Hello and welcome to a Sunday edition of NHL Rumours! NHL free agency is much quieter since the first day, but things are still happening. Teams are still trying to fill roster holes and acquire depth for what should be an intense season in 2021-22. Today’s NHL rumours feature the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, and Minnesota Wild.<\/p>\n
Rumour:<\/em> James Mirtle of The Athletic recently<\/a> dove into whether Toronto could do more at this point in the offseason.<\/em><\/p>\n Analysis:\u00a0<\/em>It’s fair to call Toronto’s offseason underwhelming. They have let several key contributors from last year walk away and the replacements are largely very boring outside of Petr Mrazek<\/a>. It was inevitable that a team as close to the cap ceiling as the Leafs would struggle for moves, but it’s still not the most inspired summer thus far.<\/p>\n It is also exceptionally difficult to see them doing anymore than what they have done. Their most recent additions<\/a> of Nick Ritchie<\/a> and<\/a> Ondrej Kase<\/a> will help fill out the middle of the roster, but both have their problems. Ritchie has been fairly inconsistent despite being a top-10 selection in 2014. Kase has flashed scoring ability, but is apparently made of paper and glass with just 207 games in five seasons. It isn’t as though Toronto has much depth behind them unless they are willing to finally leverage some of their prospect depth. They may be forced to use players like Nicholas Robertson<\/a> out of necessity.<\/p>\n The Leafs may want to consider trading at least one of the middle-six options for either space or more firepower. That could be someone like Ilya Mikheyev<\/a> and his cap hit of $1.645 million. The only thing that seems safe to assume is that this is not a championship roster, but the front office has not been shy about making moves regardless of cap difficulty.<\/p>\n Rumour:\u00a0The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy recently provided Buffalo’s asking price from the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019m hearing the Buffalo ask for Eichel from Vegas is Smith, Peyton Krebs, Nic Hague and a first-rounder.<\/p>\n — Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) July 27, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nBuffalo Sabres<\/h3>\n
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