We’re in the dog days of August, but there are still a number of NHL rumours. The days may feel like they’re dragging on, but the rumour mill is still working. There are some teams that may be a year or two from contending. These clubs could provide some rental options to contending clubs that need a player or two. The non-contenders could get some nice returns and set themselves up for the future. Today’s NHL rumours focus on the Montreal Canadiens and the San Jose Sharks.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Montreal Canadiens
Rumour: The Athletic’s Arpon Basu held another summer mailbag session. This edition looked into the possibility of both David Savard and Mike Matheson getting traded as rental players during the next season.
Canadiens mailbag part one, on expectations for Slaf, managing the prospect pool and more. Part two comes out later this week. https://t.co/zAR7EHMd8i
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) July 31, 2023
Analysis: The Canadiens will have some salary cap space to play with after Carey Price gets put on the long-term injured reserve. Basu said the Habs would have around $15 million in cap space. However, this doesn’t include Arber Xhekaj, Justin Barron and Sam Montembeault.
Both Savard and Matheson could be enticing defensive options for contending teams. Savard has a manageable cap hit at $3.5 million for the next two seasons. A team could easily manage his cap hit. Matheson’s hit might be a little tougher to absorb with three more seasons at $4.875 million. Could Montreal possibly take some of the salary-cap hit?
There are plenty of names that could be moved like Josh Anderson and Christian Dvorak as well. Montreal could be saving up their cap space to make a run at a star player like a William Nylander in the coming off-season. The Swede could cost a pretty penny at over $10 million, but he could become a cornerstone of a rising young Canadiens lineup.
San Jose Sharks
Rumour: Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now looked into some possible late free agent additions for the Sharks.
Analysis: Elliotte Friedman had already discussed adding defenceman Matt Dumba, who is still a free agent. Dumba could sign a one or two-year deal and make himself a commodity for any contending club. He could slide into the top blueline spot if the ongoing Erik Karlsson trade saga ever comes to a conclusion.
Another name Peng mentioned was Tomas Tatar. The veteran forward could add some scoring pop to a young lineup. Tatar has seven seasons of 20 goals or more. He could also be a valuable addition to a contending team if the Sharks want to flip him for assets.
The last name is Max Comtois, who is also still a free agent. Comtois is a physical forward that could be a boon to the bottom part of any lineup. He has an edge to him and can be a gritty forward a team needs for deep Stanley Cup Playoff runs.
Main photo by: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports
