The Scoring Touch is migrating to a different host, so their website is offline at the moment. Therefore we’re going to have to go solo on this one! Luckily for us, Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts is out over on Sportsnet as well as a new podcast from the NHL’s leading insider and Jeff Marek.
We’re going to be commenting on the latest NHL rumors and speculation that includes hearsay on the Arizona Coyotes, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals, as well as the aforementioned 31 Thoughts blog from Friedman.
First off, I’m completely stoked that Patrick Russell will be back with the Oilers next season after re-signing with the club for another year. I’m a big fan of muckers and grinders and players who play with heart. The writing’s been on the wall for some time now that the Dane would be back given how much his coach likes him.
He’s 27 now and he hasn’t provided much offense for the team, but he brings something different to the ice that not a lot of players on the team did. Consistent efforts and no belly-aching. He’s one of the best players on Edmonton along the wall and you’ve got to wonder just a little bit how he’d do every now and then with Connor McDavid because we know that big wingers who can work the walls tend to have more success with him than other players on the team.
All that said, the right wing position is stocked to the brim nearly. If Jesse Puljujarvi is coming back, will there be a spot for him on that side or will they have him on the left-wing? Bit better of an angle to shoot from, no?
The Rumors
- Craig Morgan says that the names that keep coming up in the Arizona Coyotes GM search are Ray Shero, Ron Hextall, Sean Burke, Mark Hunter and Shane Doan.
- On TSN 1290, Frank Seravalli said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Patrik Laine and Nik Ehlers on the TSN Trade Bait Board coming out later this week.
BLH’s Thoughts: Good Lord! If either of these players are available, the Oilers MUST inquire. That’s 30 goals in the “for” column guaranteed! Could you imagine a line that consisted of Laine-McDavid-Puljujarvi? That’s a real world cheat code right there!
- According to The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman, it’s highly unlikely that the Oilers buy anybody out this offseason and they’re open to trading down from 14th overall depending on the offer.
BLH’s Thoughts: If the narrative that is being thrown out there by Bob Stauffer and Kurt Leavins is that Prince Albert defender Kaiden Guhle could be the guy that Edmonton drafts, I hope for my sanity’s sake that it means they’re trading down because they’d be giving up on some real forward talent at 14th overall to take another left-shot dman…
I’m told that Guhle is similar to Nurse and some have told me that he’s a bit too reckless and that’ll never fly in the NHL.
Personally, I think there are about five other dmen you could take in the 2nd round that are as good as Guhle in the skating department including William Wallinder, Helge Grans, Jeremie Poirier, Lukas Cormier, Ethan Edwards, Justin Barron, etc. I mean, Brandon’s Braden Schneider would be there too. Take him, he’s a righty and they’re always at a premium.
The Oilers need to start stocking up the cupboards with forwards now.
- On Saturday Headlines, Elliotte Friedman mentioned that the Calgary Flames are 1-2 weeks from making a decision on Geoff Ward and the head coaching role.
- George Richards is saying that former Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is “one to watch” for the open GM position in Florida.
BLH’s Thoughts: John Shannon said on Oilers Now yesterday that Chiarelli’s reputation amongst his peers is a lot higher than with the folks in Northern Alberta… Doesn’t surprise me.
Doc's words on Zdeno Chara during the handshake line 😭@NHLBruins | #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/XlLLyHRElX
— #StanleyCup Playoffs on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) September 1, 2020
31 Thoughts Podcast
This part is just going to be random snippets from the podcast. Surely things you have already read if you checked out the 31 Thoughts blog but there are other things that weren’t included in that post that have been inserted into the podcast!
The Hockey Diversity Alliance vs. the NHL
- “There’s frustrations on both sides. One side wants to do things fast and one side doesn’t want to make a mistake.” Friedman talking about the talks between the Hockey Diversity Alliance and the NHL.
- What kind of uncomfortable conversations are coming? Be they about the Stanley Cup and who wasn’t allowed to compete for it in the early days or the renaming of the Conn Smythe trophy given Conn Smythe’s clear racist comments towards a player like Herb Carnegie,
In the late 1930s, after watching Carnegie play hockey, Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe was said to have turned to those around him saying he would pay $10,000 “to anyone who could turn Carnegie white.” Since the NHL would not follow the lead of the other major North American professional sports leagues in employing black players, Carnegie was forced to settle for a career in the Quebec provincial and senior leagues, where he formed a legendary line for the Quebec Aces with his older brother, Ossie, and another black player, Manny McIntyre. (source)
Florida Panthers
- Friedman believes that New York Rangers AGM Chris Drury was the front-runner for the Florida Panthers GM job before he withdrew his candidacy but the insider had heard from the beginning that it was unlikely to be Drury because he has a really good family and works situation in New York.
- Remaining Panthers GM candidates: Bill Armstrong (STL), Sean Burke (MTL), Peter Chiarelli (STL), John Ferguson (BOS), Mike Futa, Lawrence Gilman (TOR), Ron Hextall (LA), Mike Gillis, Mark Hunter, Scott Mellanby (MTL), Ed Olczyk, and Kevin Weekes.
- Other possibilities could be Ross Mahoney (WAS) and Al Murray (TB).
- Joel Quenneville will be involved in the hiring process of Florida’s new GM.
- The Panthers want a GM who has a good background in finding players.
Toronto Maple Leafs
- The Toronto Maple Leafs are determined not to make an angry lateral move.
- Carolina Hurricanes like Frederik Anderson but the Leafs are going to sit and watch how the goaltending market plays out and then make a decision from there.
- Other teams who thought that the price for Kasperi Kapanen was too rich for their blood has them now asking about Andreas Johnsson but Friedman doesn’t believe they’re ready to move him yet and unless William Nylander nets Toronto a top-4 right-handed defenseman, someone who can play with Morgan Rielly, they’ll keep him.
- GMs are asking about Zach Hyman but the thought is that he’s too much of what the Leafs need right now and they like him.
Pittsburgh Penguins
- Jared McCann is available. Jack Johnson isn’t believed to be.
- There was some talk about Matt Murray going to Toronto but then the Leafs realized that they probably couldn’t afford to re-sign Murray so they backed off.
Arizona Coyotes
- Friedman believes that Darcy Kuemper is going to get a lot of interest because of his fantastic playoff performance and his contract ($4.5M for the next two years).
- If Arizona is going to re-stock themselves here, Kuemper is probably their best place to start.
- Gary Bettman was under intense pressure to punish the Coyotes for their combine testing violations.
- Teams started asking if they could visit draft-eligible players’ families in certain areas and they were told no. As a result, the teams got angrier and angrier.
- Friedman speculates that the ownership of the Coyotes, who are in the casino business, chose to have the draft picks taken away as punishment instead of the rumored $5M fine.
- “I could see them doing the Ottawa model.” Friedman regarding Arizona’s upcoming rebuild. “We’re gonna cut for a couple of years and then build back up.”
- Arizona’s cap situation is tight this year and then it loosens.
- Boston was going to make a big offer for Oliver Ekman-Larsson before he signed long-term with the Coyotes.
- Two contracts that should be looked at, Clayton Keller (885k->$7.15M) and Nick Schmaltz ($5.8M for six more years).
- People in Arizona would say the Schmaltz contract is one they’re not fond of more so than the Keller one. They still believe Keller can turn out to be what they expected when he was drafted.
- The Rangers tried to get back into the first round to draft Keller.
- There was a rumored Rangers/Oilers deal that had Ryan McDonagh and Chris Kreider going to Edmonton for something that included Edmonton’s first-round pick (4th Overall) which turned out to be Jesse Puljujarvi.
- There are a lot of people out there who believe that OEL, with a change of scenery, can make a big difference. The belief is that he’s stale and needs a new place to play but it’s going to take creativity to acquire him.
- One team that jumped into Friedmans’ head, the Calgary Flames.
- OEL has a no-move clause but depending on the situation, he’d be willing to go.
- The Coyotes will be able to get something for Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jordan Oesterle, Alex Goligoski, and Jason Demers. All are on the final year of their contracts.
- Depending on what Arizona’s willing to do, Derek Stepan, one year left @ $6.5M on his deal, is another interesting name that could be out there. Right-shot center.
- If they want to deal Connor Garland, it’s believed they could get something decent for him. He’s got one more year left at 775k.
- Would anyone have interest in Phil Kessel?
Calgary Flames
- The Calgary Flames won’t be racing to do anything. The issue with Johnny Gaudreau is that the clock is ticking but they’re in no rush to move him. It’s a tough decision for Calgary because he’s a player that gets you to the playoffs.
- Sam Bennett isn’t one of the guys that gets you to the playoffs but he gets you through them.
- Friedman doesn’t like Calgary’s chances of staying still. They haven’t reached out to Cam Talbot yet and they may look at Sean Monahan too.
- The Flames were high on Friedman’s Taylor Hall list but now, not so much.
Washington Capitals
- Caps GM Brian MacLellan wants an experienced coach in Washington.
- Peter Laviolette is very high on the Capitals list.
- If Washington wanted to go the other way, Lane Lambert, who’s with the Islanders and almost had the head coaching gigs in Anaheim and Colorado before joining Barry Trotz in New York, is one. Players like him. And also Spencer Carbery, the head coach of the Capital’s farm club in Hershey.
- Pittsburgh and Florida potentially have interest in Todd Reirden as an assistant coach.
St. Louis Blues
- “It’s a lot more complicated than you realize”, one of Friedman’s sources on St. Louis Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo re-signing with the club.
- Apparently, Pietrangelo has barely gotten any contract offers in the last year but Brayden Schenn, Justin Faulk, and Marco Scandella got their new deals…
- Friedman and Jeff Marek wonder about bonuses being an issue. Doug Armstrong doesn’t like to hand them out according to Marek.
- “Wealthy clubs don’t want to do bonuses anymore because they’re cash poor.”
Montreal Canadiens
- Biggest story in Montreal is the emergence of Kotkaniemi and Suzuki. People in Montreal feel that they have something there.
- Philip Danault, a year away from UFA status, isn’t sure about his role on the club and his year-end comments were heard loud and clear. There’s a lot of interest in Danault.
- Max Domi is looking for new representation and wants a fresh start in his life.
Random
- Columbus will be moving a goalie and will be looking for some scoring in return.
- Daniil Tarasov is considered to be one of the goalie gems of 2017. “Watch out for this guy.”
- “If the bonuses are out that might hurt the offer-sheet plan” according to Friedman after being asked if the Habs could offer-sheet Andrei Svechnikov.
- “I would not be surprised if Las Vegas is awarded an NLL (National Lacrosse League) franchise in 2022 and Wayne Gretzky is involved in some capacity,” says Marek.
Thanks for reading folks! Have a good one!
