In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there are updates on the biggest names still on the board in free agency but not yet signed to a deal, there is news out of Calgary and their progress on getting Matthew Tkachuck re-signed to a new deal, and the Pittsburgh Penguins still need to move out salary. Who will they move?
Big-Ticket Free Agents and Where They’ll Land
Luke Fox of Sportsnet wrote on the status of the Top 10 remaining free agents that haven’t yet signed. It was a slow day Wednesday and there might be a reason:
Jake Gardiner
A bad back may be scaring some teams but he wants a long-term deal. Chicago and Montreal have been linked to Gardiner and he’s reportedly interested in going to Florida, Los Angeles or Minnesota. This one could take some time and the money or term might need to come down first.
Ryan Dzingel
Dzingel reportedly turned down a $20 million dollar, five-year offer from the Ottawa Senators. The teams being discussed when his name is mentioned now are Chicago, Colorado, and Edmonton.
Micheal Ferland
Ferland was heavily discussed at the NHL Trade Deadline but didn’t move. Now, he’s looking for a long-term deal and teams are hesitant to give that out to a two-time 40-point player. Calgary may have interest in bringing him back but they’d need to move out some salary.
Patrick Maroon
Edmonton and Calgary are among the teams that have shown some interest and St. Louis could still be an option. Maroon should be careful that he doesn’t see a repeat of last summer where he waited so long, he lost $3 million per season and a long-term deal.
Among the other names, Marcus Johansson wants a long-term deal, Joe Thornton wants to play with the Sharks but they don’t have much cap space, Justin Williams hasn’t decided if he wants to keep playing and more.
Related: NHL Rumors: Devils, Oilers, Canadiens, More
Tkachuk Not Going to Sign Offer Sheet
Pat Steinberg reports that Calgary Flames assistant GM Craig Conroy said that they aren’t concerned about the fact restricted free agent forward Matthew Tkachuk hasn’t re-signed with the team yet. They certainly aren’t worried about an offer sheet despite the fact it’s already happened once this summer.
Conroy said, “Matthew has always said he wants to be back. It’s not like anything is negative here. Both sides would like to get this done as quick as possible.”
Related: NHL Rumors: Golden Knights, Oilers, Islanders, More
Penguins Likely to Trade Three Players
Josh Yohe of The Athletic gave a rundown of the least to most-likely to be traded players on the Pittsburgh Penguins roster. He said there are three in the “Favorite” category.
Nick Bjugstad carries a $4 million salary cap hit and has had his name in the rumor mill, Bryan Rust is moveable for the right offer and Tristan Jarry could be a good sweetener on a deal trying to move out some salary.
Yohe writes:
A glance at the Penguins’ financial situation indicates they must make at least one more trade this summer to become salary cap compliant.
Then, there is this: Jim Rutherford has traded 45 players during his five years as Penguins general manager. Forty-five!
source – ‘Yohe: Your updated, Penguin-most-likely-to-be-traded list’ – Josh Yohe -The Athletic – 07/03/2019
Marc Methot Considering Retirement
Marc Brassard of leDroit reports that Marc Methot is continuing to rehab after his recent surgery, but is unsure if he will be able to play next season.
Methot has been dealing with lingering injury issues in his left knee and hasn’t played much over the past two seasons. He hit the free agent market this summer and there hasn’t been much talk about him going anywhere or any teams being interested.
Happy Fourth of July for hockey fans in the United States!
