Welcome to another day of NHL Rumours! The rumour mill is churning faster and faster and the growing buzz around the league has grown large. There are wonderful things happening in the league regarding the NHL draft location and the salary cap. The final part is what concerns today’s Rumours and the moves to make. Today we focus on the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers.
NHL Rumours
Toronto Maple Leafs
Rumour: Elliote Friedman discusses that the Maple Leafs defensive search broadens out to Rasmus Ristolainen
Our first set of NHL Rumours concerns the Maple Leafs. The Toronto Maple Leafs are in desperate need of defencemen. They have placed John Klingberg on long term injured reserve, which has created a hole on their units. Brad Treliving has done his due diligence and has poked around the Calgary Flames for extra help. However, they missed out on Nikita Zadorov and are still making a run for Chris Tanev. Although, the approach may be different than in years past.
Under Kyle Dubas, the Maple Leafs were going for it all in the attempts to win the Stanley Cup. Given the current core group, investing in them is a wise decision. Toronto is having a successful campaign, as they sit fifth in the Atlantic Division and are four points away from second place. One glaring issue is the inability to win in regulation. Toronto has five regulation wins, which is tied for last in the league. The company they are in regarding this statistic is not good. Many wonder what does the team do from here. Do they go all in and acquire rentals? Or with the some of core group locked up long term do they plan for the near future to contend further?
In an interview with Treliving, he made things clear where his thinking is at. In his search for defence he said, “Would we like improve the defence? Absolutely,” Treliving said. “It all comes at a cost. There just isn’t a lot of high-end defencemen that people are dying to give you for low cost. Ultimately, what is the cost you’re going to have to pay for somebody to come in and make a significant difference?
The Player That Could Fit
This brings us to the player that Friedman links to the Maple Leafs. He mentions that they have interest in Rasmus Ristolainen from the Philadelphia Flyers. This fits the mould of wanting to acquire someone potentially with term, as he is locked up for four years and has a salary cap hit of $5.1 million. Ristolainen is coming off one of his worst defensive seasons but has term and can a lot into the top four. With the Flyers competing but also in the midst of a rebuild, a deal could be made. Get the popcorn ready as the defensive search continues in Maple Leaf land.
Edmonton Oilers
Rumour: Elliote Friedman discusses the interest regarding Philip Broberg
The next set of NHL Rumours stay in Canada. If there is one team that has garnered the most attention it is the Edmonton Oilers. They fired the coach, sent down the goalie, but Connor McDavid is back to producing like his normal self. However, the trade rumours keep flying and concern more than one position.
The Oilers have made it clear they will let Philip Broberg talk to other teams. It has been released to the world and the interest is there. Instead of letting him sit and be a healthy scratch, Broberg could be sent down to the AHL and sharpen up his skills more. The d-man would be a highly coveted asset for any team looking for depth. He is young and is only entering his third season. Broberg has skated in ten games this season but has zero points. Moreover, he has two seasons under his belt and has a total of 11 points.
Friedman mentioned that he thought Broberg would be sent down sooner to make room for Jack Campbell. He is led to believe that the Oilers will give Campbell another shot but that has not come yet. All eyes are on the Oilers for multiple reasons but also for their young defender.
Main Photo: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
