BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation featuring Mat Barzal, Henrik Borgstrom, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jesper Bratt, Zdeno Chara, and more!
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NHL Rumors and Speculation
- Luke Fox (Sportsnet): Wonders if Nick Robertson can make the Toronto Maple Leafs this season out of camp, how all the new additions (Thornton, Simmonds, Lehtonen, etc) will fit into Toronto’s scheme, and what tweaks will be made to a penalty kill that has continuously gotten worse?
- Elliotte Friedman (Sportnet): Certainly will be more detail in morning, but there are rumblings Travis Hamonic will go to VAN on a PTO. GM Jim Benning and coach Travis Green are scheduled to speak on Sunday.
#Canucks announce they have invited Travis Hamonic to training camp.
— Brennan Klak (@nhlupdate) January 3, 2021
- Empire Sports: New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello is looking to lock up Barzal in the ballpark of $7.5 million per season.
- Luke Fox (Sportsnet): Barzal’s camp, naturally, would prefer a higher figure — but a recent report by Andrew Gross suggests Barzal, like Pulock, is considering a team-friendly deal to keep the band together.
- Sportsnet: GM Tom Fitzgerald regarding New Jersey Devils’ unsigned RFA Jesper Bratt,
- “Right now, I’d say it would be hard-pressed to think Jesper Bratt will be in training camp because of all the obstacles we’d have to go over with quarantine and immigration,” Fitzgerald told the Two-Man Advantage podcast on Dec. 23.”
- David Dwork (Local 10): On the status of Florida Panthers forward Henrik Borgstrom,
- “There have been whispers that the 2016 first-round pick would be staying with HIFK for its entire season, and as NHL camp has drawn closer, those whispers have only gotten louder,” reports David Dwork of Local 10. “That could be, at least in part, due to rumors that circulated earlier this year that Borgstrom has not been pleased with his role in the Panthers organization to this point.”
- Scott Wheeler (The Athletic): Was quite impressed with a couple of Slovakian 2022 NHL draft eligibles from his group play viewings at the 2021 World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton, AB.
- “Juraj Slafkovsky (LW/RW): He’s already 6-foot-4 and 216 pounds, but he doesn’t play at all like the big, physical, powerful prototype you might expect from that frame. A fluid stride and excellent hands help him carve through the neutral zone in transition and keep sequences alive in the offensive zone.”
- Simon Nemec (RHD): He has helped create three of Slovakia’s five goals in the tournament. They’ve been more competitive than expected because of their 2003 and 2004 age group and they’re excited, as a team, for what’s ahead in future tournaments with that group. I wouldn’t be surprised if Nemec wears the “A” for them in 2022 and a “C” for them in 2023. He’s got some assertiveness to his game already.”
- Jim Parsons (NHL Trade Talk): On the Pierre-Luc Dubois to Boston rumors,
- “Dubois would be a great fit in Boston, but it would take a lot to land him. The Bruins also haven’t been incredibly active this offseason, so any rumors that include them should be taken with some caution.”
- Anthony Scultore (Daily Goal Horn): Contracted the agent of disgruntled Winnipeg Jets RFA forward Jack Roslovic and was told this,
- “He seemed pretty confident that Roslovic will be traded but to where remains to be seen. Being that Roslovic is an RFA, I was informed at least half a dozen teams have expressed interest in him.”
Told the @CanadiensMTL were trying to sign Zdeno Chara. He liked the way the team was build in MTL during the off season but decided not to play for a Canadian team because of issues related to COVID-19. His family will stay in Boston during the season.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) December 30, 2020
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