It’s time once again for another edition of NHL rumours. Today is another West Coast bias edition where we feature Western teams. Some big-time players are going to have their futures decided this off-season. The trade deadline is over, but we got plenty of NHL rumours. Today’s edition has the Vancouver Canucks, Arizona Coyotes and San Jose Sharks.
All NHL Rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Vancouver Canucks
Rumour: The Donnie and Dhali Show caught up with Elliotte Friedman and they talked about J.T. Miller‘s future with the club.
Analysis: Many thought Miller was going to be traded at the deadline, but General Manager Patrik Allvin decided against trading him. Miller does have another year at $5.25 million to be paid out. He’s been a big part of the Canucks’ resurgence and has 28 goals so far this season. The Ohio native was in demand, but the Canucks feel they can make a playoff push with him.
Friedman and company speculated that it would take a deal as Mika Zibanejad got with the New York Rangers to make Miller stay. Zibanejad got an eight-year, $68 million deal to stay with the Blueshirts. The 29-year-old has been looking for a big-money, long-term deal.
Vancouver managed to punt the question into the summer, but a decision will have to be made. Friedman said that things could go either way, but the Canucks may not want to give out a ton of long-term deals. It harkens back to the situation with Hampus Lindholm and the Anaheim Ducks. Both sides tried making a deal, but Anaheim cut bait and sent the Swede to the Boston Bruins.
Arizona Coyotes
Rumour: Zack Cook of Sports Grid talked to TSN’s Chris Johnston about the possibility of Shea Weber‘s contract being sent to the Arizona Coyotes. This would have been part of a larger deal.
Chris Johnston "I think there was actually a much bigger trade discussed between the Coyotes and Habs, there were roster players involved so it was a complex deal that didnt end up happening but it could be revisited at the draft" #GoHabsGo
— Zack (@ZackCookSports) March 24, 2022
Analysis: Weber is pretty much retired after accumulating many injuries across his playing career. Johnston added that a much larger deal involving roster players was being discussed, but time ran out on the trade deadline. Arizona has taken on various “dead” contracts like Pavel Datsyuk, Chris Pronger and others to do other teams a favour. They’ve also gotten sweeteners out of that for being helpful.
The Coyotes could be doing that again with Weber and his contract, but there are plenty of moving pieces. Montreal would like to get some players to restart its rebuild. However, Arizona also wants to improve itself.
Johnston did mention that the deal could be revisited at the NHL Draft. There’s more time to complete a trade and it would give both clubs time to assess the situation before the start of free agency.
San Jose Sharks
Rumour: Corey Masisak of The Athletic goes over the crowded crease in San Jose after the Sharks traded for Kaapo Kahkonen at the deadline.
It was a relatively quiet deadline day for the Sharks, but the one big move they made – along with a couple they did not – could help shape what is shaping up to be a critical offseason for the franchise. https://t.co/YxdemSOcFc
— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) March 22, 2022
Analysis: The Sharks have three goalies that have started in the league after getting Kahkonen in the Jacob Middleton trade. Adin Hill and James Reimer are also on the main roster, bust Zach Sawchenko has also seen time in the crease.
Kahkonen is a restricted free agent at the end of the season and will be looking for a raise from his $725,000 salary. Reimer and Hill both have a year left on their respective deals. Hill was an RFA but signed a two-year contract after being acquired from the Coyotes.
Reimer was talked about as an option that could have been moved at the deadline, but he wasn’t. There are teams like Edmonton, Toronto, Washington and others that could use cheap options in net. Both Reimer and Hill are just over $2 million in their respective cap hits, which would be easy for teams to swallow.
This flexibility can give the Sharks a chance to pile up even more picks and assets. Sharks’ management has a big decision ahead of itself this summer.
