In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the NHL has ruled on the conditions of three trades and there’s some debate about the merits of doing so. In Toronto, there is news the Maple Leafs are loaning out a prospect to the KHL. Finally, the New York Rangers started a surprising goalie against the Hurricanes. Why not go with the best netminder?
The NHL Rules on Three Trades
Teams involved in trades that had conditions or conditional draft picks attached no longer have to wait to find out what will happen with those conditions. The NHL has ruled on trades involving the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and other teams.
In the trade that saw James Neal come to Edmonton for Milan Lucic (to Calgary), Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that Edmonton will have to transfer a third-round pick in either 2020 or 202 to complete the trade. The Oilers will have until the start of the third round in October’s draft to decide if the selection will come this year or next.
There is a lot of debate about whether or not this was a fair decision. The condition of the trade was that Neal had to have at least 21 goals and Lucic ten or fewer. Neal scored 19 when the season was shut down and Lucic was at eight, meaning only the Lucic portion of the condition was met. It appears the league prorated Neal’s goal pace over 82 games.
The Oilers are now without their second-round pick for the next two years and a fourth-rounder in 2020, along with this third-rounder.
Related: 5 Greatest Rookie Seasons in Whalers/Hurricanes History
Condition of Maple Leafs and Kings Trade
The NHL has ruled on terms of the Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs trade that saw Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford go to Toronto. Toronto will owe a 2021 second-round pick if they win their Qualifying Round series against Columbus and Campbell gets two or more wins or if Clifford re-signs.
Hurricanes and Devils Trade Condition Ruling
With the Carolina Hurricanes’ acquisition of Sami Vatanen, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that if Carolina beats New York in the Qualifying Round series and Vatanen plays in 70% or more of their playoff games, the Hurricanes send New Jersey their 2020 third-round pick. He also writes:
If he plays in less than 70 per cent of CAR’s playoff games, then it depends on if Vatanen appears twice against NYR. If yes and CAR wins the series, NJ gets a CAR 4th this year. If yes and NYR wins, Hurricanes get the choice of a 4th this year or next….
If he doesn’t play twice against NYR, there’s no pick going to NJ. Easy!
Maple Leafs Loan Out Lehtonen
The Maple Leafs announced that they have loaned Mikko Lehtonen to the KHL. The blueliner will head back to Jokerit to start next season and is expected to report to the team next week.
Lehtonen will be the second Toronto player loaned out to the KHL to start next season as it was reported Egor Korshkov would be loaned to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. The idea is to get some playing time in before training camps start up again.
Related: Who is the NHL’s Top Goaltending Prospect?
Rangers Start Lundqvist
Henrik Lundqvist started in net for the New York Rangers versus the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Igor Shesterkin was not on the ice and reports were that he was deemed “unfit to play” today.
The NBC broadcast showed him inside the building watching the game, which means his absence is not related to COVID-19. If he tested positive, he would already be isolated, according to protocol.
Bruins Might Be Without Rask
According to Chris Johnston, Tuukka Rask “wasn’t feeling well” and missed practice, according to Bruce Cassidy. Unclear if he’ll be able to start tomorrow’s game against Philadelphia.
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