{"id":54297,"date":"2019-08-17T09:00:50","date_gmt":"2019-08-17T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=54297"},"modified":"2019-08-17T09:00:50","modified_gmt":"2019-08-17T13:00:50","slug":"nhl-rumours-winnipeg-jets-los-angeles-kings-edmonton-oilers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/08\/17\/nhl-rumours-winnipeg-jets-los-angeles-kings-edmonton-oilers\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As we get closer to training camps, NHL rumours are still popping up on a daily basis and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Last Word on Hockey<\/a> is here to report them. Teams are yet to sign big free agents and their futures remain uncertain. Today we will cover NHL rumours concerning the<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/jets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Winnipeg Jets<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/kings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Kings,<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/oilers\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Edmonton Oilers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>All NHL Rumours come from their original source and are subject to change.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>NHL Rumours<\/h2>\n<h3>Winnipeg Jets<\/h3>\n<p><em>Rumour: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/hockey\/nhl\/patrik-laine-prepared-anything-future-winnipeg-uncertain\/?fbclid=IwAR3QGQVH-WxOaxHw75882uyi_XKRqG5-cNWPrh-xRLtAtbhG4_fmcarDUfk\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.ca<\/a> reports that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/lainepa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Patrik Laine<\/strong> <\/a>of the Winnipeg Jets is &#8216;prepared for anything&#8217; regarding his future in Winnipeg.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Patrik Laine had some interesting comments about his situation in Winnipeg \ud83d\ude33 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NgkFDCgbBe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/NgkFDCgbBe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sportsnet\/status\/1162526459090653185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:\u00a0<\/em>The reason Laine feels this way is that he says contract talks regarding him have not been happening all summer. That would make any NHL player wonder what his future will be, especially if it&#8217;s the only team he&#8217;s played for in his NHL career.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s even gone as far as to say he&#8217;s confident he&#8217;ll be playing &#8216;somewhere&#8217; next season. Of course, the Jets are playing it close to the vest since this is how the negotiating merry-go-round works. Each side wants what they want, and doesn&#8217;t really give a flying hockey puck (to some degree) about the other sides&#8217; wants or needs.<\/p>\n<p>According to Johnston Laine stated, <em>&#8220;Well you never know. It&#8217;s still business, you&#8217;ve got to be prepared for anything. But yeah, you never know where you&#8217;re going to play next year so I&#8217;m just prepared for anything.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Jets still must also sign<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/connoky01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong> Kyle Connor<\/strong> <\/a>who combined with Laine collected 64 goals last season. Obviously, the team wants both young players signed. But, what will it take to get it done? The Jets just can&#8217;t afford to lose any more pivotal players after already seeing <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/troubja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Jacob Trouba<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/myersty01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Tyler Myers<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/chiarbe01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Ben Chiarot<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/tanevbr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Brandon Tanev<\/strong><\/a> leave the roster.<\/p>\n<p>The Jets not signing Laine would be quite embarrassing. He was the second overall pick in the 2016 Entry Draft. Laine has contributed 110 goals since he joined the Winnipeg club, and he did it all before his 21st birthday.<\/p>\n<p>While Laine works on his skating this summer to round out his game further, he&#8217;s still unsure of where exactly he will be playing.<\/p>\n<h3>NHL Rumours: Los Angeles Kings<\/h3>\n<p><em>Rumour:\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/nhl.nbcsports.com\/2019\/08\/14\/what-is-rob-blakes-plan-to-turn-around-the-kings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NBC Sports Scott Billeck<\/a> wrote about general manager <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/blakero01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Rob Blake<\/strong><\/a>&#8216;s plan to turn things around for the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/nhl-teams\/kings\/\" target=\"_self\">Los Angeles Kings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:\u00a0<\/em>It looks like Blake will have his hands full attempting to transform the Kings back into a contender again. Players like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/toffoty01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Tyler Toffoli<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/lewistr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Trevor Lewis<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/cliffky01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Kyle Clifford<\/strong><\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/f\/forbode01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Derek Forbort<\/strong> <\/a>will be looking for new contracts next season. That is unlikely to happen, so Blake must consider how to move them out by the trade deadline.