NHL Rumors: Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks

Welcome to the Sunday edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The Stanley Cup Playoffs are right around the corner, which means the NHL’s offseason is rapidly approaching. While all eyes will be on the teams playing for the Stanley Cup, the teams that did not make the playoffs will be focused on improving their team for next season. Plus, the teams in the playoffs have work to do once their season is over as well. In this Sunday edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks.

Vegas Golden Knights – No Playoffs May Mean Some Changes Coming

Rumor: Per – Frank Seravalli – dailyfaceoff.com. Vegas owner Bill Foley almost guaranteed a Stanley Cup in six years. Well, it hasn’t come to fruition yet, and after this season’s failure to make the playoffs inquisitive minds are wondering if general manager Kelly McCrimmon will be around. That may hold true for head coach Peter DeBoer as well.

Let’s face it this team had some tremendous injuries that disabled them. They also made some pretty gutsy moves like trading for Jack Eichel. Giving up Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs was a huge price to pay. Tuch and Krebs played well in Buffalo, as Jack Eichel didn’t play until mid-February after surgery recovery. The nasty issue with Vegas going forward is their cap space nightmare. They have 18 players under contract for next season with a $83.5 million tab. The thing is, the cap will rise to $82.5 million next season, which means Vegas has some adjusting to do… again with their cap space shortfalls.

Reilly Smith and his $5 million cap hit isn’t even included in the $83.5 million cap space for the team since he was on long-term injury reserve. Then, they must decide what is going on with Robin Lehner who is still under contract for three more seasons. Is his failing health going to be an issue? As you can see the Vegas team has lots of challenges and owner Foley can’t be pleased. He may blow it up and see where the pieces lie.

Edmonton Oilers – Evander Kane

Rumor: Per – TSN staff – tsn.ca. The Edmonton Oilers will make every effort to re-sign Evander Kane. All may depend on his ongoing grievance hearing over the San Jose Sharks terminating his contract last January. He had three years at $7 million annually remaining on that deal.

Kane has played well with the Oilers collecting 22 goals, and 17 assists in 42 games. Kane and the Sharks may agree to a settlement with the winger getting something in the range of $4 million and $5 million annually over the next three years. The Oilers could then sign him to a three-year deal worth between $2 million and $3 million. Considering how well he’s playing alongside Connor McDavid, Kane might accept that type of deal.

Then, we shall see how well Kane does in the playoffs. That could very well determine if the Oilers will use some of their $8.9 million in projected cap space to keep the high-scoring forward. Even with Kane’s off-ice behavioural issues, one must admit he is a premier player and has done well in Edmonton. It seems like he might just stay and continue to help the Oilers going forward.

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Vancouver Canucks – J.T. Miller/Brock Boeser

Rumor: Per – Iain MacIntyre – sportsnet.ca./Harman Dayal – theathletic.com. J.T. Miller just narrowly missed the 100-point club this season, falling one shy. He has one more year on his reasonable $5.25 million contract. Can the Canucks afford to keep both Miller and Brock Boeser?

New GM Patrik Allvin made the astute observation in February that Miller is the type of player you build around, not trade. With that said, and with Miller wanting to stay, something has to give. Boeser is due a $7.5 million qualifying offer this summer, so which player will be moving on and which player will stay? Granted, Miller is under contract through next season, but there were multiple trade rumors following him around at the trade deadline. The perplexing issue is do the Canucks continue to wait to see if Boeser develops into the player that want him to be?

If Allvin truly feels that Miller is a franchise player they need going forward, then they will need to pay him accordingly. With just $14.3 million in cap space not including the $7.5 qualifying offer due Boeser, that doesn’t leave much for a well-deserved raise for Miller. Decisions, decisions…

That does it for this edition of NHL rumors. Be sure to catch our next article!