NHL Rumors: Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, Vancouver Canucks

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. Training camps have begun with preseason games taking place. Rosters will be finalized. Teams are always looking to improve, and the excitement of a new NHL season is upon us.

In this Wednesday edition of NHL Rumors, we’ll examine the Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, and the Vancouver Canucks.

NHL rumors in this edition include:

Will Marc-Andre Fleury retire after this season? Is Av’s defenseman Samuel Girard headed to a Pacific Division team? What additional trades might the Vancouver Canucks be considering?

Minnesota Wild – Marc-Andre Fleury

Rumor: Per – sportsnet staff – sportsnet-ca. Fleury has stated he will decide his future after the 2023-24 season has ended.

? Our ? on retirement #mnwild pic.twitter.com/3zdGR4UCmD

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) September 21, 2023

Fleury begins his second full season with the Minnesota Wild after a mid-season trade from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2021-22. He is in the final year of a two-year deal with an AAV of $3.5 million. He previously spent four seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights and 13 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he earned his three Cup rings. At 38, he desires to see how this upcoming season goes before deciding on his playing future.

One of the more approachable players in the NHL, Fleury will know, as most do, if he still has the fire in his belly to continue playing. If he retires, he will be one of the greatest netminders in NHL history. Fleury’s personal goal this season would be to pass Patrick Roy in the NHL career wins list. Fleury needs eight wins to pass Roy. After that there is nothing much more on his to-do list before he retires. No waiting in line for Fleury to the Hall of Fame.

Colorado Avalanche – Samuel Girard

Rumor: Per – James Wilson – nhltraderumors.me. Girard could be headed to the Calgary Flames in a salary cap move.

Even with salary cap moves considering long-term injury reserve (LTIR), the Avs have just $525,000 of room. Having enough space to pay Girard, who has a $5 million deal through the 2026-27 season, worsens when they must consider finding cap space to pay Devon Toews. Toews becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Add in the speculation that the Avs have been courting Mikael Backlund, and you have the ingredients for a trade brewing. The 25-year-old Girard scored six goals and 37 total points across 76 games played, along with a -10 plus/minus rating. As with any trade, this could help both teams. The Avs could add a capable center, and the Flames would be upgrading their defensive corps with Girard signed for four more years.

Samuel Girard gets first goal of outdoor weekend!!!!!@Avalanche @NHL pic.twitter.com/1Idnwk1wLY

— KBM_sports__ (@KBM_sports__) February 20, 2021

When the Avs re-sign Toews, that will make Girard expendable and allow them to address needs they feel need to be addressed.

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Vancouver Canucks – More trades coming?

Rumor: Per – Bob Frid – yardbarker.com. Canucks continue to search market for more trades.

The Vancouver club recently traded Tanner Pearson to the Montreal Canadiens for goalie Casey DeSmith, but they still have more work. The Canucks GM Jim Rutherford stated, “Based on what we had to deal with, we’re still working through the cap. I think we’ve almost got it unraveled. We’re probably a contract or two away from getting to where we want to be and then we can really move forward the way we want to.”

Although Rutherford refrained from specifying names, it’s widely speculated that expiring contracts for players like Tyler Myers, who carries a $6 million cap hit, along with Brock Boeser (two years remaining at $6.65 million) and Conor Garland (three years remaining at $4.95 million) are under scrutiny and have surfaced in numerous trade rumors. GM Patrik Allvin said this week, however, that the team has no intention of trading Tyler Myers.

That may leave both Boeser and Garland wondering about their future in Vancouver. Both players have been involved in NHL rumors for a bit now. Rutherford has vowed that the organization is working hard to improve the team. Getting some additional cap space is part of the plan. With the cap increasing next season, most every NHL team will gasp a sigh of relief.

If this writer had to choose between Garland or Boeser being moved, it would seem obvious that the choice would be Garland. He has a lot of upside to his game and could help another team with his speed and all-around play. For now, we will need to wait to see what moves Rutherford and Allvin make to give the Canucks a better shot at the postseason shortly.

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