In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on the Boston Bruins and their search for a forward, Elliotte Friedman reaffirms that Mike Babcock is safe in Toronto and will the Edmonton Oilers make a trade to help their lack of depth scoring?
Bruins Could Move Defenseman For Winger
Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston suggested several trade possibilities for the Boston Bruins who are eager to address their need for top-six scoring beyond the first line.
In the unlikely category, he mentions Taylor Hall out of New Jersey but tricky based on trade cost and salary, Alex Tuch might be available out of Vegas but it could cost the team Jake DeBrusk, and Jason Zucker might be an option out of Minnesota but it could cost young prospects or picks.
Possible, but less likely are Chris Kreider out of New York, Mike Hoffman out of Florida and Tyler Toffoli out of Los Angeles. These would be acquisitions closer to the trade deadline. If the Bruins want to do something in the immediate future, the most likely options would be either Josh Ho-Sang out of the New York Islanders organization or Jesse Puljujarvi out of Edmonton.
Speaking of Ho-Sang, Steven Ellis of The Hockey News suggested there were five possible destinations for the disgruntled forward. Other than Boston, he noted Edmonton, Carolina, Arizona and Ottawa and suitors.
Ellis notes:
On Wednesday, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello is working on moving the forward, and, frankly, a move can’t come soon enough. At this point, the longer the Islanders wait, the more it stands to hurt them as Ho-Sang hasn’t played a meaningful game since April…
source – ‘THE TOP FIVE TRADE DESTINATIONS FOR JOSH HO-SANG AS ISLANDERS LOOK TO MOVE FORMER TOP PROSPECT’ Steven Ellis – The Hockey news – 10/24/2019
Related: Top 10 Dirtiest NHL Players
Babcock’s Job Is Safe
During Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada Headlines segment, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said that Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock’s position is safe. “It was one of those weeks in Toronto. I didn’t get a sense at all this week (Babcock’s) job was ever in jeopardy.”
There’s been a lot of buzz about Babcock and it will continue as long as the Maple Leafs continue to struggle. Chris Johnston actually said during that same segment that some within the organization aren’t upset that things haven’t been perfectly smooth to start the season.
He explained:
“One note I will say is that internally the Leafs don’t mind, at least some in the organization, that the team’s faced some adversity here. They believe it will make them stronger. When they looked at their schedule, they knew it would be a tough opening month.”
Also out of Toronto, after watching a San Jose Sharks’ hit against Auston Matthews Friday night, many in Toronto are calling for Sharks’ Brenden Dillon to have the hit looked at by the Department of Player Safety. That’s apparently not going to happen. Johnston reports that Dillon won’t face any supplemental discipline, the explanation being that the head was not the main point of contact.
Related: NHL Rumor Shootdown: Maple Leafs Unlikely to Fix Issues via Trade
How Long Will Edmonton Wait?
Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal writes that Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland can’t be willing to wait that much longer to bring in a real third-line center. Edmonton has a great record to start the season but their lack of depth scoring is a glaring weakness for the team.
Leavins suggests Ottawa’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau or Colorado’s Tyson Jost as trade targets. He explains:
When Riley Sheahan was signed with the Oilers I said on the record that Sheahan was an excellent 4th Line NHL Center… They’re just asking Sheahan to do too much… The Pageau contract would be dear for the cap-strapped Oilers (cap hit of $3.1m). The Jost deal? The pending RFA currently carries an $885k hit. The Avalanche will have 6 RFA’s next Summer including Jost.
source – ‘Sometime sooner rather than later Kailer Yamamoto will impact the Edmonton Oilers roster: 9 Things’ – Kurt Leavins – Edmonton Journal – 10/27/2019
Related: The Nurse Contract Extension: What Oilers Can Expect