In today’s rumor rundown there are updates on Patrik Berglund’s situation in Buffalo, Jeff Carter out of Los Angeles and how false the rumor was that Joel Quenneville was coming to the Flyers. Finally, there are two teams unhappy with the lack of action before the NHL roster freeze.
Getting Berglund Out of Buffalo
Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News reports that the Buffalo Sabres would be eager to move Patrik Berglund after suspending him for failing to report to the team this past week. After he was set to be a healthy scratch, Berglund didn’t travel with the team when they left on Friday for Washington.
On Wednesday, the team placed Berglund on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. if the Sabres can’t trade him and terminating the contract it will completely remove the remaining $3.85MM cap hit and he will become an unrestricted free agent.
Harrington writes that the mentality of the Sabres organization is, “If he doesn’t want to be here, he’s not needed,” and that Buffalo will ship him out for almost anything, including potentially retaining some salary to make the move work. It will be interesting to see if Berglund’s mentality is the same and would waive his no-trade clause to get out of Buffalo.
Right now it appears the trade was looked at, not seen as feasible and the Sabres made the next logical move.
Related: NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs, Golden Knights, More
Quenneville and the Flyers
Frank Seravalli of TSN tweeted the Philadelphia Flyers and GM Chuck Fletcher said that he didn’t ask the Chicago Blackhawks for permission to speak with Joel Quenneville before letting Dave Hakstol go as the team’s head coach, and added that he hasn’t spoken with Quenneville in two years.
Those who were quick to report that Quenneville had already accepted the job were obviously jumping the gun and had the wrong information.
Jeff Carter Won’t Make a Trade Easy
Elliotte Friedman had reported earlier this week that there were rumors Jeff Carter might be a trade piece out of LA but mentioned that any team looking to acquire him should be cautious of the fact he’s difficult to work with when he’s not happy about the situation he’s in. Lisa Dillman of The Athletic is writing that there’s something to that report.
Carter is aware of the rumors surrounding him. That said, he’s commented, “When you’re not winning, that’s the nature of the beast. We’ll see what happens. Obviously, I don’t want to go anywhere. As Dillman writes:
But Carter, quite possibly, has his own stop sign. He said in our chat that he doesn’t want to leave Los Angeles. That’s the rub for the Kings. If they want to rebuild, and teams are interested in Carter, they would have to find a way of making it attractive for Carter to accept a move elsewhere.
source – ‘Jeff Carter doesn’t ‘want to go anywhere’ via trade, but is that the right move for the Kings?’ – The Athletic – Lisa Dillman – 12/18/2018
Carter’s $5.272 million salary cap hit for another three seasons already makes him a player that might not be terribly easy to trade. Combine that with the fact he has no desire to go anywhere else, he could make things tricky. It will be interesting to see how much power he has in this process considering he doesn’t have a no-trade clause as part of his current deal. If Carter is moved and he isn’t happy about where he ends up, he could also walk away from the game and that’s a big risk for the team who tries to acquire him.
Related: NHL Rumors: Panarin, Hakstol, the Roster Freeze, More
Islanders and Blue Jackets Disappointed in Lack of Action
The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes that Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello would have liked to be active on the trade market, but hasn’t gotten much of a response from potential partners. Lamoriello wanted to add some depth pieces but the market simply wasn’t there.
Meanwhile, Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen is also frustrated he’s not been able to move young center Alexander Wennberg, who has just one goal and 16 points through 33 games.
Garrioch writes:
Was told Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekelainen has been working the phones, but he’s not getting a whole lot of traction on centre Alexander Wennberg. That makes sense because he’s got a deal that runs through 2022-23 with a cap hit of $4.9 million. Now, if the Jackets are willing to discuss moving UFA forward Artemi Panarinand goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky then the talk is going to get serious.
source – ‘Snapshots: The firing of Dave Hakstol is only the beginning in Philly’ – Bruce Garricoh – The Ottawa Sun – 12/117/2018