In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Edmonton Oilers must have been close on a number of players at last year’s trade deadline as the team was selling jerseys they made for them at their locker room sale this weekend. Meanwhile, will Sean Monahan be ready for the start of the season with the Montreal Canadiens? Will the Philadelphia Flyers sign or trade Travis Sanheim and why are some teams concerned about a change in the projections to the NHL salary cap?
Oilers Close to Acquiring Four Different Players?
Apparently, the Edmonton Oilers were very close on multiple talks with team at last year’s NHL trade deadline, specifically looking at defensemen. While these deals might have been done along with the addition of Brett Kulak or instead of him is unclear, but it seems like conversations got to the point where the Oilers felt it was best to make jerseys for these players in the event a trade was completed and the respective blueliners were on a charter to join the team right away.
The jerseys for these players were put on sale at the Oilers Fan Day and Locker Room event on Saturday and a fan tweeted images of the players in question. They were Carson Soucy of the Seattle Kraken, Justin Braun of the Philadelphia Flyers, Jacob Middleton of the Minnesota Wild (at that time, San Jose Sharks), and one of Marc Staal or Eric Staal.
Related: Maple Leafs News & Rumors: 5 Key Early-Season Questions
In other Oilers news, Anthony Stewart of Sportsnet pegged Jesse Puljujarvi to have a breakout season and among the reasons, he said so was because Connor McDavid told the organization that he wanted Puljujarvi on the roster. It’s not clear where Stewart got that information from, but if true, it suggests Holland will do almost anything to avoid trading Puljujarvi if McDavid is advocating for him.
Monahan Should Be Ready to Start Season
After acquiring the center from the Calgary Flames, both Sean Monahan and the Canadiens organization say they expect him to play an important role on the team this season. Monahan did miss the last month of the 2021-22 season, along with the playoffs and has deemed questionable to start the season after coming off of hip surgery. Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said today that Monahan will play in at least one preseason game.
St. Louis did note the team is taking a cautious approach with Monahan but he should be available for opening night and slotted in to start the season.
Flyers Begin Extension Talks With Sanheim
There are reports out there that the Philadelphia Flyers have begun contract talks with defenseman Travis Sanheim. He is entering the final year of his contract and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer. GM Chuck Fletcher told the media that they are looking to re-sign the player and have already started discussions with his agent about a new deal.
One has to wonder what happens if those talks don’t go as well as the Flyers might hope. The team was not very good last season and there are high expectations that come out of the gate strong with John Tortorella as a coach. Should that not happen, players will be moved and Sanheim could be among them if he isn’t signed. There would be a rental market for a serviceable second-pair defenseman on an expiring contract.
Could NHL Salary Cap Take a Hit Due to Struggling TV Company?
Sinclair Broadcasting is having issues with its Diamond Sports property. This might not seem like a big deal to the average NHL fan but it has potential consequences that are far-reaching. Diamond Sports owns Bally Sports and Bally Sports holds the rights to more than half of the NHL’s regional TV broadcasts in the United States. If Diamond’s finances are in trouble and there is a potential bankruptcy filing, this could affect the league’s revenues. If the league’s revenues are affected, the salary cap projections might change.
If the salary cap is projected to stay relatively flat when expectations were that it was going to jump significantly in the year 2026, this will almost certainly affect how teams operate. This is something worth watching.