In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on Roman Josi’s new deal, what it means for the Nashville Predators and what it might say to other free agent NHL defensemen. Out of Ottawa, there is speculation surrounding Bobby Ryan, and one reporter close to the Edmonton Oilers wonders if they should “go nuclear” to fix their depth scoring issues.
Josi Long-Term Extension Creates Questions
The announcement or Roman Josi’s eight-year deal in Nashville has already led to questions. What will this mean for the Predators down the road? They gave him a full no-movement clause and he’ll be 30 by the time the new contract starts. Will he be able to play to a $9-plus million level in his mid-thirties?
Also, what does that mean for the top defensemen looking at free agency in 2020? Names like Alex Pietrangelo, Tyson Barrie, Torey Krug and others are all in line for big raises but now they know what to shoot for. Josi’s deal, in particular, may pose an issue for the St. Louis Blues who are already going down a bit of a bumpy road in terms of trying to extend their captain.
Related: Predators: What’s Wrong with the Defense?
Bobby Ryan Trade Coming?
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun is speculating the Ottawa Senators might be considering a trade that would move Bobby Ryan out of the organization. He was a healthy scratch on Sunday and he’s a highly-paid player who hasn’t produced.
Garrioch writes:
While the immediate thinking is the club should trade Ryan, it would be difficult to find a team willing to take the final two years of his contract with a $7.25 million cap hit.
There isn’t much of a market – if any – for Ryan which means at this juncture the options are limited.
source – ‘SNAPSHOTS: Even with a break in the schedule, the Senators have work to do’ – The Ottawa Sun – Bruce Garrioch – 10/28/2019
Meanwhile, Hailey Salvian of The Athletic agrees and adds it would take packaging Ryan with a first-round pick to move him. Salvian explains that this isn’t something the Senators are likely to do:
All the Senators can really do is continue to scratch him and hope he finds his way back to being productive through hard work in practice, which Smith wants to see from all his players. That isn’t ideal for Ryan, and I’m sure it’s a hard pill to swallow. It cannot be easy to be thrust out of the lineup as a 12-year NHL veteran.
source – ‘Senators play ‘best game of the year’ with Bobby Ryan as a healthy scratch. Now what? ‘ – Hailey Salvian – The Athletic – 10/28/2019
Related: NHL Rumors: Blues, Senators, Devils, Maple Leafs, More
Landeskog Out of Colorado Lineup
The Colorado Avalanche continue to get bad news. They are without forward Mikko Rantanen and now it looks like they’ll be without captain Gabriel Landeskog.
A subtle announcement on Twitter from the organization noted Landeskog is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
Blue Jackets Were Shopping Ryan Murray
TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports prior to Ryan Murray going down to injury with a broken hand, the Columbus Blue Jackets were shopping him around the NHL. The team will have to wait now thanks to his injury but it will be interesting to see if that attempt to move him continues once he’s cleared to return.
Oilers to Go Nuclear?
David Staples of the Edmonton Journal asks the question, ‘Should the Oilers go nuclear to fix their depth scoring issues?’ In other words, is the only way to fix the bottom-six, by making a dent in the top-part of the forward group?
He writes:
What would I do? I’m inclined to go nuclear, save for one thing, the Puljujarvi trade.
Edmonton’s going to be prone to stinker games until it more fully addresses the talent deficit on the bottom two lines and bottom-pairing defence.
source -‘Should Edmonton Oilers go nuclear to fix their lack of depth scoring?’ David Staples – Edmonton Journal – 10/29/2019
Staples suggests calling up both Kailer Yamamoto and Cooper Marody and putting one on the second line with James Neal and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the other on the third line. He suggests calling up Caleb Jones on the blue line and insert both he and Joe Persson into the lineup sitting Brandon Manning and Matthew Benning.
Based upon those suggested changes, it could be argued this is not really all that “nuclear” a change.
Elsewhere, the Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson suggests that Oilers GM Ken Holland and already checking in on Vancouver Canucks forward Sven Baertschi. Matheson calls him a proven scorer that would help the Oilers third line. Salary is an issue.
Related: The Nurse Contract Extension: What Oilers Can Expect