The first day of free agency is behind us and several big names remain unsigned. This includes the Buffalo Sabres‘ wing Victor Olofsson. Former Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby signed a two-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks. How long will he remain a Canuck is a big question going forward. Finally, we break down which of the big fish could sign with the Boston Bruins. Here are today’s NHL rumours.
NHL Rumours
Buffalo Sabres
Rumour: Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News is reporting that the Sabres and Victor Olofsson are not close to a contract extension.
Sabres, Victor Olofsson not close on a contract extension.https://t.co/9cQz68fIIb
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) October 9, 2020
Getting Victor Olofsson a new contract must be at the top of Kevyn Adams offseason priorities list. The former seventh-round draft choice by the Sabres has quickly become one of the franchises hottest commodities. On a team that lacks high level scoring talent, Olofsson is providing them with just that. The young forward has played in 60 games over the course of his short career. In that time, he has mustered an impressive 46 points. While staying on that path is a difficult one, he is certainly worth keeping around.
Negotiations between Buffalo and Olofsson will not be easy. He is a restricted free agent. Normally that would give Buffalo the majority of the negotiating power. The trick with Olofsson is that he is eligible for arbitration. This makes it significantly more difficult for Buffalo to get a deal done. Olofsson needs to prove he can produce these numbers again before getting paid. Arbitration could force Buffalo to do so sooner than they would like.
Vancouver Canucks
Rumour: Rick Dhaliwal of TSN and The Athletic is reporting that the Vancouver Canucks will not protect goaltender Braden Holtby in the Seattle Kraken expansion Draft.
Holtby will be exposed in the Seattle expansion draft so the #Canucks can protect Demko.@tsn1040
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) October 9, 2020
The Vancouver Canucks have one of the most valuable goaltender situations in the NHL. They have two capable players in Braden Holtby and Thatcher Demko. If they choose to protect Holtby at the expansion draft, they will keep a seasoned starter who has quite a bit of time left in his career. Should they choose to protect Demko, they have a promising young starter who could blossom into an elite talent. No matter what they do, Vancouver is in a good situation.
By only signing a two-year contract with the Canucks, Holtby is helping himself. He knows he will be available at the expansion draft. It makes more sense for Vancouver to protect Demko. By only signing for two seasons, Holtby ensures at least one season with the Canucks in which he can help them push for a title. He then has only one year in Seattle should they select him. This gives him an easy out of the northwest if he decides he does not want to be a member of the Kraken.
Boston Bruins
Rumour: Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period is reporting that Boston has extended a short-term contract to free agent wing Taylor Hall.
Sounds like the Boston Bruins presented Taylor Hall with a short-term contract offer today. There are other suitors. I believe he’s still considering his options.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) October 10, 2020
The Bruins are a team in desperate need of more scorers. They have the best top line in hockey by many accounts. The issue comes in with secondary options. They lack consistent scorers outside of the Perfection Line. If they can fix their forward depth problem, they could find themselves back in the thick of the playoff race next season. While the loss of Torey Krug hurts this team, getting another top free agent could help.
Enter Taylor Hall. Boston needs more scoring. What better options are available than a Hart Trophy winner? Hall has said a short term deal would be acceptable with a team that is ready to contend. Hall has minimal playoff experience, much less any wins. His priority is making deep postseason runs. By taking a short term contract with Boston, Hall is putting himself in a position to win now. He fills the hole that Boston has in their secondary scoring and gives David Krejci one of the best weapons he has ever had. Look out. Hall in Boston could turn an already potent offence into an unstoppable train.
That does it for today’s NHL Rumours. Check back tomorrow for another addition.
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