Welcome back to another edition of NHL Rumours. As the season gets closer and closer we are here to bring you the latest from around the league. That includes trade talks to RFA negotiations, we have it all. Today we look at NHL Rumours from the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and Tampa Bay Lightning.
NHL Rumours
Montreal Canadiens
Rumour: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in 31 Thoughts that the Montreal Canadiens are one of the teams that are looking at Dallas Stars defenceman Julius Honka. He also mentioned the Carolina Hurricanes were another.
31 Thoughts: https://t.co/ELX7Q0mJLx
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 19, 2019
Analysis: Carolina was more known but it should be encouraging to Habs fans to see them in rumour talks. It seems to be a two-horse race and Carolina already has way too many NHL defencemen. Honka requested a trade from the Stars with the hope of getting some more ice-time elsewhere. It seems unlikely Carolina would be that place that happens.
The Habs, on the other hand, may be able to give Honka plenty. He has had some solid underlying numbers in a limited role with Dallas. Honka is a right-handed defenceman who has had very good results in both ends of the ice. He hasn’t played very high in the lineup but when he has been given a chance he has looked good. Montreal’s right side is pretty solid currently with Shea Weber, Jeff Petry, and Noah Juulsen on it. However, maybe bringing in Honka would create some friendly competition with Juulsen. It could also add some extra injury support in case someone goes down.
Honka is already 23 and hasn’t been used much by Dallas. It seems reasonable the price won’t be too expensive and it could be a good bet for Montreal to take a flyer on him.
Edmonton Oilers
Rumour: The Oilers brought Anton Burdasov in on a PTO for camp. The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman talked to GM Ken Holland who said that due to paperwork issues it may be hard to crack the roster, but the Oilers want to give him a shot in camp.
Holland says the paper work took time. He has KHL options. “It’s gonna be tough (for him). It’s the middle of camp. It is a short time. We’re giving him an opportunity.” He’s expected to play tomorrow. He was a top-six player in Russia.
— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) September 18, 2019
Analysis: The Oilers are always looking for wingers, they also now have a history of taking from the KHL. Goaltender Mikko Koskinen came over last year and took the starters role for the team. Burdasov had 31 points in 50 games last year with Ufa Salavat Yulayev of the KHL. On top of that, he racked up 114 penalty minutes. This is a crazy swing from the 18 he had the year prior.
The Oilers are known for wanting toughness on their team. They just traded away Milan Lucic, however, media and fans alike often referenced how important it was to protect their stars. It is possible they look at Burdasov as a depth option who can provide some physicality and a scoring touch. With the limited time in North America, he will have to get off on the right foot.
Vancouver Canucks
Rumour: Going back to Friedman in NHL Rumours, he also reported that Vancouver is one of the teams trying to move some bodies as they are tight to the cap. He says they have made 4 or 5 players available for trade. However, he’s not sure Jake Virtanen is one of them.
Analysis: Virtanen was taken 6th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and hasn’t lived up to expectations. With a player taken that high most would hope he would blossom into a top-six role. However, so far he has not done that. He has found his game as a solid third liner and there is value in that. Depth is key and Virtanen doesn’t put up many points with just 25 in 70 games last year, but he can control the play pretty well. Parting with that may not be the best choice if there are other options for the team.
Friedman also mentioned that Nikolay Goldobin may be an option depending on how the season goes. Goldobin and the team haven’t exactly seen eye to eye and a move may be in the best interest for both sides. However, the Canucks are not just going to give a player with potential away, the return would need to make sense.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Rumour: Brayden Point had his agent on Sportsnet 650. His agent, Gerry Johansson said that he and the Lightning are still not very close on any kind of deal for the season.
Brayden Point’s agent Gerry Johansson told Sportsnet 650 that Point and the Tampa Bay Lightning aren’t even close to getting a deal done.
“We’re a ways apart right now…. We’re not that close, frankly.” pic.twitter.com/Zi8RSjW85x
— Complete Hockey News (@CompleteHkyNews) September 19, 2019
Analysis: It’s no doubt Point wants similar money to Mitch Marner and that’s completely reasonable. We all knew when Marner signed it would affect the market. However, now there still seems to be a stalemate as teams with RFA’s want to call Marner’s contract an outlier and not the new norm.
Point is an amazing young player and it has been known he loves Tampa. He likely won’t get Marner money because of the fact that Tampa always has their players take less, however, it sounds like Tampa hasn’t given him much to work with at all. They likely want a very cheap bridge deal like that of Nikita Kucherov just a few years ago. It seems clear Point isn’t willing to sign that cheap. Overall, it should be an interesting few weeks to get this done before the season starts.
That’s all for NHL Rumours, tune in every day for more.
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