In today’s NHL rumor rundown, the Montreal Canadiens might have changed plans with a good, young prospect, while the Philadelphia Flyers clear the air on rumors they tried to trade a defenseman. The New York Rangers had a plan when they traded Brady Skjei, and the Edmonton Oilers might be getting a chunk of players back from injury.
Cauflied to Stay at Wisconsin
Considering the struggles of the Montreal Canadiens this season and with the Wisconsin Badgers not the national contender that many expected them to be, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin tells Mathias Brunet of La Presse that Cole Caufield will remain at Wisconsin for another year.
Brunet quotes Bergevin who said:
Cole Caufield is having a good year. But, in our eyes, he is not ready. We will make a decision at the end of the year. If he really wants to leave college, we won’t force him, but we’ll recommend that he stay [at Wisconsin]. That doesn’t mean it’s a disappointment. We aim for the best in long-term development.
It doesn’t look like Caufield will jump to the AHL either as the Canadiens really want to ensure he’s ready before the move him anywhere.
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Flyers Weren’t Looking to Trade Gostisbehere
NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall reported the Philadelphia Flyers weren’t shopping Shayne Gostisbehere despite rumors he was on the trade block at the deadline this season. Part of that might have been to do with his lower trade stock because of injuries.
General manager Chuck Fletcher admitted teams had called about acquiring him. He said, “Nothing really makes sense right now to me to move one of our seven D unless we’re getting a really great impact player back in some area.”
He added, “Those types of trades usually don’t happen right now.” suggesting that this could be something the Flyers look at over the summer or at the NHL Draft.
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Green Injured, But Oilers Getting Players Back
Despite a new injury announcement by the Edmonton Oilers that Mike Green would be out for four-to-six weeks with a sprained MCL, there is some good news in Edmonton on the injury front.
Paul Gazzola of the Oilers’ team website notes that winger Kailer Yamamoto participated in a full practice and defenseman Kris Russell might be close to a return. The Oilers are getting both Zack Kassian and winger Andreas Athanasiou back as well.
The Oilers take on the Winnipeg Jets Saturday and need to go on a run of victories to really secure a spot in the Pacific Division hunt.
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Rangers Looking to Sign Most of Their Pending Free Agents
The New York Post’s Larry Brooks believes the New York Rangers traded Brady Skjei to the Carolina Hurricanes, in part, so they would have the room to re-sign most of their pending free agents over the summer. They now have the money to sign players like Ryan Strome and Tony DeAngelo and they might not have to trade winger Pavel Buchnevich.
That said, the Rangers have over $67 million invested in 15 players for 2020-21 and arbitration rights held by restricted free agents could complicate things a touch. The Rangers need to hope these players aren’t seeking much more than the team is willing to pay.
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