In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Seattle Kraken are officially out of the playoff mix. What is the plan for Shane Wright? Meanwhile, are the Florida Panthers going to get Sam Reinhart signed? What happens in Carolina where the Hurricanes have some big decisions to make? Finally, what’s happening in Philadelphia where John Tortorella is publicly blasting his team and Sean Couturier has suffered an injury?
Wright to Get NHL Action Before Going Back to AHL
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Kraken forward Shane Wright is back with the team for the time being. The Kraken are officially out of the playoff mix but the franchise wants to get a closer look at Wright alongside Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Eberle and with some bigger minutes before he returns to the AHL for their playoffs. He’s put up 20 goals in the 56 AHL games.
Sam Reinhart Not Worried About an Extension With Florida
Sam Reinhart is wrapping up a three-year contract with an average annual value of $6.5 million. He also happens to be having a career year with the Florida Panthers. Tallying 52 goals and leading the team with 87 points, the two sides have not secured a new contract.
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Reinhart says he’s not worried about that and noted he has a positive relationship with General Manager Bill Zito. Reinhart is focusing on the remainder of the season and the impending playoffs. “I’m completely confident things will fall into place,” Reinhart noted. “I’m content with the current situation.”
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When asked about taking less to stay in Florida where players are actively trying to go there, Reinhart said:
“Absolutely, for sure there’s a couple of sides to it. You know when you’re trying to make a decision there’s a lot that goes into it. This place checks a lot of boxes, that’s for sure.”
source – ‘What’s next for Sam Reinhart? Panthers UFA-to-be focused on now with big payday ahead’ – Pierre LeBrun – 04/03/2024 – The Athletic
In other Panthers news, per Head Coach Paul Maurice, defenseman Aaron Ekblad will most likely be out until Game 1 of the playoffs. Katie Engleson reports, “Maurice said he is quite confident Ekblad will be 100% and ready for game 1.”
Hurricanes Going All-in to Sign Guentzel
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period and NHL Network, some big decisions are coming in Carolina this offseason, the biggest of which might be what to do with Jake Guetnzel. Noting that the team hadn’t spoken much with pending UFAs this season and negotiations were almost non-existent for guys like Teuvo Teravainen, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei, Guentzel is a player they want to keep.
So they’re gonna have to get their act together relatively quickly when their season comes to a close after the playoffs to try to figure out what they want to do. Then you’ve got Jake Guentzel, whom I think they’re going to go all in for. They have relayed the message that they want to go all in to try to sign him to an extension. So we’ll see kind of where that goes.
The Hurricanes were reportedly in on the Elias Pettersson talks before he was re-signed in Vancouver, so there’s a bit of chatter that Carolina might try to take a big swing this summer.
Flyers’ Bad Luck Continues
After a couple of fiery press conferences in which head coach John Tortorella blasted his team for a lack of step-up in big-game situations, the bad news continues to roll in for the Philadelphia Flyers. Flyers captain Sean Couturier suffered an undisclosed injury in Monday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders. the 31-year-old’s return remains uncertain.
Tortorella stated he’s unsure of Couturier’s comeback timeline and while he is currently listed as day-to-day, his availability for Friday’s game against the Sabres remains uncertain. Couturier has yet to register a point after being made a healthy scratch twice by Tortorella. There is no doubt what’s going on there with Couturier and the relationship with his coach has contributed significantly to the Flyers’ diminishing playoff prospects. They now find themselves in a tight race with the Capitals and Red Wings to make the postseason.
