In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Edmonton Oilers are getting Evander Kane back into their lineup, but there’s talk they may also be a team that has a shot at landing Bo Horvat of the Vancouver Canucks. Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens are losing three key names from their lineup.
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Jonathan Toews seems finally ready to move on from the Chicago Blackhawks. Finally, are the Ottawa Senators going to add a defenseman if only to show the team they aren’t willing to abandon their off-season game plan?
Oilers Get Kane Back; Could Be a Suitor for Horvat
Frank Seravalli is reporting that the Oilers are expected to get Kane back in the lineup Tuesday night versus the Seattle Kraken. The team demoted Markus Niemelainen and placed Kailer Yamamoto on LTIR to become cap-compliant heading into the game. Seravalli tweets, “Yamomoto on LTIR retroactive to Jan. 11. He would be eligible to return after the NHL All-Star break.”
Meanwhile, Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discussed the Bo Horvat situation out of Vancouver on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast. Marek noted, “One person mentioned to me on Saturday as well that he could see Edmonton long-term being a fit.” He adds, “One, he is an excellent player. Two, he’d be amenable to going there. Three, who knows about the future of their two big dogs, specifically Leon Draisaitl who is a couple of years away from unrestricted free agency.”
Friedman didn’t know how the Oilers would make it work for their salary cap considering the struggle they had working Kane into the lineup. He suggested the Oilers could be busy in the next little while on the waiver wire (this was before the Yamamoto news).
Rutherford Says the Canucks Tried Their Best
During a presser with the media on Monday, Canucks’ President of Hockey Operations, Jim Rutherford hinted the team was ready to move on from Bo Horvat. He explained, “I believe we’ve taken our best shot. The contract we have on the table for Bo right now is fair value for what he’s done up to this year.” He added, “It’s certainly under market value for what he’s done this year so we’re in a pickle here. He’s had a career year, and he’s looking for his money. He deserves it. I don’t blame him.”
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli had the Avalanche on his list of trade partners, which also included the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild, and Washington Capitals.
Canadiens Losing Players
On Tuesday morning, the Canadiens announced that forwards Joel Armia (upper body), Jake Evans (lower body), and Juraj Slafkovsky (lower body) have all been placed on the injured-reserve list. This comes after the team lost Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher, along with defencemen Kaiden Guhle and Mike Matheson, who are all sidelined with lower-body injuries. Goalie Jake Allen has also missed time with an upper-body injury.
Monahan has been placed on the long-term injured reserve list with a lower-body injury. Monahan has already missed the last 19 games with his foot injury. There was trade chatter linking Monahan to the Colorado Avalanche. It will be intriguing to see how his injury situation changes anything in that regard.
Toews Preparing to Move On From Blackhawks
NBCS Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis is reporting that Jonathan Toews is seemingly coming to terms with the situation both he and the Blackhawks are facing as the team heads into the NHL Trade Deadline. A player who clearly would rather not go anywhere and the club start winning, he understands the franchise isn’t looking at that scenario.
“Part of myself doesn’t want to admit the situation and wants to continue being a Blackhawk and finish my career here. Same time, part of me sees the writing on the wall. The team is trying to hit the reset button and maybe change for everybody is not such a bad thing,” he said.
Senators Still Looking to Add a Defenseman
Friedman noted that he firmly believes the Ottawa Senators are looking to add a defenseman at this year’s trade deadline, regardless of the situation they are in over the next few weeks. Noting that GM Pierre Dorion does not want to send the message that this franchise is ready to fold it in after all they did in the offseason to try and be competitive, he’s going to add if for no other reason than to send a message to his players.
Friedman isn’t sure if Matt Dumba is the guy they go after, but he’s been linked to the team considering the asking price for Jakob Chycrhun is too high or the Senators would have made the move already.
