In today’s NHL rumors rundown, following a three-team trade between the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Los Angeles Kings, is Carter Hart on the verge of being traded by the Flyers? Meanwhile, is this recent deal just the start of the moves the Columbus Blue Jackets intend on making? The Kings cleared cap space from their end of the trade. Is the plan now to sign defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov? Finally, in unrelated news, are the Vegas Golden Knights already trying to get netminder Adin Hill signed to a contract extension?
Flyers Listening to Calls on Carter Hart
Darren Dreger of TSN tweeted about growing speculation that goaltender Carter Hart could be traded by the Flyers in the next few days. Following a three-team deal that saw the Flyers land Cal Petersen from the Los Angeles Kings, Hart may be on the move. Dreger writes, “As for ongoing Carter Hart speculation. No question the Flyers are engaged in discussions, but at this stage they’re “listening” and gauging the level of interest.”
As for teams that might be interested, the early favorites seem to be the Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and Los Angeles Kings. Some of these teams won’t be interested unless they can make other moves first, such as the Oilers moving Jack Campbell or the Maple Leafs dumping Matt Murray’s contract.
When asked about a potential Hart deal, GM Daniel Briere responded, “I’m still in the same spot I was.” He added, “We’re open for business. We listen on everybody. Everybody’s being treated the same way for us on our side.”
Blue Jackets Are Not Done Making Moves
When it comes to making trades, Blue Jackets’ beat writer Brian Hedger quotes Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen: “We’re not done yet.” Kekanainen added, “We want to make sure we take a real big step going into next year and this is step one that takes us in that direction.”
As part of the three-team trade, the Blue Jackets added experience to their blue line in the form of Ivan Provorov and they could still look to add more in free agency. The focus seems to be on defense, but there are rumblings the team might try to add a top-six forward.
Kings Trade Opens Up Room for Gavrikov Extension
The Kings moved a lot of money off of their books with the trade on Tuesday and the belief is that they’ve done so to make room for defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, who is a pending UFA. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports: “Kings hope to re-sign Gavrikov although it’s interesting the pending UFA D represented by Dan Milstein has told LAK he wants a 2-year deal. No doubt Kings would want to go longer with him.”
Related: Today in Hockey History: June 7
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period and NHL Network also tweeted that Kings and Predators had discussed a trade involving goalie Juuse Saros during the season and before the Kings landed Joonas Korpisalo and Gavrikov ahead of this past NHL Trade Deadline. He notes that the discussed package involved multiple firsts and prospects. He then writes, “I’m curious if LA revisits these talks this month or if that ship has sailed.”
Golden Knights Tried to Extend Adin Hill
The Athletic’s Joe Smith took a deep dive into the career path of goaltender Adin Hill and in the article mentions that the Golden Knights have already reached out to the player in an attempt to get him inked to contract extension. He writes:
Hill had a strong season in Vegas, with a 2.49 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in 27 games before suffering a lower-body injury in March. The day after Hill got injured, Peck says, the Golden Knights offered the pending UFA a contract extension. It was a nice offer, a raise from his current $2.175 million average annual value.
source – ‘Behind the rise of Vegas’ Adin Hill: Funky yellow pads, a late growth spurt and a Stanley Cup Final run’ – Joe Smith – The Athletic – 06/07/2023
Hill didn’t want to begin negotiations until Vegas’ season concluded and that decision looks like it’s going to be financially rewarding.
