It’s Monday and that means we got more NHL rumours. Today is another West Coast bias edition of the NHL rumours with all of them based in the Western Conference. Heck, let’s make it an all Pacific Division version. Today’s NHL rumours focus on the San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
San Jose Sharks
Rumour: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman during 32 Thoughts on Hockey Night in Canada talked about the futures of Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1523117370323390464
Analysis: The rumour is that a couple of teams have engaged the Sharks in preliminary talks for Karlsson. Trading Karlsson or Burns would be a seismic move and be a game-changer if a contender gets either of them. Friedman added he doesn’t think a trade involving Karlsson will happen, but it brings up an interesting situation.
Both Burns and Karlsson are very good defencemen, but both are on the right side of the defence. Friedman added that Burns’ contract would be easier to move as it runs out in the 2024-25 season. His cap hit is $8 million while Karlsson carries $11 million per season until the end of the 2026-27 season.
Friedman added that it might be proof the pair haven’t meshed on the Sharks, who are still going through a general manager search. The new GM will still treat the team as a contender. However, having two elite right-shooting defenceman is a luxury and their may be a move involving either one of them.
Vancouver Canucks
Rumour: Staying with 32 Thoughts, Jeff Marek said the Canucks could be making an offer sheet together this off-season.
Analysis: General Manager Patrik Allvin and President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford will be busy this summer. There’s the matter of the Brock Boeser contract and possibly extending J.T. Miller. Let’s also not forget that Bruce Boudreau is still not in the fold as the team’s head coach.
Vancouver did make a late-season surge and pushed for a playoff spot after a terrible first half. However, there still may be some moves to bed done this off-season. The ball may have gotten rolling when Vancouver got its third-round pick back in the Travis Hamonic trade to the Ottawa Senators.
Marek explains a team must have a first and a third in order to offer sheet a team. However, those need to be picks owned by the team making the offer sheet. Vancouver getting the pick from Ottawa makes this possible. There’s a big crop of restricted free agents and the Canucks would like to get in on the fun. It’s always a risky game with the offer sheet, but they could become more of a factor in the flat-cap world.
Seattle Kraken
Rumour: The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark looks out at what the Kraken may have to do this off-season.
So what's next for the Kraken now that the offseason has started?
Here's a hint: There’s a lot. #SeaKraken https://t.co/KGmrjGKEef
— Ryan S. Clark (@ryan_s_clark) May 2, 2022
Analysis: Seattle was smart and locked down Jared McCann and also gave deals to Matty Beniers and Ryker Evans during the season. This leaves Seattle’s cap situation quite manageable this off-season.
The main issue is trying to lock down RFA forward Ryan Donato after a productive first season. Donato signing with the Kraken was late in the game, but it proved to be one of GM Ron Francis‘ better signings. He was supposed to be a bottom-six depth signing, but did more than that with the Kraken.
He finished with a career-high 16 goals and 31 points. Seattle still has a year of team control and kick the can down the road with a one-year deal. Donato would then become an unrestricted free agent next season. Donato is one of seven RFAs on Seattle’s roster, but he should be one of the easier decisions to bring back.
