NHL Rumors: Arizona Coyotes, Vegas Golden Knights, Pittsburgh Penguins

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 Wednesday’s edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the Arizona Coyotes, Vegas Golden Knights, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Arizona Coyotes – Jakob Chychrun

Rumor: Per – Aaron Portzline – theathletic.com. The latest Chychrun trade speculation.

The Columbus Blue Jackets had a glaring need for top-four defensemen and the Arizona Coyotes were said to be fielding offers for the 24-year-old blueliner. Let’s review, since this rumor has been prevalent and continues to carry weight. The Jackets denied any substantive interest in Chychrun other than an informal call about the asking price months beforehand. Reports indicated the Coyotes sought a first-round pick, a young proven NHL player and a top prospect.

Now, since nothing concrete has happened yet, it seems that if the Arizona club wants to move him, they may need to decrease their return demand. With Chychrun’s demand to go to a contending or at least a team that makes the playoffs, it now seems he’s interested in going to Columbus. That wasn’t the case prior to the Blue Jackets acquiring top forward Johnny Gaudreau. Even though Chychrun has no trade clauses in his contract, the Coyotes are attempting to accommodate his requests.

With prospects like Kent Johnson, David Jiricek, and Denton Mateychuk, the Blue Jackets may have what GM Bill Armstrong is looking for. With the season quickly approaching, something needs to happen soon, or Chychrun’s availability may change.

Vegas Golden Knights – Nicolas Hague

Rumor: Per – Mark Easson – nhlrumors.com. Nicolas Hague‘s contract negotiations are stalled, and he has gone back to Ontario.

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.ca on his 32 Thoughts Podcast transcribed by NHLRumors.com, “Like, I don’t think there is any doubt here that Vegas wants the player. I think that one thing Vegas, all these injuries, they have a bit of cap room now. So, I will say this, you know how Vegas is. They’re always trying to do things.”

The Golden Knights have some challenging salary cap issues. They are over $15 million above the cap limit but have multiple players on LTIR. Shea Weber with $7,857,143. Robin Lehner with $5 million. Nolan Patrick with $1.2 million. Laurent Brossoit has a $2.325 million cap hit. That leaves just $1.4 million to pay Hague. Sean Durzi got $1.7 million, so we’ll see how things go.

Pertaining to Friedman’s comment that Vegas is always trying to do things, they certainly don’t want to miss the playoffs again, so changes could be coming. The limited amount of cap space will curtail moves, but GM Kelly McCrimmon may need to get creative.

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 Pittsburgh Penguins – Pierre-Olivier Joseph

Rumor: Per – Frank Seravalli – dailyfaceoff.com. The Penguins overcrowded blueline may mean POJ is the odd man out.

The Penguins would rather not place Joseph on waivers but may need to so he can be assigned to the AHL. They would rather trade him since it seems there isn’t a spot open on the blue line for him.

With Zohorna claimed, #pens will be at risk of losing a defenseman, too. Sources say PIT offered Pierre-Olivier Joseph to all 31 teams.#Canucks are also active in trying to move Micheal Ferland's contract.

More in today's Ice Breakers 🧊🏒 segment:https://t.co/ytliaG1cVU

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 3, 2022

Joseph hasn’t really had much ice time while with the Penguins. He has only appeared in 20 games over two seasons after being traded to the Pens in June of 2019. He was involved in the Phil Kessel trade that sent him to the Arizona Coyotes. Joseph has just one goal, and four assists to his credit, but he did log some ice time with just over 18 minutes a game while filling in during the 2021-22 season.

Now, it’s a numbers game where he is competing with Chad Ruhwedel and Mark Friedman for a roster spot. With the Pens adding Jan Rutta and Jeff Petry, POJ just would do better with a fresh start somewhere else. GM Ron Hextall made it known to all 31 NHL teams that Joseph is on the trading block.

Stay informed right here as NHL rumors develop.

That concludes this edition of NHL rumors. We appreciate you taking the time to read our articles!