NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals

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. In this Wednesday’s edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and the Washington Capitals.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Conor Timmins

Rumor: Per – Elliotte Friedman – sportsnet.ca. (3:22 mark) Toronto Maple Leafs and Arizona Coyotes talking trade.

TOR announces Morgan Rielly on LTIR — meaning a minimum of 10 games and 24 days https://t.co/L5py6RslGg

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 22, 2022

With news that the Maple Leafs are all but decimated on the blueline, the team had to call for reinforcements. With T.J. Brodie (21:23), Jake Muzzin (16:43), and now Morgan Rielly (23:00) all down, that’s a ton of ice time they are lacking from their defensemen. In July of 2021, the Arizona Coyotes acquired Timmins along with a first-rounder (Dylan Guenther) from the Colorado Avalanche for the services of goalie Darcy Kuemper.

Timmins has had his share of injury woes as he has only played in eight games in Arizona, with no points. He is playing for the Coyotes AHL team in Tucson for conditioning purposes after returning from an injury. He carries an $850,000 cap hit and will be a restricted free agent after this season. Timmins has some potential and is only 24 years old. In Tucson, he has three assists in six games.

He could really be of help to a Leaf’s blueline which is beginning to look like a M.A.S.H. unit. He has played with current Leafs D-man Rasmus Sandin while in the OHL. At this point, a return to Arizona is unknown. It is common knowledge that GM Bill Armstrong in Arizona covets draft picks or prospects with their rebuild still going full force. Stay connected with Full Press Hockey on all NHL rumors, including this juicy one.

Boston Bruins – Mike Reilly

Rumor: Per Michael DeRosa – nhltraderumors.me. Bruins and Coyotes emerging as trading candidates.

With Derek Forbort returning from LTIR soon, the Bruins are going to be hit with a cap issue. They currently have just $1.637 million left and Forbort’s salary is $3 million. The solution seems to be to trade Mike Reilly and his $3 million cap hit. He was placed on waivers on November 9th, cleared and was assigned to Providence of the AHL. The Bruins would like to move him and take his cap hit along.

For the Arizona Coyotes, they have made it known that they are taking on contracts for draft picks or prospects. Reilly is an eight-year NHL veteran and could help the Coyotes blueline. He has tallied 12 goals and 86 assists in 339 games. The other reason the Coyotes would be interested in Reilly is due to all the NHL rumors floating around concerning Jakob Chychrun and Shayne Gostisbehere. If one or both are traded, the Arizona club could use Reilly’s experience to fortify the blueline.

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Washington Capitals – Marcus Johansson

Rumor: Per – Michael DeRosa – nhltraderumors.me. Washington Capitals likely to trade forward.

The Capitals are struggling big time with a meager 7-10-3 record standing 13th in the Eastern Conference. If they intend to make it to the playoffs, something needs to change. They have only won two of their last 10 games and that won’t do it. At this rate, they will surely be sellers at the deadline. So, who may need to be moved? Try Marcus Johansson who has a $1.1 million cap hit and is 32 years old. He is a 13-year NHL veteran and should receive interest from teams seeking a bottom-six player.

He is versatile being able to play all three forward positions. Johansson has contributed four goals and four assists in 20 games this season. He has just over 16 minutes of average ice time. Some team will snatch him up by the deadline in March. For the Caps, their hope is to get the team going and sometimes a trade will do just that. We’ll need to wait and see if this one goes down.

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