NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The NHL preseason games have begun and players will be evaluated. 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, and trade rumors/signings are still prevalent. In this Sunday edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, and the Florida Panthers.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Mitch Marner

Rumor: Per – Sean O’Leary – thescore.com. Marner is open to trying out defenseman role.

Marner could be used as defenseman for #LeafsForever, Keefe says

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For real. Not a drill.

“It’s knowing Mitch’s skillset and I’ve got a pretty good library of clips where he is actually playing defence.”

My ⁦@NHLdotcom⁩ story:#NHL https://t.co/f2OoIlfPVI

— Dave McCarthy (@DaveAMcCarthy) September 29, 2022

It’s Marner attention to defence even though he is an outstanding offensive player that head coach Sheldon Keefe admires. So, in certain situations, say when the Leafs are trailing late in a game, Marner could be thrown in there on defence. His abilities on odd-man rushes on defence will need to be practiced, but he is open to trying the new assignment.

“I guess just trying to adapt with it, making sure I’m good enough to take on two-on-ones if it happens, three-on-twos, try to just communicate with whoever is out there with me as a D partner and talk about how we are going to try to attack and approach if odd-man rushes are coming against us,” Marner said.

Keefe seems to have confidence in his talented forward to add a new dimension to the team. “The more and more I watch the clips, that’s what stands out,” Keefe said. “So for me, it’s knowing Mitch’s skill set, and I’ve got a pretty good library of clips where he is actually playing defence. Even though he is a forward on that shift, he is in the defence spot, quarterbacking things and, at times, even defending, so that’s sort of why we came to that conclusion.”

Marner is a stellar playmaker leading the team in assists last season with 62. His 35 goals was only exceeded by Auston Matthews, who had 60. This may or may not work out, but it’s worth a try.

Edmonton Oilers – Connor McDavid

Rumor: Per – Ryan Fancey – theleafsnation.com. Could McDavid be going home in 2026? A Matthews/McDavid duo would be fascinating.

With reports that the salary cap could increase up to $10 million over the next three years, if McDavid (who is from the Toronto area) wants to go home, it could happen. Of course, if Kyle Dubas is still around in Toronto, he will have additional cap space issues at hand. McDavid could demand $15-16 million. Auston Matthews could easily get $13-14 million. Marner could go up to $12 million, and Nylander at about $9-10 million. Whew! Break out the money!

Just the thought of two of the best NHL players being on the same roster is mind boggling. More than likely the two teams have been thinking about the possibility as well. Once Matthews re-signs for at least four or five years, adding McDavid would almost guarantee the Leafs a Cup. The only question in this scenario is who would be the number one center? Or, does it matter?

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Florida Panthers – Sergei Bobrovsky/Spencer Knight

Rumor: Per – Pierre LeBrun – TSN.ca. Is there a chance we will see a goalie become available in Florida? 

LeBrun doesn’t think it will happen this season, but it is intriguing to note that with Spencer Knight signing a three-year $13.5 million deal, the Panthers will be spending $14.5 million on two goalies starting next season. The Cats tried to trade Bobrovsky without much success. His deal is good through 2025-26 with a no-movement clause for the next two seasons. They don’t want draft picks, as they are in win-now mode.

The real fear that motivated the Florida club was they didn’t want Knight to be offer sheeted next summer. So, they locked him up. He really impressed during the 2021-22 season with a 19-9-3 record. He carried a 2.79 goals-against-average and a .908 save percentage. Stay tuned in with Full Press Hockey to see how this NHL rumor pans out. Knight is their goalie of the future, and Bobrovsky may be gone eventually.

That concludes this edition of NHL rumors. Be sure to catch our next article, and thanks for reading!