BLH provides you with the latest NHL news, rumors, and speculation featuring Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh, St. Louis Blues uber sniper Vladimir Tarasenko, swift-skating 2021 NHL draft prospect Brandt Clarke, hilarious Lightning winger Alex Killorn, and much more!
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NHL Rumors and Speculation
- Jim Thomas (St. Louis Today): In a recent mailbag post, Thomas was asked if the St, Louis Blues should expose highly-paid players who are expiring contracts like Vladimir Tarasenko and David Perron or risk losing their younger talents?
- “As long as you believe the window of opportunity is open as a legit contender, I don’t think you can throw your veterans overboard… Remember, at worst you’re losing only one player. So if you lose a Sammy Blais, you get to keep an Oskar Sundqvist, Zach Sanford, Ivan Barbashev and all the defensemen.”
- Joe Smith/Adam Vingan (The Athletic): “It sounds like they’re either shopping or listening on Killorn and Ryan McDonagh.”
- Future Considerations: Barrie Colts (OHL) defender Brandt Clarke was named the top prospect in Future Consideration’s latest 2021 NHL draft prospect rankings.
- “He’s responsible enough to know that he needs to not pinch too deep, when he needs to back off to provide support and coverage and he can back it up with the skill to hold his ground in the neutral zone and break up plays. His stickwork in this aspect is exceptional and he’s able to expertly poke check his opponents and generate turnovers, regaining possession.”
- Corey Masisak (The Athletic): Regarding the New Jersey Devils grabbing a player off of the Tampa Bay Lightning due to their dodgy salary cap situation,
- “Alex Killorn is the obvious candidate for a trade, and we’ve talked about him a few times this offseason. After a strong 2019-20 season, he has three years left at $4.4 million. He would add veteran leadership and scoring punch on the wing, but he’s 31 years old and the goal-scoring pace from last year might not be sustainable. Killorn would serve as a replacement for Kyle Palmieri or Nikita Gusev if one (or both) doesn’t return for the 2021-22 season, but the Devils might not be interested in adding him now; they might prefer to wait and see who else could be available next summer/fall.”
- Jeremy Rutherford (The Athletic): On the future of 21yr old Russian prospect Klim Kostin,
- “I get the impression that the Blues are less optimistic about Kostin’s future than they have acknowledged publicly in the past year. He’s currently on loan to the Kontinental Hockey League, and while I wouldn’t put too much stock in the fact that he’s not producing in Russia, I think it backs up what the Blues believe internally.”
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