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 45 days away, 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 edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, and the Vancouver Canucks.
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Toronto Maple Leafs – Ivan Barbashev
Rumor: Per – thefourthperiod.com. Besides the obvious need on their blueline, GM Kyle Dubas may be looking for some secondary scoring.
Barbashev could really add some needed physicality to the Leafs’ lineup. He has 95 hits in 45 games this season. With the Toronto club looking forward to the playoffs, his defensive abilities would be an added plus.
His offensive game has dropped off a bit this season with just 0.44 points per game compared to 0.74 last season. He has a $2.25 million cap hit and will be an unrestricted free agent this July. Dubas will need to create some cap space since he only currently has $1.12 million available. Perhaps he can handle that with the return in this projected trade.
Barbashev would be a good addition for the Leafs who have been trying to add some grit to their roster.
Nashville Predators – Jesse Puljujarvi
Rumor: Per – Michael DeRosa – nhltraderumors.me. The Oilers’ winger is ready for a change. Could he be headed to Nashville?
Puljujarvi has been rumored to be moved for a bit now. He has expressed some discouragement in his abilities. He has only four goals and nine assists in 33 games this season. The Oilers are motivated to move him and his $3 million cap hit so they are able to make some other roster moves.
After 45 games, the Oilers are in a wild-card spot, but the Colorado Avalanche are just four points behind with three games in hand.
Nashville had Puljujarvi on their radar during the offseason, but nothing transpired. If a change in scenery helps get Puljujarvi, who was the fourth overall pick in 2016, going it will be worth it and will restore his lost confidence. That confidence was decimated more when Puljujarvi was scratched Tuesday night when the Oilers played the Seattle Kraken.
The Preds can use some help on the wing, and Puljujarvi may be able to provide that.
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Vancouver Canucks – Big Changes Coming
Rumor: Per – Harman Dayal – theathletic.com. With many unanswered questions, what is going on in Vancouver?
According to Dayal, big changes are on their way for the Canucks, who have disappointed miserably this season. It may all begin with captain Bo Horvat. Here’s what Jim Rutherford had to say at his press conference on Monday.
“We believe we have taken our best shot and the contract we have on the table for Bo right now I think is a fair contract for what he’s done up until this year,” said Rutherford. “But it’s certainly under market value for what he’s done this year. We’re in a pickle here. He’s had a career year, a career run, and he’s looking for his money and he deserves it, I don’t blame him.”
“But even with what we have on the table for him right now — without any changes, which there will be changes for next year — we’re well over the cap on the projection. In that projection, do you have (Tucker) Poolman on LTIR, I don’t know. There’s ways of moving money around, there’s creative ways. But the fact of the matter is it’s always a tight fit.”
So, it sounds like a rebuild is forthcoming, right? Rutherford would rather call it a “re-tool”, but whatever it’s called, players will be moved and the team will have a different look next season.
“We’re not looking toward a rebuild, I’d rather call it a retool.” Rutherford says he’d like to prioritize young players rather than draft picks
— Harman Dayal (@harmandayal2) January 16, 2023
Rutherford is hopeful that some of his cap issues will be resolved once the cap is increased. He may need to do some buyouts of contracts this summer. Of course, buying out Oliver Ekman-Larsson, for instance, would create a dead cap charge on the books until 2031.
It appears that Rutherford has his work cut out for him.
That concludes this edition of NHL rumors. Be sure to catch out next article and thanks for reading!
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