{"id":73852,"date":"2020-04-26T09:19:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-26T13:19:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=73852"},"modified":"2020-12-21T14:49:27","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T19:49:27","slug":"nhl-rumours-montreal-canadiens-edmonton-oilers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2020\/04\/26\/nhl-rumours-montreal-canadiens-edmonton-oilers\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: Montreal Canadiens &#038; Edmonton Oilers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to another edition of NHL Rumours from the crew at Last Word On Hockey. Although the NHL season is on pause, rumours are still swirling. Today we will focus on NHL rumours from the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/canadiens\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Montreal Canadiens<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/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.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>NHL Rumours<\/h2>\n<h3>Montreal Canadiens<\/h3>\n<h4>Kovalchuk<\/h4>\n<p><em>Rumour: Sportsnet&#8217;s Eric Engels did a mailbag and talked about <a href=\"https:\/\/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\">Ilya Kovalchuk<\/a> is all but assured to return to the Canadiens. Engels added that things could change, but the Russian forward should be back with the Habs for 2020-21.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In his latest Canadiens Mailbag, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EricEngels?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@EricEngels<\/a> weighs in on backup goaltending candidates, the logjam at centre, Ilya Kovalchuk\u2019s future and much more.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/C45vdKzhHC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/C45vdKzhHC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sportsnet\/status\/1253780600248569858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 24, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:<\/em> Kovalchuk revived his career in his short time with the Canadiens. He was bought out after a sluggish start with the Los Angeles Kings. The Russian scored six goals in 22 games before being shipped to the Washington Capitals.<\/p>\n<p>Kovalchuk endeared himself to the Montreal faithful and wants a return to the Bell Centre. He did scores four points in his seven games with the Capitals before the shutdown. The one-time scoring champion still can provide goals when needed.<\/p>\n<h4>Kulak<\/h4>\n<p><em>Rumour:<\/em> <em>Engels went on to add that the Canadiens may deal <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kulakbr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brett Kulak<\/a><\/strong> in the off-season. Canadiens general manager <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/bergema01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marc Bergevin<\/a><\/strong> is looking to makeover the defence and Kulak may be the odd one out. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The mailbag mentioned that the addition of <strong>Alexander Romanov<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/hockey\/nhl\/montreal-canadiens-mailbag-ilya-kovalchuk-strong-bet-return-2020-21\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">could create a logjam <\/a>of players vying for a spot on defence. Kulak makes $1.85 million through 2022.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:<\/em> Moving Kulak would make the most sense for a couple of factors. It seems like Romanov would easily move into the third pair and push others. Players like <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/metevi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Mete<\/a><\/strong> could be in for make-or-break season and adding Romanov would help.<\/p>\n<p>Kulak&#8217;s deal is a team-friendly one that could be moved out to another team in the off-season. That contract may be able to help the Habs get help at another spot. Uncertainty surrounding the salary cap may also force Montreal&#8217;s hand to make a deal.<\/p>\n<h3>Edmonton Oilers<\/h3>\n<p><em>Rumour: The Oilers are reportedly close to landing Swedish defender <\/em><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\"><em>Theodor Lennstrom of Frolunda. He netted 15 points in 31 games in the Swedish Hockey League.<\/em> <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Edmonton Oilers are reportedly close to signing Fr\u00f6lunda defender Theodor Lennstrom. The 25-year old is said to have attracted interest from multiple NHL clubs, and is set to leave the SHL after putting up a 3+12=15 in 31GP this season. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#LetsGoOilers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PuckReportNHL\/status\/1254102671361036288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 25, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:<\/em> It&#8217;s a low-risk shot at a defenceman that could yield good results. He may have to start in the AHL in order to gets used to the North American style of play. <span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-1qd0xha r-ad9z0x r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">Lennstrom <\/span>is an offensive-minded defenceman that is a solid skater but needs more defensively. He could also get some time on the power-play if he&#8217;s sent down to the Bakersfield Condors.<\/p>\n<p>He would follow a line of Swedish defencemen like <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/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\">Oscar Klefbom<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/larssad01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adam Larsson<\/a>. <\/strong>The young Swede was also a teammate of<strong> Joakim Nystrom<\/strong>. Things could get even more crowded if <strong>Phillip Broberg<\/strong> decides to make a move to North America.<\/p>\n<p>Darren Dreger of TSN mentioned that Lennstrom was being looked at by teams over a year ago. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/devils\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Jersey Devils<\/a> have also been courting the young Swedish player.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2020\/02\/ilya.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to another edition of NHL Rumours from the crew at Last Word On Hockey. Although the NHL season is on pause, rumours are still swirling. Today we will focus on NHL rumours from the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers. All NHL rumours come from their original source and are subject to change.\u00a0 NHL [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":68423,"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":[7,23,2,4321],"tags":[195,3436,3554,138,1624,264,152,5715,3877,2960,4150],"class_list":["post-73852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canadiens","category-oilers","category-featured","category-rumours","tag-adam-larsson","tag-alexander-romanov","tag-brett-kulak","tag-edmonton-oilers","tag-ilya-kovalchuk","tag-marc-bergevin","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-nhl-rumors","tag-nhl-rumours","tag-oscar-klefbom","tag-rumours"],"modified_by":"Jim Biringer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73852","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\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}