Today’s edition of the #PuckReport Spec Station features notes and rumors on the Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, and more.
- Sean Shapiro (Q&A): Doesn’t see the Stars being a major player in the free-agent market, will only be involved in the backup goalie market if they can’t re-sign Khudobin – most of their off-season work will revolve around their RFAs.Shapiro expects the Stars will need a budget of around $14M to re-sign Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz, Denis Gurianov, and Anton Khudobin.
BLH’s Thoughts: During the regular season there was some talk on the sports talk shows in Edmonton that the Calgary Flames might have an interest in Faksa with Mark Jankowski possibly going back the other way. Not sure if that’s the case still.
Hintz and Gurianov don’t have arbitration rights, so they might get squeezed and sign a one year deal with the intention of making bank in 21/22 and they will. The problem for Dallas is, Heiskanen’s contract is up then too and the Stars will have to stump up big-time for him.
The Oilers do have an interest in adding Khudobin if the price is right.
- David Pagnotta on TSN690 says he anticipates the Montreal Canadiens will be very active this off-season and will explore bringing in that “trigger guy.” They had interest in Patrik Laine in the past – wouldn’t be surprised if they at least inquire. He could be an option, the cap space is there, but the asking price in a trade could be simply too much.Pagnotta says they need to either have Max Domi as a winger in the top 6 or use him as trade bait in a package deal. Doesn’t make sense to have him as a 4th line center.
The Canadiens will “put their hat into the ring” on Taylor Hall, and he could consider them if they show enough interest and make a sweet proposal. Says he expects the Calgary Flames to be another suitor for Taylor Hall.
Pagnotta expects the Habs to take a look at Torey Krug if he hits free agency.
BLH’s Thoughts: Laine is going to be an interesting player going into this offseason. I think the Jets are shopping him very quietly. He had a turbulent season in 19/20 and his relationship with Paul Maurice seems to be breaking down. He’s got another year on his current deal at $6.75M and it wouldn’t shock me one bit if they traded him to shore up the defense a bit. If I were the Oilers, that’s a player I’d definitely be looking into. Perhaps using Darnell Nurse as bait.
Sounds like Domi is outtie 5000 eh? Was it Elliotte Friedman saying that he expects Domi to be a Pittsburgh Penguin next year? He’d look nice alongside McDavid in Edmonton, I’ll say that.
There are going to be lots of suitors for Taylor Hall but if I were a betting man, I’d be looking at teams who are trending up as opposed to ones with lots of cap room. Personally, I don’t know if Montreal and Calgary are the best fits for him. Probably Montreal more so because he’d be the Habs’ main man and that’s what he needs to be on whatever club he joins. The Flames belong to Matthew Tkachuk now and they’d need to move some serious assets out in order to fit him in.
Edmonton will be in the mix this offseason just as they were when NJ was shopping him before his trade to Arizona. If I recall correctly, I believe Edmonton was in the running for him right up until the end. So we know that there’s an appetite to bring him back and he wants to play in a hockey-mad market too.
Time will tell…
- Lowetide: “I expect the best plan of action for the Oilers is to be allowing some teams to blow their brains out on the famous names, while GM Ken Holland sits back and waits for bargains.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Are the Oilers at that point in their quest for the Stanley Cup where they have to sit back and watch the best players available get snapped up by other clubs? Maybe it’s time to take a page out of Dallas’ book and sign some high-end vets to one-year deals and shore up the rest of the club with AHL tweeners. Holland used to do this all of the time in Detroit.
- James Mirtle: The Maple Leafs’ top priorities this off-season are to fix the defense, squeeze the RFAs, and pluck gems at the draft in the lower rounds. The team needs to “get meaner,” but it’s not about fighting and toughness.
BLH’s Thoughts: Reckon the Leafs would have any interest in Jujhar Khaira, Matt Benning, Darnell Nurse, or Zack Kassian?
- Robin Lehner on Allan Walsh’s tweet about coach Pete DeBoer “backstabbing” Marc-Andre Fleury: “We were just laughing. It’s always the media and everyone else that makes a big deal out of this … At the end of the day, he didn’t do anything. It was his agent, and if he wants to be unprofessional, go ahead. He looks terrible, but it is what it is.”
- Calgary Flames goaltender Cam Talbot on potentially re-signing with the club: “I loved it there. My wife and family loved it there. It would have to be the right situation for myself and for them. But we’d be very open to coming back next year and beyond.”
BLH’s Thoughts: Bob Stauffer (630 CHED) mentioned last week that he thinks Talbot could go to Dallas to back-up Ben Bishop if things fall through with Calgary. I was told his wife is from Texas. If that’s true, then Stauffer is probably on to something.
- Murat Ates (TheAthletic): The only way Jack Roslovic isn’t on the Jets next year is if he’s part of a trade for a more established NHL player. Tucker Poolman will likely be exposed at the expansion draft. Adam Lowry, Andrew Copp, and Neal Pionk are almost certain to stay unless GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is blown away by a trade offer.
BLH’s Thoughts: Some folks floated out a Roslovic for Jesse Puljujarvi last season.
- Michael Russo (TheAthletic): The Minnesota Wild will need to improve their goaltending for next season. Adding Kaapo Kahkonen to the tandem may help, but then they’d have to trade Dubnyk. If GM Bill Guerin can’t find a taker, he’ll have to buy out the final year of that contract, unless the team feels he can bounce back after his decline in recent years.“It’s believed Wild GM Bill Guerin attempted early in his first season to acquire Tristan Jarry in the original Jason Zucker trade. That being the case, most likely Stalock would have gone to Pittsburgh and the Wild probably would have had to take a defender like Jack Johnson back.”
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