In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on the Washington Capitals and their negotiations with goaltender Braden Holtby, the Montreal Canadiens are primed for a trade or two, and there is more news every day regarding a Justin Faulk trade. Finally, there is news that Mitch Marner is turning down deals from the Toronto Maple Leafs value at $11 million over seven seasons. Is this true?
Capitals to See Where Holtby Negotiations Go
Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post is reporting that contract talks with Braden Holtby and Niklas Backstrom are ongoing. Writing that the team will “play this out” with both players, who have just one year remaining on their respective contracts, the organization is farther along with Holtby.
The team has already spoken with Holtby’s agent on a number of occasions and Holtby has said in regard to taking less money to stay in Washington, “There’s always that area where you can work with, but at the same time you have a responsibility to the other players in the league, too.”
Sticking with the Capitals, Khurshudyan noted that as for Evgeni Kuznetsov, Caps are still waiting for NHL to let them know if there will be any additional discipline.
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Montreal Ready and Looking For a Deal
Eric Engels of SportsNet writes that the Montreal Canadiens and GM Marc Bergevin have a number of pieces to dangle in trades and the organization is ready and willing to make a move.
Montreal has 12 picks, $7 million in cap space, and if there are opportunities, they will be explored the owner said. “Marc and I are on the phone every day and you never know what can happen moving forward,” he added.
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Justin Faulk to Anaheim Update
Early reports were that the Anaheim Ducks were making a pitch to land Justin Faulk from Carolina but that Faulk had yet to waive his no-trade to go there. Pierre LeBrun of TSN says there’s still something to these talks but also added that there are teams showing interest which do not require him to waive his no-trade clause.
Sara Civ reports that a Faulk trade to the Ducks doesn’t appear to be imminent at the moment but a source was able to confirm that if the Ducks did move a player for Faulk, that player was going to be Ondrej Kase.
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Peter Chiarelli Being Added to Blues Staff
Renaud Lavoie is reporting word that former Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli will be a consultant for the St. Louis Blues this season. Chiarelli was a candidate for the GM job in Minnesota but lost out of Bill Guerin.
Marner Turns Down $11 Million Over Seven Years. Why?
TSN’s Darren Dreger tweeted the Toronto Maple Leafs were persistent in pushing for a seven- or eight-year contract for Mitch Marner but that he’s turned them both down.
Dreger says the $11 million per offer was made in June and included the $1.6 million in B bonuses. Dreger adds, “3 yr ext remains the focus.” even though that’s a bad situation for the Maple Leafs as it will ensure Marner gets a huge qualifying offer with a high salary at the end of the term and then unrestricted free agency right around the corner at the end of the fourth year.
Bob McKenzie of TSN writes, “These numbers help to illustrate why it is so difficult to see a path to a Mitch Marner contract settlement any time soon.”
In his latest 31 Thoughts report, Elliotte Friedman said the negotiations between Marner and the Maple Leafs have gotten “tense and personal.” The emphasis here is that Marner’s camp has always felt like they play “second fiddle” to Auston Matthews in the organization. While there’s certainly no way to know what Marner is actually thinking, the suggestion here is that this is one way for Marner to stick it back to the Maple Leafs.
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