Welcome to the Tuesday edition of NHL Rumours! We are just a week away from the start of the NHL regular season. There is still one restricted free agent left as training camps wind down. And as the clock ticks on teams finalizing their rosters for opening night, the NHL rumours are starting to pick up. In today’s edition of NHL Rumours we look at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and Calgary Flames.
NHL Rumours
Toronto Maple Leafs
Rumour: Darren Dreger on TSN Radio speculates that current Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly‘s next contract will begin somewhere north of $8 million.
Analysis: As Dreger mentions Morgan Rielly made it clear at the start of training camp that he was not going to take a hometown discount and Dreger agrees he should not. He also mentions that Rielly is going to let his camp and general manager Kyle Dubas work things out as he wants to focus on the season. But as Dreger notes, when it is time for Rielly to get his money, he is going to as it is based on the body of work. And his body of work has allowed Rielly to have his next contract to begin around $8 million. And as Dreger notes anything around $8 million is a hometown discount.
It is a big year for Rielly too. The last couple of seasons have not been the greatest. Rielly was dealing with some injury problems. However, if he can have a solid bounce-back season with T.J. Brodie as he is partner, Rielly can command the dollar amount that he wants. Will he get is another question? But the Toronto Maple Leafs definitely have soul searching to do when it comes to Rielly. If there wasn’t a salary cap, it is a no-brainer, Rielly will be re-signed. But like the rest of the league, the Leafs live in a salary cap world. And the Maple Leafs will have to make the cap work for Rielly to come back.
Boston Bruins
Rumour: Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic speculates on what it would take to get Tomas Hertl to Boston to fill the second-line center position.
Analysis: The Boston Bruins have a position of need to fill ever since David Krejci left via free agency to sign in the Czech Republic. As Shinzawa writes the Bruins are right now going to look internally at the position. However, if they cannot find the right person to fill the second-line center role, they will have to look outside of the organization. One place to look is at Tomas Hertl of the San Jose Sharks.
However, as Shinzawa writes the cost for Hertl will be high. The Sharks will most likely want a first-round pick and a prospect given his age and production in the league thus far. Not to mention Hertl has a scoring touch similar to what Patrice Bergeron has on the first line. And Hertl would be an ideal fit for a guy like Taylor Hall. If the Bruins were able to bring in Hertl, he would be an upgrade over what they have now. What the Bruins do will come down to how either Charlie Coyle or Erik Haula play at the position. And will Boston want to give up a first-round draft pick this season considering how deep the upcoming NHL Draft is? One thing is for sure this is a position that needs to be filled quickly.
Calgary Flames
Rumour: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on the Jeff Marek show and stated that Jack Eichel would be open to being traded anywhere at this point to and one of the teams that continues to be interested is the Calgary Flames.
Friedman on The Jeff Marek Show talking about how Eichel would be open to go anywhere at this point: “One of the teams we knew that was really big into it was Calgary. Calgary really tried and not once did anyone ever say to me he (Eichel) wouldn’t go to Calgary”.
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) October 4, 2021
Analysis: The saga between the Buffalo Sabres and Jack Eichel has to be coming to an end right? Well it has taken this long why not wait a little longer. However, as Elliotte Friedman stated, at this point Eichel is willing to go just about anywhere to leave Buffalo. And that is where the Flames come. From the beginning the Flames have shown interest in Eichel. And are still interested in Eichel, if they can meet the asking price, which Buffalo is not budging on. Calgary feels he would be a useful asset to them down the middle. But that means the Flames would be giving up one of their core pieces to Buffalo plus some high level prospects and draft picks.
With word is getting around that Eichel has no preference where he goes, does the asking price go down? If the Flames continue to pursue Eichel, the Flames will have to give up some one big. The two names that come to mind are Johnny Gaudreau or Elias Lindholm. Considering that Gaudreau has a modified no trade clause, the best bet is Lindholm gets traded. Again this is all just speculation. None of these names have been mentioned, but most likely this is the starting point. It will be interesting to see if the Flames continue to pursue Eichel or if that train has sailed.
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