NHL Rumors: Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers

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 edition of NHL Rumors, we will examine the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, and the New York Rangers.

NHL rumors in this edition include:

Will Jonathan Marchessault be traded? What is the latest on Evan Bouchard’s contract? Will the Rangers part ways with Jacob Trouba, or Ryan Lindgren?

Vegas Golden Knights – Jonathan Marchessault

Rumor: Per – Jason Pothier – sin bin.vegas. According to SinBin.Vegas’ Jason Pothier, the Vegas Golden Knights are not shopping Jonathan Marchessault, even with extension talks between the club and the winger not starting.

Marchessault recently saw his name come up in the rumor mill this past week. According to Pothier’s latest report, the Golden Knights are not looking to move the 32-year-old forward at this time. Due to this, extension talks between the two parties could start shortly. While the Vegas club didn’t flinch when they realized they had to deal Reilly Smith away, that doesn’t mean they are about to do the same with Marchessault.

His performance in the playoffs was remarkable. Enough so that he won the Conn Smythe award given to the most valuable player in the playoffs. He tallied 13 goals and 12 assists in 25 postseason contests. While some may argue that his performance would bring back a better-than-acceptable return, he seems to not be heading anywhere soon.

Marchessault stated on the TVA Sports show, “There are no negotiations that have been done. I know that sometimes the Golden Knights like to take their time with that. We will see what it will give.” The fan favorite is still under contract through the next season, and if he is as valuable as everyone thinks, he will be signing a new deal to keep him in Sin City for a while.

Edmonton Oilers – Evan Bouchard

Rumor: Per – Dave Littman – nhltraderumors.me. The Edmonton Oilers and Evan Bouchard have still not come to terms on a new deal for the emerging blueline star. 

When RFA Ryan McLeod signed a new deal recently, most thought Bouchard would be next in short order. Yet, nothing has happened, and Bouchard remains the only player not signed yet. It has been mentioned that a number close to $3.9 million for two years would do the trick. Yet, Bouchard’s camp is looking for a backloaded deal, with the second year holding a higher number. The Oilers are struggling to get this done because they only have $3.51 million of cap space to get Bouchard in the fold. Of course, many teams, including Edmonton, are thinking about how the cap is expected to increase to a predicted level of $87.5 million. That would certainly help get Bouchard that increase he seeks in the second year of his proposed deal.

No doubt, GM Ken Holland wants to keep the high-scoring defenseman, who also has been a great power-play quarterback. He has had a terrific couple of years where he has exceeded the 40-point mark. Then, in the playoffs, he excelled even more with 17 points in 12 games. There have been rumblings that perhaps Holland would need to trade Bouchard. That would seem to be a foolish move, since this young player is beginning to show signs of NHL superstardom. Holland will figure it out… eventually.

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New York Rangers – Ryan Lindgren/Jacob Trouba

Rumor: Per – James Wilson – nhltraderumors.me. The New York Rangers stand at a pivotal crossroads in their roster strategy, particularly concerning defensemen Ryan Lindgren and Jacob Trouba. 

The Rangers are considering extending Lindgren for seven years at about the high $3 million to the low $4 million area. He recorded one goal and 18 points with a fantastic +29 plus/minus rating across 63 games.

Heck of an effort by Ryan Lindgren to whistle one past Vanecek's ear from the goal line#NYR pic.twitter.com/dBbewBoXpe

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 19, 2023

Then there’s Trouba. The Rangers are considering a buyout after the upcoming season, which would provide immediate cap savings of $4 million over two years. That would be followed by a subsequent dead cap hit of $2 million for an additional two years. Last season Trouba had eight goals and 30 points in 82 games. He is entering his 11th season, and is still a quality, hard-hitting defenseman. He added 218 hits last season, so buying him out won’t be an easy decision.

NHL Video Highlight – Jacob Trouba scores against the Pittsburgh Penguins to make it 5-0. pic.twitter.com/NxwAlltkeI

— NY Rangers Game Bot (@NYRGameBot) March 19, 2023

Much of general managers’ headaches have come from the lack of cap space. Many times players must be moved to accommodate the cap limitations. The New York club still needs to sign Alexis Lafreniere and only has $2.28 million with which to accomplish that task. Of course, there have also been rumors of Lafreniere being moved due to his slow advancement since being drafted first overall in 2020 NHL draft. Seems like GM Chris Drury has some choices to make.

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