In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is buzz the New York Rangers might move quickly on one of their prospective trade options, the Toronto Maple Leafs won’t be without one of their best forwards for long, and the Philadelphia Flyers might move one of their big-name defenseman for help at the forward position. Finally, what are the Vancouver Canucks thinking when it comes to extending Quinn Hughes?
Rangers Won’t Wait on Georgiev
Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes that the New York Rangers might move Alexandar Georgiev sooner than later, not waiting all the way to the February 24 NHL Trade Deadline.
Brooks suggests that the longer the Rangers try to play with the three goalies both Henrik Lundqvist and Igor Shesterkin will be missing out on valuable playing time.
Brooks also cites Georgiev’s less-than-stellar numbers over the past few games. He’s got a 4-5 record with a 3.78 GAA and a .882 save percentage and Brooks feels that should he continue to have troubles, the Rangers don’t want to wait and get only second or third-rounder for him. Just a couple of weeks ago, there was buzz not even a player like Kasperi Kapanen was going to be enough to get that deal done. The Rangers don’t want to risk a decline in value.
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Matthews Will Be Back Monday
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews was the talk of the All-Star weekend with his Ron Burgundy outfit but now talk will turn to a more serious matter as the Maple Leafs will hope his wrist injury isn’t too serious.
The reports are that he’s expected to be back in the lineup on Monday for the team’s game against the Nashville Predators. Matthews didn’t miss any regular season games because of the wrist and since he went to the All-Star Game and was part of all the fun, he won’t have to sit out a game due to suspension.
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Flyers to Shop Gostisbehere For a Forward
According to Sam Carchidi of Philadelphia Inquirer, he believes the Philadelphia Flyers might have to trade Shayne Gostisbehere and/or a draft pick to land another offensive piece.
It appears Flyers coach Alain Vigneault is happy with his blue line pairings and it’s showing in the record as the Flyer have gone 5-2 since Gostisbehere was sidelined by knee surgery. Carchidi thinks Gostisbehere’s name will be tossed around before the Feb. 24 trade deadline.
Who would the Flyers go after? Carchidi writes:
The Rangers’ Chris Kreider, Minnesota’s Jason Zucker, Los Angeles’ Tyler Toffoli, Nashville’s Mikael Granlund, and Chicago’s Brandon Saad are among the forwards who could be available.
source -‘Alain Vigneault has pushed most of the right buttons, but a deal might be needed for the Flyers to reach the playoffs | Sam Carchidi’ – Sam Carchidi – Philadelphia Inquirer – 01/24/2020
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Hughes Sets Himself Up
According to a tweet from TSN’s Rick Dhaliwal, he notes that Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes finds himself in a good position for an extension on July 1.
Agent Pat Brisson said the Canucks plan to deal with it as they get closer to July 1 but Hughes has had an impressive rookie year and a strong showing at the All-Star game when he turned a lot of heads with his skills, Wayne Gretzky saying on the broadcast that Hughes has better hands than he did. The more people talk about Hughes, the more expensive he stands to get. “We can start talking with Canucks on July 1st,” said Brisson. “We will cross that bridge when we get there. He is sure building a case as a strong asset. We will see how it goes.”