NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors!

The NHL 2022-23 regular season 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. Trade rumors/signings are still prevalent. With multiple NHL rumors swirling around, we will have TWO articles for your reading pleasure today! In this first Wednesday edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and the Montreal Canadiens.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Recent trade rumors

Rumor: Per – Sean Seney – nhltraderumors.me. The Maple Leafs have holes on their defense due to injuries, GM Dubas is not rushing to make a deal just yet.

pic.twitter.com/ZV3y7daBTN

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 14, 2022

Dubas believes he presently has depth on his blueline with both Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin. The two former first-round picks are going to be given an increase in playing time and the GM is confident both players can respond and make a serious impact on the lineup.

Maple Leafs' plan is to see if Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren can step up and handle greater responsibility.

Step 2 is to explore the trade market, but Dubas says they're in no rush to do so.

— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) November 14, 2022

So, unless the Leafs experience additional injuries to their defensive group, they are good to go. There are teams such as the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets who have a surplus of defensemen and may be interested in making a deal. In some other good news on the injury front, Matt Murray was scheduled to make his return between the pipes last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It seems with the fact that Dubas does not have a contract for next season to perform his GM duties, rumors are going to be rampant that he may be moving on. It goes without saying that the Leafs have underperformed thus far this season with an 8-5-3 record. They have an overload of talent, especially on offense. As far as the blueline goes, it appears that Dubas is staying put for now.

Vancouver Canucks – Bruce Boudreau

Rumor: Per – Mark Easson – nhlrumors.com Bruce Boudreau being hung out, and who could the Vancouver Canucks look to replace him with?

" I don't think it's a good thing to have hanging over your organization and team.."@FriedgeHNIC reacted to the shots being taken at Bruce Boudreau and it being time to make a change.

Full interview.. https://t.co/YGnJzlSBR7 pic.twitter.com/JNxcrXXwkU

— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) November 15, 2022

Rick Dhaliwal: “Elliotte, you and I were talking Saturday. Names, look, if the losing continues we’re going to hear names pop up. We, you and I heard Rick Tocchet’s name pop up Saturday. Are they waiting on something? In Pittsburgh, they loved Mike Sullivan, and you know they like Mike Vellucci.”

Friedman: “Mike Sullivan is not getting fired. If anybody’s thinking that, that’s crazy.”

Dhaliwal: “There’s no question. As the losses compound, you know names are going to come up in Vancouver. It’s just the reality of the situation now.”

Friedman: “I think the Canucks have done a lot of this research already, Rick. I don’t think this is anything new. I think last summer they were looking into who could be their next head coach. I think they really did a lot of research into that and I don’t know if they really talked to anyone per se, but I think among the coaching fraternity it wasn’t a secret that the Canucks were thinking about, okay, if not Bruce, then who. Or who could be our long-term person?”

So, if Boudreau gets the boot, who could replace him? Perhaps Rick Tocchet who’s working at TNT, or could it be assistant coach Mike Vellucci with the Penguins? What it really boils down to is Boudreau getting a raw deal for a team who is not performing, or is it Boudreau’s fault he isn’t getting his team going? In any case, stay right here at Full Press Hockey to learn about any NHL rumors which may come up.

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Montreal Canadiens – Josh Anderson

Rumor: Per – Marc Dumont – montrealhockeynow.com. The Canadiens would be wise to trade Josh Anderson soon.

Marc Dumont thinks the Canadiens would be wise to trade Josh Anderson soon. He stated concern over whether the 28-year-old power forward can fit into the Habs’ new identity focused on puck control rather than chances off the rush.

Dumont also noted that Anderson is starting to slow down, pointing out that forwards tend to see a big drop in production as they approach their 30s’. Nevertheless, Anderson still has a solid reputation around the league for his style of play. With the winger still owning five years left on his contract at $5.5 million annually, it might be a good time for general manager Kent Hughes to gauge his value in the trade market.

Hockey insider Elliotte Friedman has stated that the Calgary Flames are in the market for a scoring forward. Anderson could fit the bill. Mike Hoffman could be a more suitable alternative for the Flames. The 32-year-old winger’s production has improved following a slow start to this season. His contract ($4.5 million annually through 2023-24) is less of a long-term risk, though it would still require some effort to fit him within the cap-strapped Flames’ payroll.

That concludes this first edition of NHL rumors for today. Be sure to check out the second special edition article and thank you for reading!