NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks

Welcome to the Sunday edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors. This time we will visit with the latest for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars, and Vancouver Canucks.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Jack Campbell

Rumor: Per – TSN.ca Staff Pierre LeBrun. Will the Toronto Maple Leafs get a new contract done for their Vezina Trophy candidate this season? LeBrun goes over the timeline and the price for Jack Campbell‘s services.

ICYMI, INSIDER TRADING: #TSNHockey Insiders on…

– COVID creating competitive concern for 🇨🇦 teams
– Heritage Classic in limbo
– Contract price for Campbell; Rask update
– Eichel trends toward Feb. debut
– Players reluctant on All-Star Game?

WATCH 🌍: https://t.co/Uw9VBql0sf pic.twitter.com/gCqDAmC7oN

— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) January 7, 2022

Analysis: According to LeBrun, contract negotiations between the two sides have not taken place since the season began. It seems that when Campbell’s contract was discussed earlier, the price has risen sharply due to his excellent play this season. He has a 17-5-2 record. His save percentage is a sparkling .939 to go along with a 1.87 goals-against-average.

If the Maple Leafs are hoping Campbell’s contract demands will decrease, they had better think again… and quickly!

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Dallas Stars – John Klingberg

Rumor: Per – David Pagnotta – thefourthperiod.com. Contract negotiations between the Dallas Stars and veteran defenceman John Klingberg hit a wall early on this season and the two sides have not been able to break through the barrier.

From about half an hour ago, sources have told me John Klingberg has asked for a trade.

More below, and a follow piece I wrote here: https://t.co/IlOgi6BrjX https://t.co/Rr9e34rseI

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) January 7, 2022

Analysis: Klingberg is a rare commodity and teams will be lining up to add him to their roster. The thing is the Stars aren’t forced to trade him even though he is demanding that happen. He signed a seven-year $29.75 million deal that expires at the conclusion of the current season.

With huge contracts tying up the Stars’ cap space, it seems that the two sides can’t come to an agreeable number… so Klingberg wants out. Can’t really blame him. He possesses 0.68 points per game average and has 136 power-play points to his credit. He is an outstanding possession blueliner with a 56.8 Corsi For and a 9.8 Relative Corsi. Who wouldn’t want him? Oh yeah, he’s a right-hand shooter too. Seems like the Stars bit off more than they can chew when they signed players like Tyler Seguin (8 yrs, $78.8M), Jamie Benn (8 yrs, $76M), and Miro Heiskanen (8 yrs $67.6M).

Perhaps Klingberg should have signed an eight-year deal instead.

Vancouver Canucks – Jaroslav Halak

Rumor: Per – Darren Dreger TSN. If Halak plays 2 more games, he earns a $1.25M bonus applied to next year’s cap. Dreger feels that may not be the main reason the Vancouver Canucks should consider moving Jaroslav Halek. It’s mostly that Thatcher Demko is getting most of the playing time in the net, and the return for Halak should be decent.

This is interesting. We discussed a bit on the show, so I poked around a bit. I believe the Canucks would consider trading Halak, mostly because Demko is likely to play a lot and the return should be decent for Jaro. The bonus $ likely part of the equation, but not main reason. https://t.co/MnBJPPaJcE

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) January 5, 2022

Analysis: It seems the Canucks have a decision to make. Keep Halak and pay him more money causing cap pressure, or trade him. A team like the Nashville Predators could reasonably use a backup like Halak if at the cheaper current salary. The Preds have plenty of cap space to make it happen.

Keeping Halak who has a 1-4-2 record with a .915 save percentage and a 2.59 GAA could help the Canucks in their drive for a playoff berth. That $1.25 million bonus for playing ten games could be vital especially when the Vancouver club has only $2.85 million in cap space.

The life of a general manager… it’s gotta be tough and NHL rumors sure don’t help.

That does it for this edition of NHL rumors. Be sure to catch our Wednesday article to stay in tune with the latest in the NHL!