profile restricted free agents Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor to sign. That duo will take up a huge chunk of any cap room the team has, though it doesn’t appear as though anything is imminent on either front.

Connor recently admitted that his focus is on getting a deal done before training camp so that he doesn’t miss any preparation time, but it might not be so simple with Laine. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet caught up with the Finnish forward overseas and asked him about where his contract negotiations were with the Jets. His answer? Nowhere right now. Johnston writes that contract talks between the two sides have been “non-existent all summer” and Laine was less than decisive on where he’ll be playing hockey next season.

The most likely scenario for both players remains a deal being worked out prior to training camp, but with now less than a month before NHL teams start to gather time is certainly starting to run out. A huge chunk of the restricted free agent market is frozen right now, a situation that Craig Custance of The Athletic recently examined (subscription required). Custance writes that several sources have suggested that the NHLPA has been involved in these negotiations, trying to get the players to wait and set an entirely new market for those coming out of entry-level contracts.

Last season saw William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs not reach a deal until the very last few minutes before a December 1st deadline that would have kept him from playing the entire season. The young forward then experienced easily the worst season of his career, never able to get on track after several extra mo

nths away from the team and no real practice time to speak of. That negotiation is something all of this year’s restricted free agents are aware of, but they are obviously dealing with it in different ways. Sebastian Aho was convinced he needed to get a contract done before camp, but in his conversation with Johnston, Laine seems more than willing to let things play out:

I’m not stressed. I’m not worrying about that at all. I know that I’ve done my job as well as I can over these three years, so I know I’m going to play somewhere next year. So that’s something I’m not thinking about too much.

There’s little doubt that Laine deserves a substantial raise after scoring 110 goals and 184 points in his first 237 NHL games, but it is unclear how the Jets want to go about his next contract. The team already has a huge amount of salary tied up in Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers and Bryan Little for the next five years (at least), and with Connor expecting to focus on a long-term deal the Jets will have a lot committed. Josh Morrissey will need a new contract next summer after proving to be a legitimate top option on defense, while the blueline as a whole may need to be reshaped when Dustin Byfuglien’s contract expires in 2021—the monstrous defender will be 36.

After several years of contention the Jets are in a state of flux until they get Laine and Connor signed, but GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has plenty of work to do in order to secure a strong future without taking on too much risk.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Kevin Cheveldayoff| Winnipeg Jets Patrik Laine

6 comments
« Previous Page
Load More Posts
    Top Stories

    2025 NHL Training Camp Rosters

    Latest On Evgeni Malkin’s Future With Penguins

    Anze Kopitar Announces Retirement Following 2025-26 Season

    Flames Sign Mikael Backlund To Two-Year Extension

    Mammoth Intend To Waive Connor Ingram

    Maple Leafs To Hire Mark Giordano

    Blackhawks Sign Matt Grzelcyk To PTO

    Rangers Name J.T. Miller Captain

    Canadiens Discussing Extension For Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton

    Mathew Barzal Ready For Islanders Training Camp

    Recent

    Kings’ Angus Booth, Corey Perry To Miss Several Months With Injury

    Snapshots: Ullmark, Buium, Sturm, Grzelcyk

    Western Notes: Sharks, Celebrini, Landeskog

    Who Will Be The NHL’s First $20MM Player?

    Penguins’ Kevin Hayes Shut Down Due To Upper-Body Injury

    Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

    2025 NHL Training Camp Rosters

    Flyers Cut Three Players From Training Camp

    Snapshots: Shero, Pinto, Eagles

    Yegor Chinakhov Open To Staying With Blue Jackets

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Rasmus Andersson Rumors
    • Erik Karlsson Rumors
    • Rickard Rakell Rumors
    • Bryan Rust Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • PTO Tracker 2025
    • Summer Synopsis Series 2025
    • Training Camp Rosters 2025
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls

     

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    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

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version