NHL Rumors: Bruins, Penguins, Rantanen, Laine, More

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news on the Boston Bruins moving on to negotiate with defenseman Torey Krug, there is potential the Pittsburgh Penguins will offload a goaltender on the cheap and Mikko Rantanen is literally getting farther away from joining the Colorado Avalanche. Finally, is there more to Laine’s negotiations than just money? It sure sounds like it.

Bruins Set to Talk With Krug

Now that the big-ticket restricted free agents are signed in Boston, the Bruins can turn their attention to soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Torey Krug. Krug has been waiting for the Bruins to conduct their other business but now wants to get negotiations started on a new deal.

Bruins GM Don Sweeney told NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty that he expects to start extension discussions with Krug’s camp soon. He just needs to do some salary-cap forecasting first.

The reason the Bruins can’t just jump into a new deal with Krug is because the organization back-loaded Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo’s new deals. Doing so guarantees the Bruins will pay more later by paying less now and the team has $56 million committed to the 2020-21 roster. Krug won’t come cheap so the Bruins have to work the numbers to ensure they can handle his sizeable raise.

Rantanen to Join Up With Laine

It appears things have turned another interesting corner in the storyline that is the Colorado Avalanche trying to work out an extension with Mikko Rantanen. Because the two sides aren’t close on a deal, Rantanen is taking off to stay in shape.

According to a report out of Finland, Rantanen will join Patrik Laine with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA to train until things are figured out with the Avs. Rantanen played for their head coach Kari Jalonen in the 2016 World Championship so there is some familiarity for the player.

That Rantanen is taking off to play, where he knows, makes sense but it’s not a good sign that negotiations are getting closer. Ironically, SC Bern looks like they are icing a team that could be a Stanley Cup contender.

Sticking with Laine, he told Iltalehti writer Pekka Jalonen in Finnish, (translated by Jalonen): “In contract negotiations, one thing is always who I play with. With the merits I’ve got, in somewhere else I’d play with the best players. Everyone who understands something about hockey knows it.”

It sounds like Laine isn’t pleased about where he often slots in the Winnipeg depth chart. Most of last season he was on the second line and when captain Blake Wheeler was asked about Laine’s comments and his feelings on Laine wanting to be slotted higher, Wheeler said he liked that the young winger was “hungry for more.”

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