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nhl.nbcsports.com\/2019\/08\/14\/kings-rebuild-where-theres-hope-where-theyre-stuck\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James O&#8217;Brien of NBC Sports thinks<\/a> the possibility of trading goalie <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/q\/quickjo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Jonathan Quick<\/strong><\/a> will be much more attractive after this season when his salary will drop to $3.5 million from its current $5.8 million price. His salary will dip even further (but so may his playing ability) in 2021-22 when it goes down to $3 million. Finally, in 2022-23 it decreases another $500K.<\/p>\n<p>O&#8217;Brien also thinks the interest level of Martinez and Toffoli could be an attractive motivation to move them by the trade deadline. The big contracts for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/carteje01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Jeff Carter<\/strong><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kovalil01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Ilya Kovalchuk<\/strong><\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/browndu01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Dustin Brown<\/strong><\/a> will make it difficult to move them.<\/p>\n<p>Blake could wait to see how his new head coach <strong>Todd McLellan<\/strong> does turning things around before he takes action. If Quick can stay healthy and play like his old self then that will buy some time.<\/p>\n<p>Toffoli would make a good rental player and Martinez may attract interest from clubs needing some blueline depth.<\/p>\n<p>All in all, Blake may be playing &#8220;let&#8217;s make a deal&#8221; more than he wishes once the season begins and he&#8217;s not getting the expected results.<\/p>\n<h3>Edmonton Oilers<\/h3>\n<p><em>Rumour: <a href=\"https:\/\/nhl.nbcsports.com\/2019\/08\/12\/same-old-questions-remain-for-oilers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NBC Sports, Adam Gretz<\/a> covers the everlasting unanswered questions of the Edmonton Oilers.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Oilers need to keep the McDavid-Draisaitl duo together this season. It&#39;s really the only chance they have. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zMa1WLPwNS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/zMa1WLPwNS<\/a> | @NHLonNBCSports<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Adam Gretz (@AGretz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AGretz\/status\/1161025717842432002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis: <\/em>The\u00a0Oilers have issues. Who can provide depth scoring behind <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcdavco01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Connor McDavid<\/strong> <\/a>and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/d\/draisle01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Leon Draisaitl<\/strong><\/a>? What can be done about their less than impressive defence? Can <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/koskimi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mikko Koskinen<\/a> <\/strong>and<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/smithmi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Mike\u00a0Smith<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>manage to keep the puck out of the net on a regular basis?<\/p>\n<p>Gretz believes it\u2019s only a matter of time (please let it happen) until unhappy winger<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/puljuje01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jesse Puljujarvi<\/a><\/strong> is traded. He also ponders if forward <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/n\/nugenry01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Ryan Nugent-Hopkins<\/strong><\/a> or defenceman <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/klefbos01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Oscar Klefbom<\/strong> <\/a>will hit the trade market this season.<\/p>\n<p>General manager <strong>Ken Holland<\/strong> has done some positive things since taking over at his new job. I mean he did <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2019\/07\/19\/milan-lucic-traded\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">manage to unload<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/lucicmi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Milan Lucic<\/strong><\/a> and that&#8217;s commendable. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/n\/nealja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>James Neal<\/strong> <\/a>may fit well into the Oilers scheme of things.<\/p>\n<p>As far as Puljujarvi goes, Holland will more than likely call his bluff. After all, he could let him play in Finland this season and revisit contract talks or move him in a trade next summer if need be.<\/p>\n<p>So, the story of the Oilers may be a slow, long difficult journey to get back to the playoffs. I hope head coach <strong>Dave Tippett<\/strong> has some extra aspirin on his bench. He may need it.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"_PNyNRFCSF9ibBnxFKDDyw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1125791880\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'_PNyNRFCSF9ibBnxFKDDyw',sig:'CpqBZGi-cLeFXeYzBqXlm9SkuHQoGVnjkgPW5tMtEk8=',w:'594px',h:'438px',items:'1125791880',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we get closer to training camps, NHL rumours are still popping up on a daily basis and Last Word on Hockey is here to report them. Teams are yet to sign big free agents and their futures remain uncertain. Today we will cover NHL rumours concerning the Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, and the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2959,"featured_media":54309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,23,2,24],"tags":[2706,1071,139,433,369,702,193,1781,3234,3877,2960,436,145,3030,391],"class_list":["post-54297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jets","category-oilers","category-featured","category-kings","tag-ben-chiarot","tag-brandon-tanev","tag-connor-mcdavid","tag-jacob-trouba","tag-jonathan-quick","tag-kyle-connor","tag-leon-draisaitl","tag-mike-smith","tag-mikko-koskinen","tag-nhl-rumours","tag-oscar-klefbom","tag-patrik-laine","tag-ryan-nugent-hopkins","tag-trevor-lewis","tag-tyler-toffoli"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2959"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}