NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Seattle Kraken, Anaheim Ducks

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The 2022-23 season is over, and players and front offices will be evaluated. Now, the focus shifts toward the new season.

In this Wednesday’s edition of NHL Rumors, we will examine the Toronto Maple Leafs, Seattle Kraken, and the Anaheim Ducks.

NHL rumors in this edition include:

Will T.J. Brodie be traded or bought out to save the Leafs some cap space? Do the Kraken need better goaltending to compete in the postseason? Young prospect Troy Terry and the Ducks are far apart on a contract amount.

Toronto Maple Leafs – T.J. Brodie

Rumor: Per – Mark J. Rebilas – yardbarker.com. The Toronto club is $12.4 million over the cap limit. Even with Matt Murray being on LTIR, they will still need to create more cap space. 

If you count the LTIR salaries of both Matt Murray and Jake Muzzin, the Leafs can deduct $10.3 million from their cap space nightmare. Yet, if Brodie is being bought out and it saves $2.5 million over the next two seasons, is that the correct approach?

Losing Brodie would have some severe effects on the Leafs. He can play either side of the blue line and is essential to the penalty kill. He is also in a contract year which always motivates a player’s performance level. If Brodie leaves, can Timothy Liljegren, Conor Timmins, or Mark Giordano replace him? Unlikely. They couldn’t trade for some other player since they’re in cap space hell.

A better route to take may be via the trade option. He is still a very skilled defender, and teams like the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks with cap space, may be interested in a trade. Brodie’s $5 million cap hit could be reduced nicely with a return who would be paid less.

Seattle Kraken – Goaltending needed

Rumor: Per – Kristen Shilton – espn.com. Can the Kraken advance further in the postseason with their present goaltending? 

With Philipp Grubauer slated as the number-one netminder, it must be noted that he works better in tandem with another goalie rather than as the primary starter. The other goalies on the roster include Chris Driedger and Joey Daccord. If GM Ron Francis goes goalie hunting, the choices are slim. You have two 38-year-olds in Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak. There is Grubauers’ backup last season in Martin Jones who was not overly impressive with a 27-13-3 mark. His 2.99 goals-against-average with a .886 save percentage don’t stand out as stats that will take you far in the playoffs.

Another option could be Alex Stalock, who is 35 years old. He gathered a 9-13-2 record last season with Chicago. With a .908 save percentage and a 3.01 GAA, he doesn’t stand out in the crowd either.

Francis may need to go to the trade market if he desires a younger, more reliable backup. The Kraken ranked 15th last season in average goals allowed per game with 3.07. If they can tighten up that stat, they have a shot of going past the second round of the playoffs.

Around Full Press Hockey

NHL Rumors: NHL Rumors: Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes

NHL:  Alexander Mogilny Deserves To Be In The Hockey Hall of Fame

NHL Draft: 2023 NHL Draft: Every First Round Selection

Full Press Bets:  PODCAST: Stack The Pucks – 2023-2024 Stanley Cup Odds

PODCAST: Ep 64: Hockey Hall Of Fame, Free Agency, and More

WANT MORE PODCASTS? Check Out Some Of The Latest From Around The FPC Network

Anaheim Ducks – Troy Terry

Rumor: Per – Josh Erickson – prohockeyrumors.com. Terry and the Ducks have extremely different perspectives as to what a new contract will look like.

Anaheim and Troy Terry made their arbitration submissions — team: $4.5M, player: $8M

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 31, 2023

The former fifth-round pick of the Anaheim club back in 2015 has shown the team good offensive numbers as well as being a defensive leader on the ice. His stats for last season were impressive. 70 GP, 23-G, 38-A, 61-Pts, -8 rating, 22 PIMs, 188 shots, 19:22 ATOI, 49.2 CF%. Yet the two negotiating parties are far apart regarding what his next contract should look like. As Erickson points out, a realistic contract may be in the $5.5M-$6.25M range. While he plays for a lowly team like the Ducks, his expectations of receiving an $8M deal are fantasy.

Don’t get it twisted; he is a top-six winger who deserves more than his $1.45M AAV contract. It might have helped his case to expect close to $8M if the Ducks had shown some competitiveness of late. They have not made the postseason since the 2017-18 campaign, and Terry can’t take them on his back all alone.

It is certain that if it goes to an arbitration decision, Terry must come down from the clouds and realize that while he is a good young player, he is not yet at the $8M player level he thinks he is. If he continues to work hard and achieves more success, his next contract will be close to that.

Perhaps his agent thinks the Ducks have to get to the cap basement since they are $5.39 million BELOW that currently. The team also needs to sign Trevor Zegras, who is not eligible for arbitration. Jamie Drysdale is also due for a new pact.

Take the $5.5M-$6.25M Troy. It’s the right thing to do.

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