Hello and welcome to our Monday edition of NHL rumours with the playoffs and off-season approaching around the corner. Teams are busy readying themselves for the Stanley Cup playoffs and beyond. Continue to check in with Last Word on Hockey for the best news and analysis as time marches forward. Today’s NHL rumours feature the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and location of the women’s world championships.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Toronto Maple Leafs
Rumour: The Athletic’s James Mirtle talks about who the Leafs goalies will be next season in his latest mailbag.
The latest Mirtbag is full of Leafy goodness ⬇️ https://t.co/08JatEbMYQ
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) May 2, 2021
Analysis: It seems like Frederik Andersen and David Rittich will be on the way out barring a change of heart. Jack Campbell will come back, but general manager Kyle Dubas will need to find an insurance policy for him. There’s a very good crop of free agent goalies like Philipp Grubauer, Jaroslav Halak, Chris Driedger and others. However, juggling the cap number will be a challenge and Driedger is a player the Seattle Kraken like.
Mirtle said plenty hinges on how much the Leafs can get Zach Hyman to re-sign for. He projects the lineup with Hyman settling for a $4.5 million cap hit. This would leave $4.4 million left in space based on getting their veterans to ink lower-end deals. The projection also comes based on if the Kraken take Travis Dermott in the expansion draft.
That cap number can go up if Seattle selects Alexander Kerfoot and takes his $3.5 million deal. However, that would leave a hole at the centre spot the team would need to fill cheaply.
Boston Bruins
Rumour: The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa looks into the possibility of David Krejci returning to the Bruins.
David Krejci is man-bunning, sauce-slinging, and dangling his way into a new deal. https://t.co/dozJdz4oZW
— Fluto Shinzawa (@FlutoShinzawa) April 30, 2021
Analysis: The Czech forward has played his way into getting a new extension according to Shinzawa. Krejci is 35 and his contract runs out at the end of this season. He currently makes $7.25 million per season and one wonders what cap number he’d take to stay the club.
Krejci has flourished on a lone with Taylor Hall and Craig Smith since the former’s acquisition. The veteran pivot had six goals and four assists in the 10 games since picking up Hall. Both of them are free agents and may be a package deal in between July 21 expansion draft and July 28 start of free agency.
Charlie Coyle‘s slow start and the slowed development of Jack Studnicka could force the B’s to re-sign Krejci. However, he may be worth keeping around at the way he’s producing since the big deal.
Women’s IIHF Worlds
Rumour: Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman said that Alberta will likely host the rescheduled women’s IIHF World Championships in late August.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1388678415277076482
Analysis: IIHF President Rene Fasel confirmed the event will likely be in Canada. The Nova Scotia government called off the event slated to run May 6-16 in Halifax and Truro. Fasel added it’s in Hockey Canada’s hands on where the event will be held.
Freidman added that Calgary has been pushing hard to host the women’s hockey showcase. Edmonton did a great job hosting the NHL bubble last year and handled the IIHF World Juniors tournament. Red Deer is slated to be part of the proceedings for the World Juniors for 2022. Calgary certainly looks like a place that can handle a tournament of this magnitude.
The tournament was set for late August so players can go back to their club teams. It also won’t interfere with the start of the Olympic qualifying tournament in November.
Hopefully Nova Scotia can get back in the rotation and host the event some time. Ron MacLean even wanted tiny Prince Edward Island to get a crack at holding the tournament.
