Today’s NHL news, rumors, and speculation feature the likes of Robin Lehner, Patrik Laine, Max Domi, Nikita Kucherov, Jesse Puljujarvi, Frederik Andersen, Dustin Byfuglien, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and much more!
The Rumors
- The Athletic’s James Mirtle is reporting that the Vegas Golden Knights are intending to keep goaltender Robin Lehner. That said, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a legitimate interest in him and could be one of the main bidders on him.
- Mirtle is also saying that Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen is available according to “other teams” and the return expected for Andersen might simply be cap space.
BLH’s Thoughts: If Lehner is staying in Vegas that surely means that Marc-Andre Fleury is on his way out and that’s one player I’d love to see on the Oilers if the two clubs could get creative on a trade. The experience and locker room presence that Fleury could provide would be priceless.
Who could offer the Leafs some cap space in return for Andersen and give the goalie a place to play? Perhaps Ottawa?
- TSN’s Frank Seravalli says to expect Patrik Laine to be in play this off-season and that the Carolina Hurricanes could make an interesting trade partner for the Jets given the glut of defensemen they currently have on the club.
BLH’s Thoughts: The Hurricanes also have a glut of forwards. Would they include Nino Niederreiter in this sort of trade? Are they planning to re-unite Laine, Aho, and Puljujarvi? That would be outstanding!
- Michal Kempny (Washington Capitals) believes that further changes to the club are coming.
- Marc-Antoine Godin (The Athletic Montreal) is reporting that Karl Alzner will be bought out and he’ll join a long list of players who most likely will not be returning to Montreal next season that includes Max Domi, Christian Folin, Dale Weise, Charles Hudon, and Charlie Lindgren.
BLH’s Thoughts: Domi for Nurse? But more seriously, I would not be surprised if there was some interest in Christian Folin and Charlie Lindgren from the Oilers. It’s being reported almost weekly in Edmonton that the Oilers will be signing a veteran AHL/NHL goalie and they are looking for another tweener on defense for next season. Hudon is another player who might perk the ears of Ken Holland.
- Kurt Leavins (Cult of Hockey) says that trade rumors involving Ethan Bear are groundless, James Neal won’t be bought out, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins extension with the Oilers should be worth $6.5M AAV.
BLH’s Thoughts: Who is saying that Ethan Bear might get traded? Last I heard is that he should be getting a one-year extension worth around $1M.
Ya know, the Oilers would have a pretty good 3C in RNH if they could find better wingers for McDavid and Draisaitl. That said, Nuge has been a really good winger since being moved over.
- Michael Russo (The Athletic) is saying that there are a lot of teams interested in Dustin Byfuglien including the Minnesota Wild. He has also said that the Wild didn’t have serious interest in Kasperi Kapanen before he was traded to Pittsburgh.
BLH’s Thoughts: Edmonton should have an interest in Byfuglien as a depth signing. He’s 35 now if I recall correctly and probably not an everyday top-4 defender, but he’s still Big Buff, a player that can handle the likes of Ryan Reaves and other power forwards in the Western Conference. I believe he’d be very instrumental in a deep playoff run.
- The Athletic Tampa Bay’s Joe Smith reckons Nikita Kucherov’s injury isn’t expected to impact his availability for the start of the Eastern Conference Final, per a source.
Oilers Speculation
The new Florida Panthers GM, Bill Zito, is a former partner of Markus Lehto. They ran ACME World Sports together before Zito left to join the Columbus Blue Jackets to work under Jarmo Kekalainen. So it’s safe to say that Zito has a firm grasp on how to deal with Finnish hockey players, no?
The Oilers have a Finnish hockey player in Jesse Puljujarvi who has been rumored to be heading to Florida in the past.
Do you think that the odds of Pulju getting traded to the Panthers have gone up or down with this hiring?
"Remember the name, Henrik Borgstrom." – @Bob_Stauffer https://t.co/A1d6EvDB6F
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) August 11, 2020
Tracy Lane has been pretty active on Twitter lately saying that the Detroit Red Wings have interest in depth defender William Lagesson. The account also reports that Edmonton is looking to acquire a 2nd round pick in this year’s draft.
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