Today’s edition of The Scoring Touch’s Daily Rumors features Kevin Shattenkirk, the goalie market, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and more.
If you missed it, I went over my thoughts on what the Edmonton Oilers should do with their defense yesterday and included a few names for Oilers fans to look out for in the coming weeks. Check that post out here!
- TRIB-Live: Mark Madden on the Madden Monday podcast says it wouldn’t shock him if the Penguins traded Bryan Rust this off-season. He’s a versatile forward coming off a 27-goal season. Teams have wanted to acquire him in the past, and he’d be marketable. They won’t actively shop him but if they need to move out a contract, he’ll get them a good return.Madden adds Patric Hornqvist is a guy the Penguins would also like to move because of his $5.3M AAV x 3-year contract at 33 years old.
BLH’s Thoughts: As I said yesterday, keep your ears perked when Bryan Rust’s name comes up. Not sure if the Oilers could get him though. Toronto is a team that should be able to given Pittsburgh’s alleged interest in Kasperi Kapanen. Straight swap makes sense to me.
- Lisa Dillman, TheAthletic (subscription required): Five defenders the Los Angeles Kings could target this off-season: Joel Edmundson, Olli Maatta (if he gets bought out), Brenden Dillon, Chris Tanev, Mike Matheson (trade).A note on Matheson: “The only way it makes any sense, not just to the Kings but other teams too, is if the Panthers retain salary to make it more cost-effective. But it should be noted there will likely be cheaper, less risky options for the Kings.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Todd McLellan and Rob Blake looking to beef up the back end LaLa Land? I like Edmundson and he’s performed well in both St. Louis and Carolina. I suppose the Kings are going to need some heavy vets to take care of all the high-end kids that will be joining the club soon.
- Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams on speculation that RFA Brandon Montour might not get a qualifying offer this off-season due to the tight cap and new arbitration rules: “That’s news to me. We have not even considered [not giving him a QO]. All of our conversations about Brandon have been very positive, so I’m not sure where that’s coming from.”
- Eric Stephens: Kevin Shattenkirk would love to re-sign with Tampa Bay.
BLH’s Thoughts: There was a time when it was believed the Oilers were trading for Shattenkirk. If Ken Holland wanted to add a veteran puck-mover to his club, I could think of worse players. He’d have to have moved one of Darnell Nurse or Oscar Klefbom though.
- Josh Yohe (mailbag): The Penguins have a major problem with the third-line center position. McCann is better suited to the wing. Bjugstad is not good enough.“The more I talk with people close to the team, the more I believe Jack Johnson will be back next season… From what I’ve been told, some members of the coaching staff were displeased with Justin Schultz all season, particularly in the Toronto bubble… These same feelings didn’t exist with Johnson. The coaches like him. Rutherford likes him. Although he was almost dealt on a couple of occasions last season.”
- James Mirtle on Oilers Now: The Maple Leafs will try and squeeze their RFAs as much as possible this off-season. Likely Ilya Mikheyev signs a one-year “prove it” deal at maximum $2M cap hit. There will be some relatively substantial changes to the roster.When asked to pick one player who will be traded before the start of next season: “Kasperi Kapanen.”
Tyson Barrie wasn’t the Leafs’ top target at RHD last off-season, but a lot of other trades/options fell through. A Kapanen/Larsson trade isn’t really on the cards as some speculate. The Leafs and Oilers could be trade partners at some point, though.
BLH’s Thoughts: Kasperi Kapanen is not the droid the Oilers are looking for. They need a player who has the ability to play with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. If the Oilers are hell-bent on dealing Adam Larsson (a mistake in my opinion), they need to have a suitable replacement. As much as I’d hate losing the Iron Swede, I do like Barrie. He’s small but he’s got some jam and it would give the Oilers an opportunity to cut Klefbom’s TOI down and perhaps curb his health issues. Barrie can actually run a PP too and wouldn’t just be a passing outlet. He’d be a threat.
I'm hearing the Oilers are going to go after Tyson Barrie this off-season.
Who knows if they'll get him but he's definitely a target. #Oilers
— BLH (Edmonton Oilers Enthusiast} (@BeerLeagueHeroe) August 19, 2020
- Pierre LeBrun, TheAthletic (subscription required): Jacob Markstrom and Robin Lehner are expected to be the guys to set this off-season’s market for UFA goaltenders. The Carolina Hurricanes kicked tires on Lehner both last summer and this year at the deadline. He wants stability on his new deal – at least three years. Edmonton Oilers would be another possible destination, but the flat salary cap makes that problematic.Jacob Markstrom is probably going to extend with Vancouver. He’s a must keep guy for Jim Benning, and both sides know it. Canucks made it known to Markstrom and his agent two weeks ago that they’ll sit down and discuss more after the playoffs, but they haven’t made any progress since talks began last year.
LeBrun adds that if Vancouver can’t agree an extension with Jacob Markstrom, the Oilers will “inquire into that front” as well.
Pending UFA Anton Khudobin’s agent: “I think both us and the Stars would like to continue but not sure if we can make it work. We will try to make it work (on an extension) if possible.”
BLH’s Thoughts: I’d add Braden Holtby’s name to that list and he’d be the cheapest option I feel. As LeBrun said though, adding a goaltender of this ilk will take some creativity to manipulate the salary cap enough to fit one in.
- Jonathan Willis, TheAthletic (subscription required): Unqualified RFAs that hit the free-agent market could be top off-season targets for the Oilers. They’ll look at those and do some more bargain hunting, but they have tough decisions to make with Athanasiou and Benning.
- Adam Vignan, TheAthletic (subscription required): Jake Virtanen (RFA) could be a suitable option for the Predators as an extra complement to Matt Duchene on the second line. Internal options for that role also include Eeli Tolvanen, Rem Pitlick, and Yakov Trenin.
- James Mirtle on Leafs Lunch: The only untouchables for the Maple Leafs are Matthews, Tavares, Marner, and Robertson. They need to keep all other options open. They may need to answer the phone on Zach Hyman if they think they can’t fit his contract extension under the cap after next year. Kyle Clifford is likely gone. Says the Leafs will need to make tough cap decisions over the next 2-3 years.
Mirtle adds there’s a lot of talk around the league that next season’s start date may have to be pushed back to after Christmas or to begin the season with the Winter Classic due to the fluctuating COVID-19 numbers. They want to be patient and wait until they can have fans in buildings. No shortened season(s).
BLH’s Final Thoughts: I have a feeling all that old Tyson Barrie/Taylor Hall to Edmonton speculation may finally come to fruition this year but conversely I’m skeptical because Ken Holland said he wants to build slowly and incrementally. Adding two or three major names this summer would be akin to giving Connor McDavid his true “Yzerman moment”. Meaning, the Oilers find a way to get some really good hockey players to take less money to sign in Edmonton and go for the Cup. Kind of like he did in Detroit.
If Holland wants to compete with the Avalanche, he’s going to have to find good hockey players who’ll take a little bit less on a contract, just as the Avs did. I asked one of my sources about the possibility of the Oilers bringing in Barrie, Hall, and Holtby and the reply I got was, “Time will tell.”
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