It’s Saturday, and we’re back with another edition of NHL rumours. To kick things off, we’ll start with the Montreal Canadiens making moves this offseason. We’ll follow that up with the Boston Bruins interviewing a head coaching candidate. We’ll finish things off with the Chicago Blackhawks listening to offers about one of their key players.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Montreal Canadiens
Rumour: according to Eric Engels, Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes stated that that there will be “More news to come” when it comes to offseason moves.
Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson and VP of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton have named Kent Hughes as the team’s 18th general manager in franchise history: https://t.co/9fwXYt8HhK#TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/MEGRFL9sMM
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) January 18, 2022
Analysis: This isn’t surprising coming from Montreal. They just came off a franchise worst season, and made a lot of front office changes. Now that it has been addressed, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton have set their sights on the on-ice personnel. The Canadiens have major problems they need to address, and they have begun that process with trading Shea Weber‘s contract to the Vegas Golden Knights for forward Evgenii Dadonov. Other names which may move include Jeff Petry, and Josh Anderson. There is also pressure on the Canadiens to name a new captain, especially now that Weber is gone. The candidate that people have been agreeing on is forward Nick Suzuki, with fans showing their opinions across social media.
The Canadiens also have a goaltending issue, as it is unclear whether Carey Price plays next season. if that is the case, the Canadiens will need to go out and acquire a starter to go alongside Jake Allen. It will be one of the young goaltenders in the farm system, as the Canadiens need to allow them to have a shot at the NHL level.
There are a lot of questions the Canadiens still need to answer. Now is the time for them to do that.
Boston Bruins
Rumour: The Boston Bruins will interview for the Bruins’ vacant head coaching position, according to PuckReportNHL on Twitter.
Analysis: Although this is a controversial candidate for a head coaching position considering that Quinn wasn’t too popular when he was coaching the New York Rangers. He is still a solid coach and can provide a different voice for a Bruins team that needs it. Bruce Cassidy was a good coach, and the team was having success with him. However, there were some personal conflicts between management and classify, which lead to his departure. With that news coming to light, this Bruins team will need a new voice to instill a new sense of confidence in the team. Boston is looking to get over the hump that they were dying to clear since their 2011 Stanley Cup victory.
The Bruins have interviewed several candidates recently, and one of them is another former successful collegiate coach, with Jim Montgomery interviewing for the head coaching spot only a few days prior.
Chicago Blackhawks
Rumour: The Chicago Blackhawks are listening to offers on forward Alex DeBrincat. They are looking for a package that includes a young player, high draft picks, and top prospects according to PuckReportNHL on Twitter.
Analysis: The Blackhawks are starting their second straight rebuild, as they are now listening to talks on DeBrincat. This isn’t a surprise that he would be traded. He has been over a point per game once in his NHL career. It is clear that they were looking for someone to fill Patrick Kane‘s shoes, but that isn’t the case so far. his best seasons in the NHL were 56 points in 52 games in 2021, and 76 points in 82 games this past season.
If the Blackhawks get the package they are looking for in exchange for DeBrincat, it could put them on the right track to success. Their recent transactions have been a disaster, with both Marc-Andre Fleury and Seth Jones performing nowhere near where expectations had them. This is the time for the Blackhawks to properly execute a trade and get the most value out of him. However, this is only listening for now, and there hasn’t been any reported negotiations yet.
