In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Toronto Maple Leafs are waiting to make a game-time decision on William Nylander’s status versus the Boston Bruins in Game 2. Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers are in the news as Evander Kane revealed he has a sports hernia injury and the team called up a goaltender as an emergency backup. The Philadelphia Flyers might be moving on from a few key players, and are the Calgary Flames looking at a possible on-ice reunion next season?
Maple Leafs Waiting on Nylander News
Maintaining their stance that they won’t talk much about injuries to key players on the team, there isn’t much in the way of news regarding William Nylander. He practiced with the team on Monday morning but didn’t take full drills or line rushes. Sheldon Keefe left the door open to Nylander potentially playing Monday night: “We’ll see how he feels here the rest of the day here and make a decision.”
The most that is known is that Nylander didn’t have the injury in Game 82 of the season and he woke up with something that was bugging him to the point he couldn’t practice or play in Game 1. It wasn’t an illness but more a lack of movement. If the Leafs go down two games in the opening round, this storyline could get a lot more interesting than it already is.
Evander Kane Has a Sports Hernia Injury
Evander Kane took part in the Oilers’ practice and is a possibility for Game 1 versus the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night. He spoke with the media on Sunday and unlike other teams who are hiding injury news, Kane freely shared he has been dealing with a sports hernia issue all season. He wanted a week to rest and he’s not sure if he’ll go in Game 1, although the coaching staff was confident about his availability.
Related: NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs, Flames, Utah Hockey Team Nickname
It’s not clear why Kane was so open about the issue and the news led to all sorts of questions about why the Oilers and Kane didn’t address things sooner. If he was hampered by this all season, why not get surgery just after Christmas? He’d have been back in time for the playoffs and the Oilers could have used LTIR cap space to add another asset at the trade deadline.
In other Oilers news, the team has called up goaltender Ryan Fanti as an emergency backup. This is not an indication that anything is wrong with Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard. This is more about the Oilers carrying three goalies and Fanti’s team is done with their season. Fanti is an EBUG.
Flames On-Ice Reunion Next Season?
TSN reporter Salim Nadim Valji posted a video predicting a big on-ice reunion next season that would make Flames fans extremely happy. He did not reveal the name of the player he thinks might be returning, but that didn’t stop fans from guessing.
The most common guesses were Chris Tanev or Sean Monahan. Both left the Flames organization via trade. Tanev has been open about the possibility of returning to Calgary as a free agent. Other options were Mark Giordano (a pending UFA) and Johnny Gaudreau.
Flyers Could Move On From Cam Atkinson
Jonathan Bailey of Philly Hockey Now suggests that the Flyers may part ways with Cam Atkinson in the offseason. Despite a promising start to the 2023-24 campaign, the 34-year-old winger struggled in the latter half of the season, going on a 23-game pointless streak and sitting out 12 games as a healthy scratch.
Sign up for our Daily NHL News & Rumors Substack newsletter
Atkinson’s previous season was hampered by a neck injury, and Bailey highlights his evident dissatisfaction during his exit interview. Atkinson noted, “I still feel like I have a lot of juice left in the tank, for the right situation.”
With neither GM Daniel Briere nor coach John Tortorella confirming Atkinson’s return, speculation mounts that he may be bought out of his contract’s final year.