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NHL Rumours: New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild

NHL Rumours

We’ve got so many NHL rumours at this point that we decided to give you a second edition. Plenty of NHL rumours are flying as general managers prepare for the expansion and NHL Drafts. The deals are only going to get going with the season’s end upon us. Today’s NHL rumours focus on the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild.

All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.

NHL Rumours

New York Rangers

Rumour: The Athletic’s Rick Carpinello looked at the Rangers trying to lock up Adam Fox to a long-term deal.

Analysis: Fox became the first player to win the Norris Trophy in his second season since Bobby Orr. The Harvard defenceman has proven that he’s worthy of a pay raise when his deal runs out at the end of next season.

He currently makes $925,000 and will get a nice little bump in all likelihood. However, there are some wanting him to get locked up to a long-term deal. General manager Chris Drury has time before he has to give Fox a blockbuster deal. The Jericho, New York native has some more years that he’s a restricted free agent.

This and the flat cap era means that teams will be more reluctant to give long-term extensions unless they have to. New York will give Fox the deal worthy of being a top-tier defenceman. However, they have time to get maybe one more deal in before having to break the bank for him.

Edmonton Oilers

Rumour: The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli listed winger James Neal as one of his 10 likely buyout candidates.

Analysis: General manager Ken Holland has stated that he’ll likely use one buyout and Neal seems like the most likely candidate. The 33-year-old forward has two years at $5.75 million left on his contract. However, the production hasn’t been there enough for the team to justify that large of a deal.

He finished with 10 points from 29 games in an injury-riddled campaign. The team would have $1.92 million left in dead cap space if they do complete the buyout. However, the initial savings of $4 million for the next two campaigns would be a big boon to the club.

Edmonton does have needs they need to fill on defence and does have to lock down players like restricted free agent Kailer Yamamoto this offseason. The Oilers could maximize that space to try and make some needed changes after their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs exit.

Minnesota Wild

Rumour: NHL.com Wild reporter Jessi Pierce offered an update on the Kirill Kaprizov negotiations.

Analysis: General manager Bill Guerin said there’s “a deal to be had here.” He’s also been on outlets like SiriusXM’s NHL Network Radio’s The Power Play offering his thoughts on the negotiations with the Calder Trophy winner. He said that he’s confident that both sides will get a deal done.

The dynamic Russian can become a restricted free agent on July 28 and someone could try to offer sheet him. Minnesota’s GM would like to sign the young forward to a long-term deal, but Kaprizov is hoping for a shorter to mid-term deal. The Wild did nail down Joel Eriksson Ek to an eight-year deal, but Kaprizov is going to be a different situation.

Guerin also talked about getting a new deal for Kevin Fiala done and he may fall into a similar position as Kaprizov. Both probably might not give the team the long-term contract that Eriksson Ek got. However, it seems like they do want to stay together. The Wild really haven’t been this exciting of a team in a long time, but keeping this trio together would help that. Minnesota should get these deals done, but it might take some time.

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Dan Mount, Editor

Dan Mount, Editor

Longtime sportswriter for the Watertown Daily Times. I have covered minor league and NCAA hockey in women's Division I and men's Division III. Also produce the nationally-syndicated Spadora on Sports radio show.

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