In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on Patrick Maroon’s actual ability to land a job this coming season in the NHL, a new leading candidate for the Minnesota Wild GM job has emerged and two players from the Boston Bruins are in the trade rumor mill. One could get moved, one likely won’t.
Patrick Maroon Will Find Work
Despite the fact that it seems like Patrick Maroon is spending another summer having trouble finding an NHL contract, Michael Russo notes that the unrestricted free agent has at least six ‘job opportunities’ on the table for this season.
The issue seems to be the length of term being offered. Maroon is looking for more than one year and most teams, if not all, are only offering a single season. The big power forward would like some stability.
There has been some debate about how interested the Blues are in bringing Maroon back but St. Louis is one of the teams still keeping the door open. The offer to stay is just not a lucrative one.
Still with the Blues, Jeremy Rutherford notes that as of yesterday, there is no update on restricted free agent forward Ivan Barbashev according to his agent. It is expected a deal will get done.
Related: Top 10 Weirdest Goalies in NHL History
Guerin Leading Candidate for Wild GM Job?
There was speculation that while Don Waddell wasn’t really considering leaving Carolina, until the Hurricanes gave him an extension as their GM, the Minnesota Wild were seriously considering him as a candidate for the Wild GM opening.
Dan Kingerski believes Pittsburgh Penguins assistant GM Bill Guerin is now the leading candidate. Nothing is imminent, but there is talk behind the scenes. Guerin’s name has come up in a number of conversations regarding GM openings and seems like a strong option for the Wild.
The Wild had also requested permission to speak with Bill Zito out of Columbus and Chris Drury out of the New York Rangers organization and were denied their request.
Related: Alexander Mogilny: The Great Russian Enigma
Bruins Won’t Trade Krejci, Krug News
Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston wrote a piece about two specific Boston Bruins players, David Krejci and Torey Krug. Haggerty noted how Krug had been the topic of trade speculation because he had a strong season, the Bruins have some cap issues, there would be demand for Krug’s services and he’s a year away from unrestricted free agency where he’ll see a significant bump in salary.
Haggerty wondered if Krug might be traded if the Bruins could land a top-six winger. Neely said of the rumors:
“[Krug] had a fantastic playoff…there’s no question. It’s the delicate balance you have. You’ll have players on expiring contracts and we talk internally about what we’re going to do and how it’s all going to pan out.
Haggerty also noted that Krejci’s name has popped up in trade speculation. At 33, Krejci is older and expensive ($7.25-million AAV). His no-move clause recently turned over into a modified no-trade which opens the door to move him if the Bruins felt it would help to do so.
That said, it doesn’t sound like Bruins’ President Cam Neely thinks such a trade would be wise. Neely said:
“I thought David had a fantastic year. … “To your point, I think we’ve got some centermen in our pipeline. But to step up to be a No. 2 in the National Hockey League, they are not quite there yet. And David is filling that role quite nicely for us.”
Related: Derek “Turk” Sanderson: A Boston Legend