NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators & More

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The 2022-23 regular season is nearly halfway done and players will be evaluated. Now, with the trade deadline quickly approaching, rumors are still around. The NHL holiday trade freeze ended at 12:01 am on December 28th. That could mean trade activity or NHL rumors could be picking up.

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 possible. In this Wednesday’s edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators, and Arizona Coyotes.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Michael Bunting

Rumor: Per – Pierre LeBrun – TSN.ca. The Toronto Maple Leafs have reached out to Michael Bunting’s camp this week in regard to a preliminary chat about a possible contract extension.

Hearing that the Leafs this week have touched based with Michael Bunting's camp, a very, very preliminary chat about the pending UFA and next contract. Nothing concrete yet. Unclear where this goes at this point.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 3, 2023

While the Maple Leafs would love to extend Michael Bunting to a possible eight-year deal, there seems to be no rush. He is currently signed to a very reasonable $950,000 contract ending after this season. Bunting has been very productive alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Bunting has produced good stats with 11 goals and 15 assists in 37 games. The team would like to use an eight-year deal to decrease the AAV of the deal.

Yet, as always the Toronto club has salary cap issues with 65.6 percent of their salary cap committed to forwards. That amounts to $40.5 million for their top four forwards Matthews, Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander. After next season both Matthews and William Nylander’s contracts are up and they will need new ones. The season after, Marner and John Tavares’ contracts expire. Tavares won’t be getting as much on his next deal, but the other three will get more money. That leaves less for Bunting and something Kyle Dubas has to think about when planning to sign Bunting or others.

The Maple Leafs will only have about $12.76 million in cap space for the 2023-24 season even with the $1 million increase in the cap limit. The team will have nine unrestricted free agents and three restricted free agents to consider. With Jake Muzzin more than likely coming off of LITR, his $5.625 million salary will need to be factored into the budget. That may not leave enough room for Bunting. Some Leafs’ fans think that Bunting should be traded to the Edmonton Oilers.

Chicago Blackhawks – Max Domi

Rumor: Per – Jeff Marek/Elliotte Friedman – sportsnet.ca. Blackhawks’ Max Domi could stay in Chicago after the trade deadline.

Per Marek: “It seems as if Domi has really found a home in Chicago. The team likes him, general manager Kyle Davidson really likes him, Domi really enjoys playing in Chicago. Seems like a real good fit there.”

Another scenario could be trading Domi to say Edmonton for goalie Jack Campbell. Campbell has not lived up to the contract he signed earning $5 million for five years. The Oilers have been needing a replacement player with some grit to fill in for injured Evander Kane. The Blackhawks have the cap space to take on Campbell’s contract and if he gets his game back he could be a positive factor in Chicago’s rebuild.

With the possibility of losing at least one of Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews, the Hawks should try to get something for Domi if they are going to trade him.

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Ottawa Senators – Nikita Zaitsev

Rumor: Per – Kevin Weekes – Multimedia Broadcaster Analyst ESPN, NHL Network, TSN. The Sens are actively seeking a trade for Zaitsev, allowing his reps to speak with other clubs.

**Keep an eye 👁️ on**
I’m told @Senators are actively actively seeking a trade of D Zaitsev. They’ve granted permission to his representatives to speak with clubs. My understanding is Sens willing to move high draft pick or a prospect to accommodate trade. @NHL #HockeyTwitter

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) January 1, 2023

Three teams could have interest in Zaitsev. They include the Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes, and the Buffalo Sabres per Shane Seney of nhltraderumors.me. The Blackhawks are willing to accept bad contracts for draft picks, and that may be why they’re interested in Zaitsev and his $4.5 million cap hit through this season. If Ottawa adds a top pick, it could happen.

The Arizona Coyotes are in a similar situation of a rebuild, and beyond that, they could always take on Zaitsev’s contract in a potential rumored trade for Jakob Chychrun. Of course, the Yotes will also expect to get draft picks in return. If the Sens can talk down Bill Armstrong‘s return demands for Chychrun, a trade could go down. The two players’ contracts are very similar. Perhaps the Sens can offer a first-rounder and a good prospect to sweeten the deal.

Arizona Coyotes – Jakob Chychrun

Rumor: Per – Michael Russo – theathletic.com. Chychrun is playing well, and teams are interested, but the return is too much for them at this point.

Teams are willing to part with one first-rounder, but the problem is the second first-round pick or second first-rounder type thing. Per Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman on sportsnet.ca, on their 32 Thoughts podcast, they talked about Chychrun being linked to the Los Angeles Kings.

Friedman: “Kings management have been talking to Arizona trying to get them to budge but Arizona has been holding firm on their demands.” Marek added: “The Kings will be active at the deadline as they are open for business and looking to add and will be in on Chychrun.”

As Chychrun’s play has been stellar of late, it seems like the ideal time to consummate a trade. He has been on a tear since returning with four goals and 13 assists in 19 games and 63 shots on net. Some team must want him bad enough to accept the return demands. As time transpires, we will see which NHL rumors turn into a trade at last.

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