NHL Rumors: Canucks, Oilers, Canadiens, Sharks, Panthers

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, there is more talk about what a Vancouver Canucks’ trade of Brock Boeser might look like. Meanwhile, there is speculation that the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers might be linked on a certain defenseman.

Substack Subscribe to the THW Daily and never miss the best of The Hockey Writers Banner

How did Erik Karlsson react when he was asked if there was any truth to the rumors of a trade out of San Jose, and will the Florida Panthers have to hold off on a trade because of an injury to a forward that was rumored to be on the trade block?

Canucks Won’t Get Return They Want For Boeser

As per Elliotte Friedman, the Canucks will have to settle for a less-than-stellar return on Brock Boeser if they try to trade the forward. Friedman noted during the 32 Thoughts podcast: “It’s not going to be an easy trade for the Canucks to make, there’s not a lot of teams that have the cap room and the Canucks may have to understand that if they want to make the move they might not get the best return but I think they do understand that.”

Brock Boeser Vancouver Canucks
Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

This comes after Friedman reported that the Canucks have told Boeser and his reps that he is welcome to seek a trade and talk to other teams. Friedman adds that the bigger story here might be that this is the start of a dismantling in Vancouver. He notes, “And what I think they’re going to do is they’re going to say we have to create cap room, we have to change our mix and if that means if we trade Boeser and maybe our return isn’t great we still at least create the cap room and I think that’s a possibility here.”

Oilers Being Linked to Edmundson

Hours after Joel Edmundson got booted from a game for cross-checking Zach Hyman in the face during an Oilers vs. Canadiens game, there is chatter that the Oilers might have an interest in trading for Edmundson. Apron Basu of The Athletic noted that the asking price for Edmundson would likely be a 2nd or 3rd, Xavier Bourgault and Jesse Puljarvvi. Mark Spector cited that report and noted that he didn’t think it would take the draft picks to get the deal done.

The reason Basu says the ask is high is that the Canadiens are competitive, any team that acquires him could get two playoff runs out of the player, and the return for Ben Chiarot when he was traded suggests a bar has been set for a player like Edmundson. Basu did concede that a playoff team makes a lot more sense as a location for Edmundson to play than a Canadiens club that might miss.

Karlsson Says He Wants to Win

When asked what he wants and to comment on the noise that hints Erik Karlsson might want to move on from the San Jose Sharks and be traded this season, Karlsson said, “I want to win.” He suggested that he’s got many years left in his career, but as he gets older he’s running out of time to win. He’s hoping to do so in San Jose, but he didn’t say that he was unwilling to be moved.

San Jose Sharks Erik Karlsson
San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Friedman said that the answer suggests Karlsson is amenable to being traded if the Sharks are going the slow route when it comes to rebuilding.

Hold Off on Panthers’ Trade Talks

As per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, “Sounds like the Florida Panthers Patric Hornqvist is going to miss some time. Told he’s been placed on LTIR, meaning a minimum of 10 games or 24 days.” He adds, “So hold those tickets just yet on a potential trade for cap compliance once Anthony Duclair is healthy and ready to return.”