NHL Rumors: Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators

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 Sunday’s edition of NHL Rumors, we will examine the Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, and the Ottawa Senators.

NHL rumors in this edition include:

Are the New Jersey Devils eyeing Quinn Hughes? Will Nino Niederreiter be traded? How will the Sens re-sign Shane Pinto?

Vancouver Canucks – Quinn Hughes

Rumor: Per –  Felip Gosselin – canucksdaily.com. Reports have indicated that the Devils had been communicating with the Canucks regarding a potential Hughes’ brother reunion.

This one seems far-fetched, yet you never know in the NHL. Reuniting the Hughes brothers would be quite the story. The Devils have had Jack Hughes on their roster since 2018. This past season he ignited the Devils’ offense with 43 goals, 56 assists in 78 games. Luke Hughes just played two games in a Devils’ jersey and had one goal with one assist. While it sounds like something out of a movie, the Canucks would be insane to move their best player on the blueline.

Quinn Hughes pic.twitter.com/cxzmRYm46J

— E (@rouzzyonthebeat) August 7, 2023

He’s had 129 assists in his last 154 games in Vancouver. He is the ultimate playmaker and the Canucks would demand a fortune in return if they even considered a trade. There are rumors and then there are fantasies; this seems to be the latter. Quinn Hughes is the backbone of the Canucks’ squad, I don’t see him going anywhere anytime soon. The intrigue of having all three brothers in the same locker room may be appealing but is unlikely to occur.

Winnipeg Jets – Nino Niederreiter

Rumor: Per – Michael DeRosa – nhltraderumors.me. The Winnipeg Jets could be in for some big changes this season, and one name who is starting to pick up some chatter in the rumor mill is Nino Niederreiter.

There have already been some changes in Winnipeg. Both Blake Wheeler and Pierre-Luc Dubois are gone. Wheeler signed on with the New York Rangers after the Jets released him last month. Dubois was involved in a significant trade with the Los Angeles Kings. The Jets received a second-round draft pick in 2024, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and Gabriel Vilardi in return.

Then, there have been NHL rumors floating around both Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck that they may be moving on elsewhere. Thus far, that hasn’t happened. Much depends on how well the Jets will do this upcoming season. If things don’t go too well, players will be dealt. Another player who could be traded is Nino Niederreiter. His contract, valued at $4 million, expires after this season, due to start in October.

He only played in 22 games with the Jets after being traded from the Nashville Predators at the trade deadline in February. The Jets gave up a 2024 second-round pick to add him to their roster. While he did have 24 goals, 17 assists during the 2022-23 season, he only had six goals, seven assists in Winnipeg. He is a middle-six performer and teams looking for a good puck possession forward who can also use his big frame (6′-2″, 218 pounds) to dish out 165 hits may inquire about his services.

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Ottawa Senators – Shane Pinto

Rumor: Per Steve Warne – thehockeynews.com. The 22-year-old center remains a restricted free agent and the Senators have a lot to evaluate and consider.

Warne mentioned, “The Senators’ financial picture has changed dramatically since July 1st. After signing goalie Joonas Korpisalo, wingers Vladimir Tarasenko and Zack MacEwen, and re-signing Travis Hamonic, Senators GM Pierre Dorion – like a kid at a candy store – has spent most his allowance, including his savings (from the Alex DeBrincat trade).”

Dorion’s current dilemma is that he only has $895,953 remaining cap space to sign an important young player. He will undoubtedly need to lose some salary to even consider a pact for Pinto. Dorion has to be thinking down the road when in a few short years, Tarasenko, Dominik Kubalik, and maybe Claude Giroux will more than likely be gone. He needs Pinto, and Pinto’s camp knows it. Is he looking for long-term security in Ottawa? Or does he want to take a bridge deal so he can leave at the earliest opportunity, like Alex DeBrincat? More importantly, does he feel like his potential with the Sens is blocked by Tim Stutzle and Joshua Norris for the next seven years?

Many considerations are there, and it will be interesting to see how Dorion handles them. Pinto was involved in rumors when the Sens attempted to acquire Jakob Chychrun. As it turned out, Dorion instead sent the Arizona Coyotes a 1st round draft pick in 2023, a 2nd round draft pick in 2024, and a 2nd round draft pick in 2026. He gave up some of his future in order to keep Pinto out of the trade return. That must mean he will find a way to re-sign Pinto. 

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