{"id":55517,"date":"2019-09-05T08:47:48","date_gmt":"2019-09-05T12:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=55517"},"modified":"2020-12-21T15:03:21","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T20:03:21","slug":"nhl-rumours-maple-leafs-bruins-penguins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/09\/05\/nhl-rumours-maple-leafs-bruins-penguins\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to NHL Rumours. As the season draws near, everything is only ramping up. This Thursday, we cover everything from veterans looking for new fits to cap-strapped teams trying to stay compliant. Today’s edition looks at the\u00a0Toronto Maple <\/a>Leafs<\/a>,\u00a0Boston\u00a0Bruins<\/span><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a>, and\u00a0San Jose<\/span>\u00a0Sharks<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

All NHL Rumours\u00a0are\u00a0<\/span>from the original source and are subject to change.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

NHL Rumours<\/h2>\n

Toronto Maple Leafs<\/h3>\n

Rumour: Lyle Richardson at The Hockey News says\u00a0that the Leafs have looked at moving<\/a> some of their new acquisitions on defence in favor of signing Jake Gardiner<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Rumor Roundup: What’s the latest on\u00a0Marner<\/span>? Where does Gardiner land? And what comes next for\u00a0Puljujarvi<\/span>\u00a0and the\u00a0Oilers<\/span>?<\/span>https:\/\/t.co\/8wmKbOb2zW<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews<\/span>)\u00a0<\/span>September 4, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Analysis:\u00a0<\/em>While many Toronto fans don’t want to admit it, they need Jake Gardiner. With young\u00a0blue-liner<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Travis\u00a0Dermott<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>out to start the season, they\u00a0have a hole in their lineup. That is, unless, a championship caliber team is comfortable having\u00a0<\/span>Ben\u00a0Harpur<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>as a regular.<\/p>\n

While many see\u00a0Tyson Barrie<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>as an upgrade over Gardiner (which he is), the main criticism of Gardiner is his one-dimensional play. However, analytics show\u00a0time and time again<\/span>\u00a0that Barrie is an even more one-dimensional option than Gardiner. This piece from Ian\u00a0Tulloch<\/span>\u00a0of the Athletic\u00a0<\/span>provides some insight<\/a>. Gardiner would help Toronto have a nearly unbeatable left side with him,\u00a0Morgan\u00a0Rielly<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a0Jake\u00a0Muzzin<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>, possibly moving\u00a0Dermott<\/span>\u00a0to his off-side. Gardiner is an upgrade over most in Toronto’s lineup, and it would behoove Toronto to explore all possible options to\u00a0keep\u00a0Gardiner.<\/span><\/p>\n

NHL Rumours: Boston Bruins<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Rumour: Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston speculates that\u00a0David\u00a0Backes<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is<\/span>\u00a0dealing with post-concussion issues or another serious injury, and explores how moving him to\u00a0LTIR<\/span>\u00a0would help the team’s cap situation.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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?? Could injuries be the saving salary cap grace for the\u00a0#NHLBruins<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0this fall?\u00a0@HackswithHaggs<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0looks into the B’s cap concerns.https:\/\/t.co\/J63ujmNavb<\/a>\u00a0pic.twitter.com\/7FLgPZ8EfF<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSBoston<\/span>)\u00a0<\/span>September 3, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Analysis:\u00a0<\/em>While it’s\u00a0well-known\u00a0that\u00a0Backes<\/span>\u00a0has never\u00a0lived up to the five-year, $30 million contract he signed with Boston in 2016, his play dropped significantly this season. 2017-18 was actually a decent campaign for him, posting 33 points in only 57 games, but he dropped to 20 points this year despite appearing in 70 contests. He was also a healthy scratch multiple times in the Stanley Cup Finals against his former team, which said quite a lot about the\u00a0Bruins<\/span>‘ trust in and enthusiasm about\u00a0Backes<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Boston has close to $7.3 million in cap space. If they can sign their remaining RFAs<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Charlie\u00a0McAvoy<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Brandon Carlo<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to under ~$12 million total\u00a0AAV<\/span>, the cap relief provided by placing\u00a0Backes<\/span>\u00a0on\u00a0LTIR<\/span>\u00a0would be enough to make Boston cap compliant. The B’s also have other\u00a0LTIR<\/span>\u00a0candidates to start the year in\u00a0<\/span>John Moore<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Kevan Miller<\/strong><\/a>, who are both forecasted as\u00a0sidelined at the start of the seasons due to nagging injuries.<\/span><\/p>\n

