It’s Sunday and we’ve got another edition of NHL rumours to wrap up the weekend. Players aren’t the only ones that may be on the move in the coming off-season. We’ll talk about the possible coaching carousel, but we’ll have player news as well. Today’s NHL rumours focus on the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres.
All NHL Rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Vancouver Canucks
Rumour: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in the latest 32 Thoughts with Jeff Marek talked about the possible coaching rollercoaster ride. Canucks bench boss Bruce Boudreau‘s name came up as part of the conversation.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1510433659794468876
Analysis: There are coaches like Dallas Eakins, Rick Bowness and others that are on expiring or interim deals. Andrew Brunette is in the last year of his assistant contract with the Florida Panthers while Mike Yeo and Jay Woodcroft are among those that are on interim agreements.
Boudreau is on his one-year deal with Vancouver after replacing Travis Green. He’s helped the Canucks get back into the playoff mix, but there’s still an air of uncertainty about him returning. There is an option for next season, but he can refuse to sign and go back on the open market. If Vancouver declines the option, they’ll have to pay Boudreau.
In any case, the Canucks brass has a lot to think about. Vancouver was struggling before Boudreau righted the ship and he should get a full season to see what he can do.
Boston Bruins
Rumour: The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa looked at what the Boston Bruins may do with their defence in the off-season.
Less than a week after the Bruins acquired a left-shot defenseman, we study the possibilities of trading a left-shot defenseman. https://t.co/7Wb4oWGe2H
— Fluto Shinzawa (@FlutoShinzawa) March 24, 2022
Analysis: The Bruins getting Hampus Lindholm got them another left-handed shot on defence. That makes things a bit cluttered, so that means a trade might be happening to clear out the clutter.
Lindholm’s long-term deal gives him job security and makes other lefties on defence expendable. Players like Matt Grzelcyk, Derek Forbort, Mike Reilly are all the lefthanders on the Bruins’ defence. Forbort did play on his off side in Friday’s practice, so he can move around the lineup.
Lindholm, Grzelcyk, Forbort and Reilly combine for a $16,187,500 cap hit and Jack Ahcan is a restricted free agent. A trade would allow the Bruins to allocate their money somewhere else. It could also allow them to replenish the draft pick supply that they usually go through at the deadline.
Shinzawa added that a trade would likely happen in and around the NHL Draft. This would allow the Bruins to have a game plan going into the July free agent period.
Buffalo Sabres
Runour: We go back to Friedman’s written 32 Thoughts column where he talks about the future of Craig Anderson with the club.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1509525261716447237
Analysis: Anderson has been a steadying force in net for the Sabres, who have gotten a lot better in recent weeks. The soon-to-be 41-year-old is 13-9-2 with a 3.06 goals-against-average. The GAA and save percentage may not be the best, but Anderson has been battling as part of Buffalo’s 9-3-3 run in the last 15.
Sabres’ management has expressed that they want the Park Ridge, Ill. native to return for his 2oth season. However, the ball is in Anderson’s court. He’ll be 41 in May and there’s always the worry that this season’s run is sort of a last gasp.
Buffalo does have goalies such Devon Levi and Erik Portillo, but they haven’t signed with the club and are mulling over another year in college. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Malcolm Subban and Dustin Tokarski are all also in the mix. All three of those goalies have been bitten by the injury bug,
Anderson could serve as a solid insurance policy or a mentor to the younger goalies. It would be nice if the Sabres could answer the long-term goalie question, but Anderson has been playing like a good short-term solution.
