In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is an update on the Edmonton Oilers coaching situation, buzz the Colorado Avalanche are looking at a former Ranger/Jets player, what comes next for the San Jose Sharks and more.
Avs Targeting Kevin Hayes?
Adrian Dater has tweeted that his sources are saying that the Colorado Avalanche plan on targeting pending UFA center Kevin Hayes when free agency opens.
The Avs have a ton of money available to them in free agency and might be considered a team that needs to add only a couple of the right pieces to be a contender for a long time.
Related: NHL Rumors: Burakovsky, Skinner, Hurricanes, More
Oilers to Name Coach Friday?
Ryan Rishaug of TSN is reporting the Edmonton Oilers could name their next head coach as early as this Friday. Rishaug says Dave Tippett is still the front runner for the position and Todd Nelson is not in the mix for the position. This has changed as Nelson was at one time considered someone new GM Ken Holland was looking at.
Pierre LeBrun notes, and this has been confirmed by Holland himself, that the Oilers had an initial list with around 15 potential coaching candidates. The intention was never to interview them all, but short-list them and Tippett has stayed near the top of that list the entire time.
If an announcement is not made Friday, the Oilers could wait until after June 3rd as management will be busy with the draft combine next week.
Related: NHL Rumors: Predators, Goaltenders, More
What Now for San Jose?
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN took a look at the keys to the San Jose Sharks offseason after being eliminated by the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. Among them, the team will focus on Erik Karlsson, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski’s future.
The assumption is that Pavelski will be re-signed, but the question is how much will it cost the Sharks and what length of term will they need to give out? Will Thornton want to keep playing? And, will a team like the Rangers convince Karlsson to jump from a city it sounds like he’s learned to like?
If San Jose was going to give Karlsson all the money he wanted when it was first rumored he was looking at a deal similar to Drew Doughty’s, the Sharks might have already done it by now. Will another team come in and pony up that money?
Related: NHL Rumors: Stars, Maple Leafs, Canadiens, More
Nashville in on Duchene
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic writes that the Nashville Predators are expected to enter the bidding for Matt Duchene.
In an effort to land him, there will be a need to move salary out but the team is relatively free and clear to make any trades they want as only Pekka Rinne has a no-move clause worked into his deal.
Duchene will be arguably the best center available in free agency but could cost the Predators as much as $9 million per season to land him on a long-term deal.
Related: NHL Rumors: Karlsson, Bobrovsky, Oilers, More
Patrick Roy and Ottawa?
The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Senators GM Pierre Dorion was spotted in Montreal with Patrick Roy today.
Roy interviewed for Ottawa’s head coach position on Monday, then met again with Dorion and Assistant GM Peter MacTavish on Tuesday.
Garrioch writes:
The fact the Senators spoke with Roy and gave him in an interview is an attention-getter. We’ll find out in the coming days if the discussions was enough to get the job, but those who know Roy say he’s a different man than the one who left Colorado in 2016 and this time around he simply wants to focus his efforts on coaching.
source – ‘Senators general manager Pierre Dorion and Patrick Roy spotted in Montreal’ – The Ottawa Sun – Bruce Garrioch – 05/21/2019