NHL Rumors: New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers

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.

This Sunday edition of NHL Rumors will examine the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, and the Edmonton Oilers.

NHL rumors in this edition include:

Will the New Jersey Devils add Connor Hellebuyck to their already potent roster? What is the future of Casey DeSmith in Montreal? Is it time for the Oilers to trade young Philip Broberg?

New Jersey Devils – Connor Hellebuyck

Rumor: Per – Mike Rupp @nhlnetwork/@Rupper17. Former NHL’er Rupp believes that adding Hellebuyck would turn the Devils into an instant Stanley Cup competitor.

It makes plenty of sense to see Hellebuyck moved to the Devils. His outstanding stats compare closely to Andrei Vasilevskiy and that speaks championship similarities. With the exceptional addition of Tyler Toffoli, the New Jersey club would have it all… excellent offense, exceptional defense, and a goalie who keeps you in every game. So, what might the Devils be forced to give up to get Hellebuyck? Good question. The Winnipeg Jets have added some good young players when they traded Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings. They acquired Alex Iafallo (30), Rasmus Kupari (23), and Gabriel Vilardi (24). This proposed trade from capfriendly.com’s armchair GM section has some merits.

Trading for Connor Hellebuyck because Mike Rupp said so. But Mike Rupp is not the first one to propose this trade. In fact, Full Press Hockey’s own Jim Biringer stated so on the Rod Pedersen Show back on July 14th, 2023. There Biringer said the Devils would become Stanley Cup Contenders with the addition of Hellebuyck. The return must come with a replacement netminder, and Vitek Vanecek fills that role. To add to the Jets youth movement, the proposed trade includes another goalie named Tyler Brennan. The young goaltender (19) has played in the WHL and gives the Jets a future between the pipes. Then, Josh Filmon (19) rounds out the player exchange. He tallied 47 goals and 28 assists in 64 games in the WHL and is a native of Winnipeg. The last piece of the trade would be a 2025 first-round pick from New Jersey.

Hellebuyck may not be the only solution to the Devils’ hunt for an improved goalie. Karel Vejmelka could also come into play. Although his 18-24-6 record is not exceptional, don’t forget he played for the Arizona Coyotes. He had a decent .900 save percentage with a 3.43 goals-against-average. If he were on a better team, his stats would be much improved. The Devils may stand pat with the duo of Vanecek and Akira Schmid , and that isn’t too bad… yet the temptation of having a Hellebuyck in net is still very much there.

Montreal Canadiens – Casey DeSmith

Rumor: Per – Tristin McKinstry – clutchpoints.com. Solution for a goalie logjam for the Habs.

In the Erik Karlsson trade, Montreal acquired goalie Casey DeSmith and defenseman Jeff Petry from the Pittsburgh Penguins. DeSmith is one of four goalies in the Habs organization with NHL experience. Jake Allen is the most experienced of the group and Montreal’s probable first choice in net. Behind him, there is Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau.

DeSmith has a $1.8 million contract through the upcoming season. The Montreal club needs to decide if they want to go with Allen or DeSmith as their starter. Both could be attractive trade candidates. The clear choice will likely be Allen, leaving DeSmith open for trade. A contender may very well like to obtain DeSmith. A team on the rise might be interested also. A team like the rising Buffalo Sabres may throw their hat into the ring to obtain him. The fallback could be paying his $1.8 million contract, but watch for DeSmith’s name to come up soon in NHL rumors. He can help a team, and the Canadiens don’t need four goalies.

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Edmonton Oilers – Philip Broberg

Rumor: Per – Alan Mitchell – theathletic.com. Is trading Philip Broberg in the Oilers’ future?

Broberg is best described as a solid, young, top-six defenseman with the opportunity to move up the depth chart as his career rolls along. But can the Oilers wait for his development when they are in a “win now” mode? Probably not. The other issue is Broberg is a left-shooting D-man, and they really need a right-shot blueliner. Broberg is unlikely to replace Cody Ceci on the top defensive unit. The Oilers would want a right-shooting defenseman who can log more minutes to give Darnell Nurse some extra rest.

It would seem (and this is this writer’s perspective) that a team like the Coyotes may be interested in Broberg. He is in the last year of his entry-level contract and would blend better on a rebuilding team like the Coyotes. They have a couple of defensemen on their roster who might fill the bill for a proposed trade for Broberg. A player like Josh Brown of the Arizona team might be just what the Oilers are searching for. He is a huge player, standing 6-foot-5, 220 pounds. Teaming him up with Darnell Nurse would give the Oilers plenty of size to protect their offensive arsenal of Connor McDavid and company. He won’t give you much in offense, but he can definitely play the body.

Another player in Arizona who could qualify is Troy Stecher. He is not as big as Brown but averaged almost 18 minutes of ice time with the Coyotes. He has 440 NHL games under his belt and shoots from the right side. If the Coyotes would like to sweeten a proposed deal, they could always add one of the eight draft choices they possess in rounds two through four next year. Broberg’s days may be decreasing, especially if he doesn’t progress early on this upcoming season.