NHL Rumors: Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The 2022-23 regular season is over and players as well as front offices will be evaluated. With the season completed, the focus shifts toward deals that may go down this summer. What about free agency? Clubs are always working to improve their rosters for next season. Teams who were eliminated from the postseason need to assess what happened and make adjustments. Some teams are having difficulty creating enough cap space to make moves. Others are experiencing severe injuries to star players. Trades/signings are dormant, for now, as a new Stanley Cup champion has been crowned. Look for trades to pick up as the NHL draft approaches June 28-29th. In this Wednesday’s edition of NHL Rumors, we will look at the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, and the Edmonton Oilers.

Winnipeg Jets – Pierre-Luc Dubois

Rumor: Per – Matt Larkin – sportsnet.ca. Potential trade destinations for Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Pierre-Luc Dubois is forcing his way out of Winnipeg, having informed the Jets that he won’t sign an extension or even a one-year pact guiding him to unrestricted free agency next year. Sound familiar? It was about a year ago that Matthew Tkachuk ended his time with the Calgary Flames. The well-sought-after Dubois may be headed to one of these teams, if when he’s dealt. Then, NHL rumors can stop following him around.

• Carolina Hurricanes – They are close to being a Cup finalist but need a star player like Dubois to lead the way. It may be costly to acquire him, but it could get them there. Seth Jarvis would be a projected return, perhaps Jack Drury and one of their best blueline prospects – to land a Dubois.
• Colorado Avalanche – They are in need of a #2 center and Dubois would do nicely. The only problem is they won’t want to give up their core players like Mikko Rantanen, Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin. They did well with J.T. Compher who collected 17 goals and 52 points. He earned $3.5 million and is an UFA. Still, he would be way cheaper than Dubois, who may earn $9 million.
• Montreal Canadiens – Dubois has made it well-known where he wants to land. The Montreal club is building quite a core of young, talented players and signing them to long-term deals. They also have two 2023 first-round picks. If they offered their #5 overall selection in the upcoming draft, would that be enough to entice the Jets to trade Dubois where he wants to play? We’ll see.
• Minnesota Wild – One must admit a one-two combination of Kirill Kaprizov and Dubois has to be intriguing. It may even put Kaprizov into MVP territory. The problem? Cap space. The Wild have painted themselves into a corner by needing to pay Zach Parise and Ryan Suter a whopping $14 million this season. Man, those buyouts can come back to sting you.

Calgary Flames – Noah Hanifin

Rumor: Per – Tristin McKinstry – clutchpoints.com. Flames’ Noah Hanifin trade rumors in full swing amid upcoming contract year.

According to NHL insider, Elliotte Friedman, “Teams have begun to ask the Flames, ‘what exactly are you thinking about here, what’s the future,’” Friedman said. The NHL insider also noted that, even beyond Hanifin, Calgary’s offseason could be interesting.

“Lowkey, I think Calgary could be just as interesting a team as Winnipeg over the next few weeks, depending on how all these players feel about their futures,” Friedman said.

The Flames originally acquired Hanifin in 2018 through a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes. Calgary acquired Hanifin and Lindholm in a deal that sent Dougie Hamilton and Adam Fox the other way. In terms of name recognition, it was a pretty significant deal.

The Flames have gone through some major front office/bench changes and it’s a possibility that Hanifin could be dealt in hopes of moving the team forward. Calgary has made three playoff appearances since 2018-19, but have advanced past the first round just once during that time. Maybe it’s time to make some more changes, this time on the ice.

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Edmonton Oilers – Travis Konecny

Rumor: Per Kristopher Knox – bleacherreport.com. The Oilers have inquired about Travis Konecny. But, will the return be worth it?

Most hockey enthusiasts are aware that the Oilers are one of, if not the best offensive team in the NHL. When you possess weapons like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, scoring goals is not an issue. What the Oilers need to do is prevent more goals. With a projected trade of sending Konecny to the Oilers in exchange for young defensmen Philip Broberg, that may be where it gets interesting.

It has been out there for a day or so now, but EDM has shown "decent" interest in Travis Konecny.

Not sure what an exact return could look like, but I've heard Philip Broberg's name tossed around.#fueledbyphilly

— Anthony Di Marco (@ADiMarco25) June 12, 2023

There’s no doubt that Konecny can be an offensive threat with 31 goals and 30 assists while only playing 60 games due to injuries. But, again his defensive capabilities are limited and that’s where the Edmonton club needs to improve. Trading away a young defenseman doesn’t seem to make much sense. If the Oilers intend to move forward, they need to address issues in net and on the blue line.

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