NHL Rumors: Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins

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 Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Vancouver Canucks – Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Rumor: Per – Erik Beaston – syndication.bleacherreport.com. Oliver Ekman-Larsson had the final four years of his contract bought out by the Vancouver Canucks on Friday. Where will he go next?

This was really expected considering that the Canucks needed to create some cap space to make some roster moves.  He only tallied two goals, 20 assists for 22 points which was his lowest point total since his rookie season in 2010-11 with the Arizona Coyotes. He played for the Coyotes for 11 seasons and led the team in points in the 2015-16 season with 21 goals. 34 assists. He also was their captain after Shane Doan retired.

It seemed to most Coyotes’ fans that when he lost his mother in 2017 he just never was the same player afterwards. He was dealt to the Canucks in July of 2021 in a multi-player deal. He was traded by the Arizona Coyotes with Conor Garland to the Vancouver Canucks for a 2nd-round draft pick in 2022, 7th round draft pick in 2023, Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, 1st round draft pick in 2021 (Dylan Guenther) and Antoine Roussel. The trade has worked out best for the Coyotes as they obtained Dylan Guenther with the ninth overall pick in 2021. The Canucks are also attempting to move Garland as they need to get away from his $4.95 million contract good through the 2025-26 season.

Where does this leave Ekman-Larsson? He may find work with some playoff contenders like the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, and Pittsburgh Penguins. They all have holes on that side of the ice to fill and would likely welcome him aboard if they can get him at a reduced rate. Say, like $1.15 million or so? We’ll see. The Hurricanes seem like a good fit should they fail to extend Brett Pesce and deal him to another team. Keep a close eye on our NHL rumors for all the latest news on this.

Carolina Hurricanes – Brett Pesce

Rumor: Per – TSN.ca. The Hurricanes, would much rather extend and keep Brett Pesce than trade him. But, teams are calling to see if he’s available.

And as of Friday morning, the Canes continue to talk to Pesce’s camp in an effort to extend the top-four blueliner. Pesce recently switched agents, now with Judd Moldaver of Wasserman, and traditionally when a player gets a new agent, he’s probably been promised certain things. Teams in need of a skilled blueliner like Pesce include the Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers.

The Sabres are all over it trying to add a top-line defenseman. They have the assets and cap space to complete such a deal. With $14.5 million in their coiffures, the Sabres could easily afford Pesce’s cap hit of $4.03 million, even with a raise included. The Oilers are in a much worse cap situation and may not be able to afford Pesce. They could if they dumped some salaries like Kailer Yamamoto‘s $3.1 million cap hit by trading him. It’s a sure bet that GM Ken Holland is checking all he can do to add Pesce. With the recent addition of Mattias Ekholm, the Oilers’ blueline would certainly be more fortified.

What it boils down to is either the Hurricanes extend Pesce or trade him this summer. They’re not comfortable letting him start the 2023-24 season on an expiring deal. They’re protecting the asset here.

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Pittsburgh Penguins – David Kempf

Rumor: Per Frank Seravalli – dailyfaceoff.com. Maple Leafs forward David Kampf, who is set to hit free agency, is a prime target for the Penguins.

Pittsburgh is in need of a number-three center who can play a defensive game and they are looking to gain some foot speed. Kampf checks off both boxes. Newly hired GM Kyle Dubas signed the shut-down center in Toronto and it was a great contract where Kampf really excelled in his role. He’s 28 years old and still in the prime of his career. He can set up nicely in the third hole behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Kampf is also a skilled penalty killer, which head coach Mike Sullivan will love. His offensive game is underrated and as a Maple Leaf, he showed flashes of brilliance. In 2022-23 Kampf finished with 27 points in 82 games. Expect to see the Penguins offer a three or four-year contract in the $3.5 million range. Dubas has already brought in Jason Spezza to work as the Assistant GM, look for a couple of former players he knows to follow suit with Kampf being the most likely.

Dubas is on a mission to have the Pens gain respectability again after missing the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. Adding a role player like Kempf is a good starting point.

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