NHL Rumors: San Jose Sharks, Arizona Coyotes, Washington Capitals

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 San Jose Sharks, Arizona Coyotes, and the Washington Capitals.

NHL rumors in this edition include:

Will the Sharks unload Logan Couture? Andre Tourigny close to getting an extension? The Capitals need a top-six forward; who will it be?

San Jose Sharks – Logan Couture

Rumor: Per – Michael DeRosa – nhltraderumors.me. The San Jose Sharks finally have traded Erik Karlsson, and now one has to wonder what their next big move will be.

It seems that GM Mike Grier is stripping it down and starting fresh. After two months of NHL rumors involving Karlsson, he finally got dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, it may be Couture’s turn to be shopped. He is the team’s captain, but at 34 years old, his prime days in the NHL are dwindling. He accumulated 27 goals, with 67 points last season, and it seems like Karlsson, his value as a trade asset is at its highest point.

Couture would no doubt seek to be with a contender, so he has a shot at a Cup. He is still a top-six forward and can produce results. His $8 million contract, good through the 2026-27 season, may be an issue, but Grier managed to get around that with the Karlsson trade. The Sharks are down to about $4 million in cap space, and losing Couture’s large contract for another four years would be what a rebuilding team needs to do. It seems the time is right to attempt to move Couture, so we shall see if yet another major deal happens in San Jose.

Arizona Coyotes – Andre Tourigny

Rumor: Per Brian La Rose – prohockeyrumors.com. There has been mutual interest between the Coyotes and head coach Andre Tourigny about a possible contract extension.

Per Coyotes’ insider Craig Morgan of gophnx.com, Tourigny and the team have come to an agreement on a new contract to be the head coach. The only delay seems to be that Tourigny also wants to get his assistant coaches new deals.

Tourigny has been the bench boss for the last two seasons, replacing Rick Tocchet, who went on to coach the Vancouver Canucks. Tourigny’s record of 53-90-21 is not especially admirable, but he is an excellent communicator with the younger players. Even veterans like Nick Bjugstad have boosted about always learning something new from “Bear.”

There is no rush to get Tourigny signed since he is still under contract for another year, but he has done some good work getting his team ready each night. Some had thought that Tourigny might seek greener pastures once the rebuild started to turn down. The organization feels he is the right coach to continue the team’s path to a more competitive team. While they have improved their roster significantly, they may not be a playoff team yet. With Tournigy’s leadership and the team moving in a positive direction, good things are on the horizon.

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Washington Capitals – Top-six forward needed

Rumor: Per – Rob Couch – nhltraderumors.me. Another top-six forward could be added before the season starts.

When asked if he expects any additional moves before camp, the Capitals general manager, Brian MacLellan, said, “There could be. He had a few discussions at the draft – it might carry forward, or it might not carry forward…we’ll see where it goes here.”

The Caps added Joel Edmundson and signed Max Pacioretty, a wildcard depending on his health. While they await Pacioretty’s return, they need reinforcements up front. The future of both Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha forces MacLellan to make some decisions on who to keep and who to move.

Cap space will always be an issue as the Capitals are near the limit. They want to put behind them that they were not in the postseason last year and want to give Alex Ovechkin a shot at another Cup. We must wait and see how the Capitals address their need for an additional top-six forward.

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