NHL Rumors: Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Edmonton Oilers

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of NHL Rumors. This time we will track the latest from the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Edmonton Oilers.

Boston Bruins – John Klingberg

Rumor: Per – Jimmy Murphy – bostonhockeynow.com. The Dallas Stars are determined to trade John Klingberg, and the Boston Bruins are interested. According to Murphy, many teams are interested in adding Klingberg and the Bruins had already contacted the Stars general manager earlier this month.

Analysis: The 6′-3″, 190 pound defenceman would add to the Bruins talented blueline. The Boston club was also interested in Jakob Chychrun when he became available, but the return was too much for them. A Klingberg return would only require three components as opposed to four for Chychrun.

Klingberg is in the last year of a seven-year deal worth $4.2 million AAV. He will be looking for something in the range of $8 million per year if he gets traded or not. Since the Bruins only currently have about $2.4 million in cap space, a trade would need to occur.

Both parties seem motivated to get a trade done for Klingberg. Will the Bruins win the Klingberg sweepstakes? Be sure to check in with Full Press Hockey to find out.

Washington Capitals – Goaltending Upgrade

Rumor: Per – Tarik El-Bashir – theathetic.com. With the duo of Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek in net, will the Washington Capitals be forced to look at some goaltending options? Marc-Andre Fleury, or Jonathan Quick could be had with some salary retention thrown in for good measure.

Analysis: With the obvious inexperience of both Samsonov and Vanecek, it makes good sense to get an experienced goaltender to help the Caps drive to win another Cup in the Ovechkin era. Samsonov has a career 42-14-6 record with a .906 save percentage and a 2.66 goals-against-average. Vanecek has a 28-14-9 career record to go along with a .909 save percentage and a 2.62 GAA.

Both Fleury and Quick can collect that many appearances in one season. Of the two veteran goalies, Fleury makes the most sense. He is on an expiring contract and is a Cup winner. Quick has another year on his $5.8 million deal and right now the Los Angeles Kings are on a winning run, why trade their veteran goalie? Fleury’s contract is set at $7 million, so salary retention would be the way to go. Either veteran goalie may help the Caps, especially in the postseason.

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more Capitals NHL rumors as something needs to happen in their net.

Edmonton Oilers – Josh Brown

Rumor: Per- Kurt Leavins – edmontonjournal.com. Leavins feels that the Edmonton Oilers should consider acquiring defenceman Josh Brown from the Ottawa Senators. Brown is a rugged, 6′-5″, 220 pound defender who could help snap the Oilers out of their funk.

Analysis: At this point in the Oilers’ dismal tailspin, many things must be passing through GM Ken Holland’s mind. He knows he needs to stabilize his defence and goaltending if he expects his team to be playing in the postseason. There’s also the risk that Connor McDavid will lose his patience with the current team and demand a trade.

You know that if Evander Kane is being considered as a roster add, other options are being discussed. While Brown isn’t an offensive player at all, the Oilers have plenty of offence, they need a shutdown defensive addition. Brown’s size alone should intimidate opposing players as they come into the Oilers’ zone. He has 271 hits in 134 NHL career games. That should help the Oilers in more ways than one. If they could acquire Brown, who is an unrestricted free agent, some of their issues could begin to disappear. Oilers’ fans are hoping their team doesn’t disappear any more than what they’ve shown recently.

That does it for this edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL rumors. Be sure to catch our Sunday article to stay in tune with the latest going on in the NHL.