Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours! Tough news coming out of Vegas with Mark Stone landing on injured reserve. That helps put the Vegas Golden Knights in a bind. Other teams could be in a bind with how to approach the trade deadline, which is getting closer. Today’s Rumours focus on the Golden Knights and Florida Panthers.
NHL Rumours
Vegas Golden Knights
Rumour: Frank Seravelli from Daily Faceoff discusses the Golden Knights acquiring a winger.
FIVE UNDER THE RADAR TRADE ACQUISITIONS to consider before the 2024 deadline:
The list from @SEllisHockey includes Nick Seeler of the #LetsGoFlyers, Arthur Kaliyev of the #GoKingsGo and more.
Story:https://t.co/rbH5ZUxDIo
— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) February 23, 2024
Analysis: The Stanley Cup Champions are experiencing a massive hangover. Except the hangover is the injury bug. Over the course of the 2023-24 season, key players have missed time. Most notably, Jack Eichel is on long term injured reserve after he underwent a knee procedure. In addition, Stone has been placed on injured reserve and his status is that he will be out a while. All signs point to the team making a move for a winger.
Servaelli says that the Golden Knights have been looking for a winger for a while now. The team is deep down the middle and on the blue line but having extra scoring on the wings is huge. The absence of Stone creates a much needed void for Vegas and they are looking to fill it. Two names come to mind when discussing wingers and that is Jake Guentzel and Reilly Smith.
With the Pittsburgh Penguins outside of the playoff picture, they could take calls on certain players. Smith is a player that was acquired over the summer from the Golden Knights. Reuniting with the former player would do wonders, as he fit like a glove his entire tenure with the club. This season, Smith has 10 goals and 23 points in 47 games, which is a bit of a drop from his 56 point season last year.
Guentzel is an intriguing piece. He has been a point per game player for the Penguins and sits second in points on the team. It remains to be seen how the Penguins approach things with him but he is an immediate upgrade in the Vegas lineup. Depending on the salary cap space at the deadline, the Golden Knights could be active.
Florida Panthers
Rumour: Elliote Friedman and Jeff Marek on TJMS discuss the aforementioned Smith being a fit for the Panthers.
Catch this week's episode of #MvsW featuring @JeffMarek & @wyshynski
🏒 Who are the best wingers in the #NHL?
🏒 Top trade deadline targets
🏒 John Tortorella's fit with #LetsGoFlyers+ more!
🎧 https://t.co/xE1m7ZZlGa
📺 SN360 & SN+ (12-2pm)— Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) February 21, 2024
Analysis: The next set of NHL Rumours takes us to the Atlantic Division. One team that may not get enough love and attention is the Florida Panthers. They have knocked on the door of the Boston Bruins for the division lead and could look to upgrade the roster. Florida is a deep hockey team and has a plethora of talent. An already good team could look to get better and it comes on the wings. One player that could be a fit is Smith.
Smith could be back in Vegas or he could return to another former team in the Panthers. Florida is one of the strongest teams at five on five play and has high offensive weapons. Adding Smith would give them a proven depth scorer and someone who would fit right in.
He is a player that has hit the 50 point plateau four times and notched 60 points in 2017-18. Smith is more than capable of scoring 20+ goals a season and would thrive playing with Aleksander Barkov or Sam Bennett. With the east being wide open, the all in approach by Billy Zito is not a bad idea.
Main Photo: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
