{"id":83109,"date":"2020-08-15T08:30:35","date_gmt":"2020-08-15T12:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=83109"},"modified":"2020-12-21T14:48:53","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T19:48:53","slug":"nhl-rumours-los-angeles-kings-buffalo-sabres-nashville-predators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2020\/08\/15\/nhl-rumours-los-angeles-kings-buffalo-sabres-nashville-predators\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The qualifying round is now over and the first round of the playoffs is well underway. We also finally have the answer to the full lottery draft order. As the postseason continues to push on, rumours continue to swirl around teams that are no longer playing. Today\u2019s edition of NHL rumours looks at the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/kings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Kings<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/sabres\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buffalo Sabres<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/predators\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nashville Predators<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NHL Rumours:<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Los Angeles Kings<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rumour: Bob McKenzie said on OverDrive of TSN1050 that be thinks the Los Angeles Kings would prefer Tim Stutzle over Quinton Byfield in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">McKenzie on OverDrive on TSN1050 says he believes the Kings may have more interest in a player like Tim St\u00fctzle than Quinton Byfield.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NHL_Watcher\/status\/1293560152323432449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 12, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Analysis: <\/em>There has been a lot of debate over who the Los Angeles Kings should select with the second overall pick. The consensus has generally been around <strong>Quinton Byfield<\/strong> and <strong>Tim Stutzle<\/strong>. Byfield is a true power forward with the size and strength to bully players near the net. While he does not have the same frame as Byfield, Stutzle is an adept playmaker. With seven goals and 27 assists in the DEL this season, he should be nearly NHL ready.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One advantage for Stutzle over Byfield is Stutzle is a more dynamic player. Byfield is a true centre. While he has a higher upside than Stutzle, he is a centre first and foremost. Stutzle has played the left-wing. That is a dynamic that Byfield does not have. Considering that the last three first-round draft choices by the Kings have been centres, they may opt to go with a guy that can also play on the wing.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buffalo Sabres<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rumour: Elliotte Friedman said on the 31 Thoughts podcast that the Buffalo Sabres may not tender a qualifying offer to defenceman Brandon Montour.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek mentioned on the 31 Thoughts podcast that the Sabres may not make a QO to Brandon Montour.<\/p>\n<p>If that&#39;s the case, Adams needs to work out a trade, even if it doesn&#39;t come close to what Buffalo gave up to get Montour.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LLysowski\/status\/1293920069639184384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 13, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Analysis: <\/em>At the 2019 NHL trade deadline, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/ducks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anaheim Ducks<\/a> sent defenceman <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/montobr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brandon Montour<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to the Buffalo Sabres. In exchange, the Sabres gave up a first-round draft choice and defenceman <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/guhlebr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brendan Guhle<\/a><\/strong>. On a roster that is weak at defence, Montour shored up the second pairing. A solid young addition, Montour appeared to be a big part of Buffalo\u2019s plans moving forward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The idea of letting Montour walk away for nothing makes nearly no sense. While he hasn\u2019t been the best in Buffalo, he is still an important part of their weak defensive core. If they do not tender him a qualifying offer, he will be an unrestricted free agent. By at least qualifying him, they can ensure he does not leave without Buffalo getting something in return. With the trade deadline well behind them and Montour due for a new contract, it seems unlikely any team would give up anything substantial to acquire him.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nashville Predators<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rumour: Mike G. Morreale is reporting that Nashville Predators general manager David Poile has said \u201csome players are not going to be brought back\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Preds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Preds<\/a> GM David Poile says &#39;some players are not going to be brought back&#39; &#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JDuBFzBjNy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/JDuBFzBjNy<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NHLdotcom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@NHLdotcom<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Mike Morreale (@mikemorrealeNHL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mikemorrealeNHL\/status\/1294019418763264000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 13, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Analysis: <\/em>The Nashville Predators are coming off of a highly disappointing season. It appears that their Stanley Cup championship window has closed. Since losing the Stanley Cup Final to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/penguins\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> in 2017, the team has slowly regressed. With an average age of roughly 30-years-old, this is a roster in need of some youth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some candidates for free agency include <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/granlmi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mikael Granlund<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/smithcr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Craig Smith<\/a><\/strong>. Both have expiring contracts and could find themselves on the open market. Making $10 million combined, it seems unlikely they both return. As they appear headed into a rebuilding phase, older players with one year left on their contract could be traded for picks or prospects. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/boninni01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nick Bonino<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is one such player. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hamhuda01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dan Hamhuis<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0also will not be returning as he <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2020\/08\/13\/nashville-predators-dan-hamhuis-retires\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced his retirement<\/a> from the NHL.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That does it for today\u2019s NHL rumours. Be sure to check back for more in the next few days.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"AWT2k5B0QcJAi_uT5iz_oA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1151529684\" 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:'AWT2k5B0QcJAi_uT5iz_oA',sig:'G2YBohKXUiksA0oKhlREn7-_hXRdymiFUqMarPbeBDo=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1151529684',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>The qualifying round is now over and the first round of the playoffs is well underway. We also finally have the answer to the full lottery draft order. As the postseason continues to push on, rumours continue to swirl around teams that are no longer playing. Today\u2019s edition of NHL rumours looks at the Los [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3213,"featured_media":83127,"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":[4321,3,2,4547,24,31,4548],"tags":[2425,1722,3361,1157,5715,3877,1389,3184,4230],"class_list":["post-83109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rumours","category-sabres","category-featured","category-hockey","category-kings","category-predators","category-nhl","tag-brandon-montour","tag-craig-smith","tag-dan-hamhuis","tag-mikael-granlund","tag-nhl-rumors","tag-nhl-rumours","tag-nick-bonino","tag-quinton-byfield","tag-tim-stutzle"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83109","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\/3213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}