In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Montreal Canadiens are trying to make additional trades but might be waiting for the market to make their assets more attractive. Meanwhile, the general manager for the Washington Capitals seems to have confirmed that Evgeny Kuznetsov did, in fact, ask for a trade out of Washington. What is the latest on the Pittsburgh Penguins and their connection to Erik Karlsson? Finally, what’s the holdup on the Tony DeAngelo trade?
Canadiens Waiting on the Free Agency Market
According to Eric Engels of Sportsnet, the Canadiens are looking to offload a couple of players that they don’t necessarily see as long-term solutions, but because they aren’t big names, there’s not an appetite for them, even if Kent Hughes were to add a sweetener. Those names are Joel Armia and Mike Hoffman.
Engels writes, “Seeing as how we’re not talking about premium players on the market here, I think the idea now is to wait until the dust fully settles on free agency, see who misses out and then try to strike a deal from there.” He adds, “I don’t think Hughes views it as particularly urgent to move either of them. At least not so much so that he wants to give assets on top of potentially retaining money on the Canadiens’ salary cap, which he’d likely have to do with half the teams in the league already either over — due to LTIR spending — or within $2 million of the cap.”
David Savard may also be a player the Canadiens look at trading around the NHL Trade Deadline, if they are out of the running for a playoff spot.
Evgeny Kuznetsov Confirmed to Have Asked for a Trade
Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan confirmed to Mike Vogel that forward Evgeny Kuznetsov requested a trade. In a recent article on the team’s NHL website, Vogel quotes MacLellan who says, “Kuznetsov could hasten his exit with a strong start if he still desires a departure from the District.”
This comes after comments denying the request from Kuznetsov when the rumors he’d asked for a trade had surfaced in March. At that time he said, “There’s not really anything to comment on, to be honest with you.” He added, “You know how this is. It’s just people trying to put whatever they want to get the likes and Instagram or Twitter, whatever. I talked to those people. I said, ‘Where did this come from?’ There is something that we can talk later, probably for sure, but at this point, there is nothing to even talk about.”
Latest on the Penguins And Karlsson Trade Talk
According to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, Rob Rossi from The Athletic has reported that the Pittsburgh Penguins are highly optimistic about becoming the top choice for Erik Karlsson. The Penguins have formulated various strategies to acquire Karlsson in the event that the San Jose Sharks decide to initiate a trade.
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Peng further referenced Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, who revealed on Sportsnet 590 Toronto that Karlsson has engaged in direct conversations with “several teams.” While Seravalli specifically mentioned the Carolina Hurricanes, he did not disclose any other teams involved in discussions with Karlsson.
Hurricanes Interest in Karlsson Holding Up the DeAngelo Trade
Gustav Elvin of The Philadelphia Inquirer explained that it is Carolina’s interest in Karlsson that is likely holding up the reported Tony DeAngelo trade from the Philadelphia Flyers. That trade was supposed to happen a few weeks ago but was delayed by the NHL. It was said that the two teams could finalize the deal on July 9, one year and a day after the Flyers acquired DeAngelo in the first place. The trade still hasn’t happened.
The issue is tath Carolina has a logjam of defensemen and jsut added to it by signing marquee free agent Dimtry Orlov to a two-year, $15.5 million deal. There a decent argument Orlov, Slavin, Brent Burns, Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce might comprise the NHL’s best top five on the blue line.
source – “What’s going on with the Flyers’ potential Tony DeAngelo Trade?” – Gustav Elvin – Philadelphia Inquirer –
It would make sense that the Hurricanes don’t want or need both Karlsson and DeAngelo added to that mix. In fact, he wonders if the Hurricanes would have to trade Brett Pesce to free up cap room to acquire Karlsson.
Friedman reported on Friday morning that it appears the Flyers are moving on and not waiting. They placed DeAngelo on waivers. He tweeted, “Some clarity here: Philadelphia put Tony DeAngelo on waivers to buy out his contract. It is not a termination. So, assuming he clears tomorrow, DeAngelo will be a free agent.”
