NHL Rumors: Arizona Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The NHL Draft is history, and every team has high hopes for the prospects they added. Now, with free agency moves mostly done, rumors are still around. Clubs are always working to improve their rosters for next season. Some teams are having difficulty creating enough cap space to make moves. Others are experiencing severe injuries to star players. The new 2022-23 season will begin on October 7th. In this Wednesday edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the Arizona Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, and San Jose Sharks.

Arizona Coyotes – Jakob Chychrun NHL rumors fuel trade speculation

Rumor: Per – Lyle Fitzsimmons – bleacherreport.com. The trade rumors pertaining to Chychrun just don’t seem to dissipate. With most NHL teams trying to finalize rosters, will he be dealt before training camps begin? 

There are still at least five teams who seem interested in acquiring Chychrun if they can muster the return demanded by Arizona’s GM Bill Armstrong. Here they are:

1. Anaheim Ducks –  They have the most cap space of $18.8 million and could certainly use Chychrun to team up with newly signed John Klingberg. If they can work a deal for Chychrun, it may give Klingberg an incentive to sign a longer-term deal with the Ducks. So who could the Ducks offer Armstrong? According to Fitzsimmons, it could be Max Comtois (16 points in 52 games in 2021-22) or 22-year-old Isac Lundestrom (29 points in 80 games). Throw in a second-round/first-round pick and there could be a deal in the making. The Ducks possess three second-round picks for 2023. That’s what Armstrong is looking for.
2. New York Islanders – While Lou Lamoriello was practically silent making any improvements, he would still love to add Chychrun into a top-four pairing alongside Ryan Pulock or Noah Dobson. The Isles also hold some assets that may interest Armstrong with 21 picks over the next three years.
3. Los Angeles Kings – The Kings have been interested in adding Chychrun from the start. And they still seem to want the 24-year-old blueliner. Even with Drew Doughty making his return, the Kings also have the prospects to formulate an acceptable deal to get Chychrun to the west coast. The Kings could offer forwards Alex Iafallo (37 points in 79 games in 2021-22) and Gabriel Vilardi (38 points in 39 AHL games) or defenseman Sean Durzi (27 points in 64 games) and a future pick as Arizona’s trade bait. The Kings remain a distinct possibility as the season approaches to add Chychrun to their roster.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs – The Leafs are definitely all in this season to break their playoff first-round elimination streak. Chychrun could help with that big time. It would seem that besides the obvious choice of William Nylander as a return, they could also offer up forward Alexander Kerfoot, defenseman Justin Holl or even 2021 draft pick Matthew Knies, a 19-year-old Phoenix native. Lots of possibilities.
5. Ottawa Senators –  This Ottawa team has improved so much, so why not enrich their chances even more? There have been talks between the two teams regarding trading Chychrun to Ottawa. TSN’s Shawn Simpson forecasted that a move could be made before training camp, and GOPHNX.com’s Craig Morgan offered that Chychrun might welcome a move to a rising team.

The feeling is that Chychrun will get moved before training camp. Sens are in the mix with other clubs, but the ask is ridiculously high. Smart that Dorion is being patient, so let's see how it plays out.

— Shawn Simpson (@TSNSimmer) August 10, 2022

Vancouver Canucks – J.T. Miller

Rumor: Per – Thomas Drance/Rick Dhaliwal – theathetic.com. What’s new with contract negotiations for retaining forward J.T. Miller? 

The two sides were talking about a contract extension earlier in the offseason, however, a big gap remains to be overcome. Miller’s agent said there’s a good chance contract talks could cease if a deal isn’t in place by the start of the regular season. So, where could he go? It’s about as clear as where Chychrun will end up as clubs are holding out for the best possible deal. The New York Islanders were a team seemingly interested in getting Miller.

According to Rob Simpson of vancouverhockeynow.com, they spoke to four NHL GMs who stated at least two Metropolitan Division teams still have interest in Miller. Could Miller be headed to help Lou Lamoriello’s team get back to respectability?

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San Jose Sharks – Timo Meier

Rumor: Per – Sheng Peng – sanjosehockeynow.com. Contract negotiations for extending Timo Meier still haven’t started.  

The Sharks are very familiar with Meier’s situation as they went through the same process with forward Tomas Hertl in the spring. He eventually signed an eight-year $65.1 million contract to remain with the Sharks. Meier certainly deserves a new elevated contract after his performance in the 2021-22 campaign. He added 35 goals, and 41 assists in 76 games to lead the team in scoring. He was eligible to sign an eight-year extension last month.

The biggest obstacle to getting a deal done in the short term with the Sharks is their lack of cap space. They only have $137,499 available. They started to solve that issue by trading their third goalie, Adin Hill to the Vegas Golden Knights for a fourth-round 2024 pick. That saved them $2.175 million from Hill’s contract. But there’s a long way to go to be able to afford a new contract for Meier.

If the San Jose club can somehow gather some cap space (good luck) they will want to retain the valuable forward. Otherwise, some trades involving him and even perhaps Hertl may be justifiable. New GM Mike Grier has his work cut out for him. Meier can really become a franchise star if he stays.

Monday, Timo Meier became the first player in Sharks history to score 5 goals in a game.

He scored all 5 goals in the first 2 periods of the game. The last player to have 5 goals in the first 2 periods of an NHL game was Peter Bondra for the Capitals in 1994 pic.twitter.com/916EahdMBA

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 17, 2022

That wraps up another edition of NHL Rumors. Please join us for our next article on Sunday, and thanks for reading!