The NHL just wrapped up some incredible outdoor games at Lake Tahoe. Now everyone is turning their attention back to the latest NHL rumours. One such rumour involves a recently waived player heading to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Seattle Kraken have options for their next head coach. Is Bruce Boudreau an option? Lastly, the Tampa Bay Lightning could be looking to the Nashville Predators for a defenceman. This is another edition of NHL Rumours.
NHL Rumours
Toronto Maple Leafs
Rumour: According to The Athletic’s James Mirtle, the Toronto Maple Leafs could get creative with their money and add Adam Henrique to the roster.
Should the Leafs look at someone like Adam Henrique? Exploring a creative way it might work https://t.co/GhYDvLBauM
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) February 24, 2021
Adam Henrique is in a very interesting situation. He is a highly talented forward who is currently making $5.8 million per year. He was also recently waived by the Anaheim Ducks. While he is probably not worth that cap hit, he is certainly a capable NHL forward. The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost two important forwards long term due to injuries. They could look to trade for Henrique.
Toronto is right up against the salary cap. They have almost no room to maneuver with. The benefit of having two players on long-term injured reserve is that their contracts no longer count against the cap. That gives the Maple Leafs a little bit of extra space. With some other pieces involved in the trade, Toronto could make it work. The biggest problem that they face is that Henrique has three years left on his contract past this season. That could cause problems for the team down the line.
Seattle Kraken
Rumour: The Athletic’s Ryan Clark is reporting that former Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau is interested in the Seattle Kraken head coach position.
It is certainly no secret that the Seattle Kraken will be starting to search for a head coach after this season. Bruce Boudreau is one option available to them as he was fired by the Minnesota Wild last season. Boudreau would also have an interest in coaching in Seattle. He has coached three different NHL franchises over the course of his career. His teams are 567-302-115 over the course of his career.
Those who remember Boudreau for his time in Minnesota should look to his career prior for a better understanding of his coaching talents. While he never really caught fire with the Wild, he coached perennial contenders with the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks. With Washington, his team never placed lower than second place in the division. In Anaheim, they placed first in the division in four out of five years. Boudreau has quite the coaching resume and could be an attractive option for the Kraken.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Rumour: According to reports from the Atheltic’s Joe Smith, Tampa Bay could look to add a right-handed defenceman to the roster.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have some of the best left-shot defencemen in the entire NHL in Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, and Mikhail Sergachev. Their right-shot defencemen are, well, much less impressive. This team could look to add a right-shot defender in their search for a second title in as many years. If they are going to do so, the Nashville Predators have a few affordable options.
Dante Fabbro and Matt Benning are options for Tampa Bay. The Lightning found themselves in salary cap hell this past offseason. The flat cap left the team with no room to maneuver with several large contracts. Fabbro is currently in the last year of his entry-level contract. Benning is making just $1 million. As long as the Tampa Bay Lightning send a player who is under contract back to Nashville in this deal, they have the space to make it happen.
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That does it for this edition of NHL Rumours. Be sure to check back for more tomorrow.
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