Welcome back to NHL Rumours. Each day, we take a look at the latest going on around the NHL and bring it to you. From trades to signings, we take a look at everything. Even though more and more names begin to sign, there are still plenty of NHL Rumours out there. So join us, as we look at NHL Rumours from the San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Nashville Predators.
NHL Rumours
San Jose Sharks
Rumour: The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta is reporting that Patrick Marleau and the San Jose Sharks new deal will be around one million for one season.
Marleau’s deal with SJ could be in/around $1M once finalized. https://t.co/FNpU2tY2Sg
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) October 10, 2020
Analysis: A low-risk signing for San Jose and that price, why not? Marleau is a legend to the team and this will be his third official stint with them. He played the bulk of his career there, before going to the Toronto Maple Leafs for two seasons. After being bought out, he returned in hopes of helping them in the playoffs.
However, last year was an absolute disaster for San Jose. Goaltending, injuries, regression, and just about anything else that could, did go wrong. Because of that, Marleau was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins where he and the team got bounced in the play-in round.
So, it appears back to home for Marleau. He isn’t more than a depth piece at this point in his career and at times last season people wondered if he was even that. It is very easy to envision a situation where this is the final year for the veteran. Who knows, but it doesn’t appear he has too much more to give. Hopefully, this offseason helps him get some wheels back so he is ready to go.
The plan would likely be to stay with San Jose all year. However, if things go sideways like they did last season, it seems reasonable he could be dangled at the deadline again. Either way, this move is so low-risk for San Jose, it likely should work out.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Rumour: Joe Smith of The Athletic looked at all the options for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tyler Johnson. After being waived, he mentions it’s possible Brisebois already has a side-deal lined up, or this is a tactic to get Johnson to add more teams to his list.
Analysis: Either one of these seems possible, as Smith mentioned that it is also possible the Lightning’s GM has yet to offer any assets to take Johnson’s contract on. The length seems to be what the issue is for most teams. They have no issue with Johnson as a player now. However, who knows what he will look like in four years. It is tough to take money that extends for that long especially if you don’t see him as apart of the future.
In Tampa’s case, they’d likely want to keep him, but it just doesn’t look possible. They have so many people they need to re-sign that there is no way keeping the band together is feasible. It seems some sort of move has to happen. Even putting him to the AHL only saves just over a million instead of five. If it comes to it, Tampa may have to decide if it is worth it to move some sort of an asset, whether that be a pick or prospect, to move Johnson.
It also means that Johnson may have to be more open about where he plays. He has a no-trade clause, meaning he can pick where he wants to go. If the option were to be AHL or somewhere that isn’t his first choice, it feels logical that Johnson would likely choose the latter.
Nashville Predators
Rumour: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that Mike Hoffman has been in talks with a couple of teams, but he specifically mentioned the Nashville Predators as one of them.
Mike Hoffman, top UFA goal scorer, continues to have interest from 5-6 teams but there’s an obvious overlap and impact from the Taylor Hall situation. For example, I think Nashville has kept on both Hall and Hoffman. Also I believe Florida has circled back on Hoffman.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 11, 2020
Analysis: This does seem like a fit that makes sense for both sides. If the price and term are right, of course. However, Nashville needs some more firepower upfront. They have tried the names of Nick Bonino, Kyle Turris, and Matt Duchene in the past years. However, the first two are now gone following the buyout and trade. Overall, maybe looking at the wing position would help?
The Predators have some very solid wingers already, but another one could never hurt. Hoffman has one of the most lethal shots in the entire NHL and could give some more scoring punch to this Preds team. For Hoffman, the Preds are one of the few teams with a decent amount of cap space left to spend. With $14 million, that is more than roughly 25 other teams have right now. He wouldn’t have to take a huge discount to make this work.
If the two sides come together, there is a chance we see a good arrangement here. Taylor Hall has started the signings for wingers, now let’s see if they continue.
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