Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours! John Tavares reached 1000 points in his career, which is remarkable. The Edmonton Oilers are on a roll and Connor McDavid is back to producing at his regular rate. However, there are other things swirling around the league and the rumour mill is churning. Today we focus on the Boston Bruins and the Arizona Coyotes.
NHL Rumours
Boston Bruins
Rumour: Renaud Lavoie from Sports Net adds a wrinkle to the Noah Hanifin trade talks
The first domino has fallen for the Calgary Flames and more is to come. With the number of expiring contracts on hand, moving on if the player isn’t inclined to sign is good asset management. Chris Tanev is going to garner the most attention, but Noah Hanifin is an attractive piece.
There have been a few teams linked to trading for his services. The Arizona Coyotes are looking to bolster the blue line and are in competition with the New York Islanders and the Boston Bruins. The wrinkle that Lavoie throws into the mix is that Hanifin knows where he wants to go. This could make things challenging for Craig Conroy, as he could have a hard time finding suitors for his services.
It’s no secret that the Bruins would be interested, as Don Sweeney was eager to draft him. Unfortunately, that did not happen and now he has circled back around the player. As great as it may seem to have Hanifin in the black and gold, acquiring a rental has its downside.
The Bruins have a well-rounded defensive core but players such as Matt Grzelcyk and Derek Forbort are on expiring contracts. With the emergence of Mason Lohrei and other pressing needs, paying another top-four defenceman may not be wise.
Trading for rentals is always risky and if the Bruins are to make a pitch for Hanifin, an extension in place would make the most sense.
Arizona Coyotes
Rumour: Elliote Friedman on the Jeff Marek Show discusses the future of Karel Vejmelka
Our next set of NHL Rumours takes us to the desert. The Arizona Coyotes are an intriguing hockey team to watch. They’ve defied expectations and find themselves in the wild card slots. Management has been poking around Noah Hanifin but could end up parting ways with a player as well. That player is goaltender Karel Vejmelka.
Vejmelka had a strong season last year for the Coyotes. Despite the club being porous defensively, Vejmelka shut the door and provided good goaltending, as he finished with 11.1 goals saved above expected. However, this season has not gone as planned for Vejmelka.
He has been outplayed by Connor Ingram, who has been one of the hottest goalies out of the gate this season. Ingram currently sits ninth in goals saved above expected (9.4) and has a 2.52 goals against average and .920 save percentage. That success hasn’t translated to Vejmelka, who has a save percentage below .900 and a negative goals saved above expected (-6.0).
According to Friedman, Vejmelka has not garnered a lot of the starts and has not been practicing a lot. Vejmelka would be an attractive piece, as he has shown he can be a steady presence in the crease. Furthermore, he is not a rental and has one more season beyond this one at a salary cap hit of $2.725 million.
It will be something to monitor, as it appears the Coyotes are placing their faith in Ingram.
Main Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
