The NHL season is in full swing. There are lots of moves being made still while each team figures out what is working and what isn’t for their roster. With lots of moving parts in the background, there are numerous NHL rumours as a result. Today we will be looking at NHL rumours surrounding the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Nashville Predators.
NHL Rumours
Edmonton Oilers
Rumour: According to Allan Mitchell of The Athletic, the Oilers should be looking at Jesse Puljujarvi‘s breakout this season and be protecting him and exposing a valuable defenceman instead.
Analysis: Puljujarvi has gotten off to one of the best starts of his career. While his offence is nothing to gawk at, and often dependent on playing with Connor McDavid, his defence is where he really shines. With the Oilers being one of the worst defensive teams in the league, they should cling to any defensive piece they have. They don’t need Puljujarvi to score, as they have McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to do that.
Puljujarvi has also scored less than his ixG at all strengths, so there is an indicator that his lacklustre goal totals could pick up as well. Puljujarvi, with the way he has been playing to start the season, seems much more valuable than a player like Caleb Jones, or another player that Edmonton may have to let go at the expansion.
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Carolina Hurricanes
Rumour: According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the Hurricanes and head coach Rob Brind’Amour have been discussing an extension.
Analysis: Since taking over as head coach before the start of the 2018-19 season, Brind’Amour has a 96-59-13 record. He has led them to the playoffs both seasons he’s been head coach, reaching the Conference Final in 2019, and the Conference Semi-Final in 2020. The Hurricanes have been the most successful they have been in years since Brind’Amour has taken over.
The team has been successful in both the regular season and the playoffs since he as taken over. This is a combination of good trades from GM Don Waddell, the good performance from the players on the ice, and the coaching Brind’Amour has provided. It would be foolish for the Hurricanes to mess with something that is clearly working for them on-ice.
Owner Tom Dundon has said that he fully intends for Brind’Amour with the team for a long time. Dundon has said on multiple occasions that money is not an issue for the Hurricanes, no matter how much people hype it up to be. With this knowledge, it should be mostly in Brind’Amour’s court on whether he wants to be back long term with the Hurricanes.
Nashville Predators
Rumour: According to Adam Vingan of The Athletic, the Predators could potentially be looking at a comparable, yet lesser, package for Forsberg to what the Ottawa Senators received for Mark Stone.
Analysis: It seems like the Predators window is closing and a rebuild is a matter of time. They have some pieces of the future, but a lot of the old guard still remains. Filip Forsberg is a fantastic player, and will certainly fetch a hefty price in a trade. With still a year left on his deal after this one, that could add to the players value.
Mark Stone was able to fetch a 2020 second-round pick, Oscar Lindberg, and the biggest piece in top defensive prospect Erik Brannstrom. While Forsberg isn’t a Mark Stone calibre player, the basic pieces of the trade make sense. A pick, a player to fill out the roster, and the biggest piece being a prospect. It likely wouldn’t match the same quality of pieces that Stone got, but Forsberg will still get the Predators a good return and help move the rebuild along, should they end up trading him.
That concludes the NHL rumours for today!
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