The playoffs are in full swing, with some teams already being eliminated. Still, there are NHL rumours to be discussed. On how the eliminated teams can improve for next season. As well as how can teams make themselves better for the 2022-23 season. Today we will be looking at NHL rumours surrounding the Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, and San Jose Sharks.
NHL Rumours
Vancouver Canucks
Rumour: Elliotte Friedman said on the Donnie and Dhali show that the Vancouver Canucks could look at adding Mike Yeo to their staff as an assistant coach.
Analysis: The Vancouver Canucks have really been moving in the right direction since firing Jim Benning. With Bruce Boudreau heading up the coaching position again this season, the team is set for that position. However, Yeo was recently let go by the Philadelphia Flyers and doesn’t have a team next season. Yeo is no stranger to joining an organization in a lesser role than the one he previously held. After being let go by the Minnesota Wild, he was hired by the St. Louis Blues. In that role, he was set to take over when Ken Hitchcock left the team. That is exactly what occurred.
Of course, it’s a different scenario than when Yeo was in St. Louis. The Canucks don’t seem to anticipate Boudreau going anywhere anymore. It will likely be more akin to the situation with Dave Hakstol, where he took an assistant coaching opportunity until a head coaching opportunity came around.
New Jersey Devils
Rumour: According to Lisa Dillman of The Athletic, the New Jersey Devils are the apparent frontrunners for trading for Kevin Fiala.
Analysis: Fiala is a fantastic, young player. He has finally been given competent linemates and has begun producing like everyone knew he could. However, the Wild have a bottleneck coming up for their salary cap that forces their hand. The New Jersey Devils have a really good young core of players with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Luke Hughes. They desperately need some players to fill out the rest of their roster, though.
Fiala could come in as an experienced, but still young enough player. He would act as a mentor to a young group that can still be competitive down the line with the rest of the team. The Devils have the cap space to extend him with term too. It seems like the perfect match. The Devils have lots of picks and prospects to work with in order to acquire a player of his reputation.
San Jose Sharks
Rumour: Elliotte Friedman said on the Jeff Marek Show that Mike Grier could be a candidate for the general manager position in San Jose.
Analysis: The Sharks organization seems to want someone that knows the organization for this position. Mike Grier used to play for the Sharks in the late 2000s. Grier is currently with the New York Rangers organization as an advisor in hockey ops. Whoever they hire needs to take proper stock of where the team is at, though. The recent Tomas Hertl signing suggests they currently think they’re more competitive than they actually are. The Sharks are in a really difficult position and it would take a general manager to come in and sort the mess out. They will need to either make the team more competitive with very few assets to leverage in a trade or go into a rebuild with multiple large, long contracts. It will be very interesting to see what direction the Sharks go.
That’s all for today’s NHL Rumours!
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