In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Seattle Kraken are reportedly one of the teams to watch when it comes to a Patrik Laine trade. Meanwhile, there is talk that the San Jose Sharks might have made a deal with the New York Rangers to claim Barclay Goodrow off of waivers. The Carolina Hurricanes are close on a Jaccob Slavin extension, while Filip Hronek talks his new deal with the Vancouver Canucks. Finally, will Connor McDavid win the Conn Smythe Trophy, even if the Edmonton Oilers don’t win the Stanley Cup?
Patrik Laine to the Kraken?
Elliotte Friedman on a possible trade out of Columbus for Patrik Laine: “I have a few people who said to me, you have to watch Seattle on this one.” The Kraken don’t have many big cap hit players on their roster. Defenseman Vince Dunn is their priciest player at $7.35 million annually. Patrik Laine’s $8.7 million cap hit reflects how badly the Kraken feel they need goal-scoring.
With $23.424 million in projected cap space, they have the financial flexibility for a move, though they still need new deals for RFA forwards Matthew Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen. It will be intriguing to see if the Kraken try to get the Blue Jackets to retain salary in any deal.
Sharks Could Wind Up With Barclay Goodrow
According to a report, Barclay Goodrow may be claimed off waivers by the San Jose Sharks, freeing the New York Rangers from the remainder of his contract. The Rangers placed Goodrow on waivers on Tuesday, potentially to buy him out if his contract was not claimed. Goodrow has three years remaining at $3.6 million per season.
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According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, there is a belief that the San Jose Sharks have a pre-arranged deal to claim Goodrow.
Hurricanes Close on Slavin Extension
Friedman expects Jaccob Slavin‘s extension to be eight years and $6.5 million per season. The NHL insider reported about a week ago: “Obviously, Carolina has a lot of business to take care of for 2024-25, but word is they are also looking beyond that. Hearing the Hurricanes are working on a long-term extension for Jaccob Slavin. He is eligible to re-sign on July 1 and is a huge part of what they do.”
Canucks Re-Sign Filip Hronek
Filip Hronek signed an eight-year extension with the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. He said following the deal, “I really enjoyed the whole season. It was an easy decision to make and I’m really happy we got a deal done.” Patrik Allvin said, “[Hronek] expressed his interest of wanting to stay in Vancouver and be part of this group for long-term. We were extremely pleased to get it over the finish line here.”
This could be why the contract was worth less than $8 million per season, which one insider was adamant would be the number for the defensemen. Frank Seravalli had noted he believed the number would “start with an 8 all day long.”
McDavid to Win the Conn Smythe Trophy?
Win or lose, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is now the betting favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy this season. As per Greg Wyshynski of ESPN, the Conn Smythe has been awarded 58 times. It’s been given to a player from the team that lost in the Stanley Cup Final just five times. In four of those cases, it has gone to a goaltender.
McDavid posted his second four-point night on Tuesday as the Oilers brought the series back to Edmonton and are now down 3-2. McDavid broke an NHL scoring record by passing Wayne Gretzky in assists.