But\u00a0Backes<\/span>, at 35-years-old, has to think about<\/span>\u00a0how much more damage he can take. If he truly is dealing with post-concussion symptoms, it might be good for him to spend\u00a0the\u00a0season on\u00a0LTIR<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0not risk any further head injuries. He only has two years, including this one, remaining on his deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Penguins<\/h3>\n

Rumour: Josh\u00a0Yohe<\/span>\u00a0of the Athletic<\/span>\u00a0reports that Penguins general manager<\/a> Jim Rutherford<\/strong> is trying to keep his roster intact and sign defenceman Marcus\u00a0Pettersson<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>, a departure from earlier when Rutherford said he would have to deal someone\u00a0to\u00a0sign him.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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GMJR<\/span>\u00a0has said all summer that he was likely to make a trade to help the Penguins\u2019 salary cap situation. Now? The plan seems\u00a0to be<\/span>\u00a0changing. Here\u2019s what he said:\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/t.co\/NubKQikc85<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Josh\u00a0Yohe<\/span>\u00a0(@JoshYohe_PGH)\u00a0<\/span>September 4, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Analysis:\u00a0<\/em>According to\u00a0CapFriendly<\/span>, the Penguins are actually already above the upper limit<\/a>. However, this assumes a roster of 13 forwards and eight\u00a0defencemen<\/span>, not including\u00a0Pettersson<\/span>. Sending two or three roster players down to the minors would likely\u00a0give\u00a0the cap relief necessary to sign\u00a0Pettersson<\/span>, however, it would mean that Pittsburgh would only be able to carry one extra player throughout the season. This greatly hamstrings them in terms of injury relief, as they would be too tight against the salary cap to call a player up from their AHL affiliate. The team would also risk losing players like\u00a0<\/span>Juuso<\/span>\u00a0Riikola<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Zach\u00a0Trotman<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to waivers.<\/p>\n

While it’s understandable that Rutherford doesn’t want to sacrifice a roster\u00a0forward<\/span>, it is\u00a0a position of<\/span> strength for them. Signing a defenceman who expects<\/span>\u00a0to step into your team’s top-four\u00a0should be<\/span>\u00a0of higher priority than retaining a lower-tier forward who\u00a0can be<\/span>\u00a0replaced by someone already in the system.<\/span><\/p>\n

It will be very interesting to see how GM Rutherford intends to solve this situation.<\/p>\n

San Jose<\/span>\u00a0Sharks<\/span><\/h3>\n

Rumour:\u00a0Patrick\u00a0Marleau<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>reportedly wanted to return to the Sharks, but\u00a0Elliotte<\/span>\u00a0Friedman tweets<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that the sides have not\u00a0reached an agreement<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0Marleau<\/span>\u00a0will pursue other opportunities around the NHL.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Checked in today with Pat\u00a0Brisson<\/span>, who represents Patrick\u00a0Marleau<\/span>.\u00a0Brisson<\/span>\u00a0said the fit is not there at this time between\u00a0Marleau<\/span>\u00a0and the Sharks. The winger very much wants to play, and will pursue other NHL opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Elliotte<\/span>\u00a0Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC<\/span>)\u00a0<\/span>September 4, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Analysis:\u00a0<\/em>While\u00a0Marleau<\/span>\u00a0wanted to return to his longtime home in\u00a0San Jose<\/span>, the cash-strapped Sharks were obviously not able to offer Patrick enough money to\u00a0keep\u00a0his services. The Sharks only have slightly over ~$4.5 million in cap space and still have\u00a0<\/span>Joe Thornton<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to\u00a0hammer out<\/span>\u00a0a deal with, so it makes\u00a0sense\u00a0that\u00a0Marleau<\/span>\u00a0was not willing to take the low amount of cash the Sharks would’ve been able to give him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Marleau<\/span>\u00a0is still a very dependable player, albeit in decline. He played all 82 games yet again last year and tallied a respectable 37 points, something that should\u00a0call for\u00a0a solid chunk of change on a one-year deal.\u00a0Marleau’s<\/span>\u00a0family had moved back to the Bay Area earlier this year, signaling that he would prefer to\u00a0stay\u00a0in the Western Conference. One rumoured team was the\u00a0<\/span>Edmonton\u00a0Oilers<\/span><\/span><\/a>, a team that could certainly use\u00a0extra\u00a0forward depth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many Sharks fans hoped he would return, but\u00a0as of now<\/span>, it looks like he’s played his last game in a teal jersey. That is unless he decides to make another go of it next season, something that isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.<\/span><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>