In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Ottawa Senators are trying to make moves and are being linked to the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins in a couple of separate moves. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames detailed their plans after the Jacob Markstrom trade and confirmed conversations with Oliver Kylington. Pierre-Luc Dubois was traded to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. Where did that trade come from and why now?
Flyers and Senators Talking Deal?
A couple of hockey journalists have been doing some digging on the Ottawa Senators and what they might be up to. Christopher Maher writes, “Not sure the entirety of the deal just yet – but believe the Philadelphia Flyers are acquiring a defenseman from Ottawa. More than one asset going the other way on the Flyers end.” Meanwhile, Travis Yost, who broke the Markstrom trade, writes, “Believe the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers have the framework of a trade in place as well, though this one may go closer to the Draft.”
Some of the potentially available Ottawa trade assets include Jakob Chychrun, Thomas Chabot, Erik Brannstrom, Mathieu Joseph, and the Senators’ overall draft picks.
Senators Circle Back to Bruins on Ullmark
With the Los Angeles Kings now out of the running for Linus Ullmark (the Kings acquired Darcy Kuemper on Wednesday), Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen writes that the Ottawa Senators have circled back to the Bruins to see if there’s a fit to acquire Ullmark. Talks have intensified, the scribe adds.
Garrioch noted in a column on Wednesday:
While league sources told Postmedia earlier in the day the Senators had already stepped up their efforts to acquire goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins, Ottawa may now be the last serious team in the mix… Knowing there wasn’t a fit with Calgary, league sources say that Steve Staios, the Senators’ president of hockey operations and general manager, has been making a hard push to try to acquire Ullmark.
source – ‘With Jacob Markstrom dealt to Devils, Senators step up efforts to land Boston’s Linus Ullmark’ – Bruce Garrioch – Ottawa Citizen – 06/19/2024
Apparently, the Senators made an effort to acquire Ullmark at last season’s trade deadline. Staios held several discussions with Boston general manager Don Sweeney. One league source said the Senators would be willing to offer Anton Forsberg in the deal. Another said the Senators would likely have to offer defenceman Jakob Chychrun along with a first-round pick and another selection to acquire Ullmark.
Flames Working on Kylington Deal, Talks Markstrom Deal
Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy commented on contract talks with Oliver Kylington this week. He noted, “We’ve been in contact and going back-and-forth. There’s been a lot of stuff going on but I actually talked to Oliver the other day. Things are progressing. I know everyone wants things quicker, but sometimes it just takes a little time.”
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As far as the Jacob Markstrom trade goes, Conroy said he had been working on it for some time. The deal needed to make sense for the team, but there really wasn’t much doubt it was New Jersey Markstrom was going to. There was talk that the Maple Leafs did inquire about Markstrom, but it was the Devils and the trade return was the hold-up.
Dubois Excited About Going to Capitals
Pierre-Luc Dubois was traded by the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. The deal happened quickly, the Kings making sure they could move his contract before his no-trade clause kicked in on July 1. Speculation is that the trade chatter between the Washington Capitals and Kings started at the NHL combine and it wasn’t because Dubois asked for the trade out of Los Angeles. He would have stayed with the Kings, but he’s excited to get going in Washington.
Dubois has seven seasons remaining on his deal at a cap hit of $8.5 million and is still owed $59 million in actual salary.
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