In today’s NHL rumors rundown, there is an update on the St. Louis Blues and a possible Vladimir Tarasenko trade. Meanwhile, the New York Rangers will be buying out Tony DeAngelo’s contract. Will the Boston Bruins target both Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland? Could defenseman Cale Makar receive an offer sheet this summer? Finally, could goaltender Frederik Andersen remain with the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Tarasenko Open to Being Trade by Blues
Not long ago, we talked about the rumors of a trade that might see Matthew Tkachuk move to the St. Louis Blues as part of a deal that would bring Tarasenko to the Calgary Flames. While the Tkachuk rumors have been denied (and angrily) by the Flames, Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff has an update on the Tarasenko talk.
He writes, “The St. Louis Blues are exploring a trade for star winger Vladimir Tarasenko. While Tarasenko does hold the cards with a full no-trade clause, upon further vetting, it appears the player has alerted St. Louis to several teams he’d be willing to be dealt. A change of scenery is in order.”
He won’t be the easiest player to move based on the fact he has two years remaining on his deal at $7.5 million per season and hanks to a shoulder injury. That said, he is healthy now, so a team might be willing to try him out.
Seravalli hints the Blues might be team to watch when it comes to adding forwards this summer. He notes, with “Mike Hoffman, Jaden Schwartz and Tyler Bozak all set to become unrestricted free agents, that’s a lot of goals to replace.”
Rangers Set to Buy Out DeAngelo’s Deal
Also according to Seravalli, “The New York Rangers have finalized plans to buy out the final year of defenseman Tony DeAngelo’s contract, set to become official once the first buyout window opens 24 hours after the Stanley Cup Final concludes.”
The NHL insider adds that because the player is only 25 years old, the buyout will only cost one-third of his remaining dollars, rather than two-thirds for players who are 26 and older. This leaves the Rangers with a cap charge of $383,000 in 2021-22 and $883,000 in 2022-23.
New GM Chris Drury will have DeAngelo, plus Henrik Lundqvist ($1.5m), Kevin Shattenkirk ($1.4m) and Dan Girardi ($1.1m) all on the books as dead money.
Bruins to Target Ekman-Larsson and Garland
It sounds like the Bruins will be talking with the Arizona Coyotes again about possibly acquiring Ekman-Larsson. The issue will be how much salary the Coyotes are willing to retain.
Seravalli notes that one way the Coyotes might pique the Bruins’ interest in taking Ekman-Larsson and not worrying too much about the money, is by dangling Conor Garland out there as part of the deal. Seravalli writes, “It’s clear that Garland is on his way out of the desert. The scrappy Scituate, Mass., native has enjoyed success in a Bruins jersey before – racking up 42 goals and 94 points in just 40 games in a season with the Boston Jr. Bruins playing alongside Jack Eichel. (He actually outscored Eichel that season.)”
Coyotes to Move Multiple Pieces
It won’t just be Ekman-Larsson and Garland fans should be watching when it comes to players possibly moving on from the Coyotes. As per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, he recently expressed his belief that winger Phil Kessel could get traded this summer too, asmight goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
Could Andersen Stick with the Maple Leafs?
LeBrun reports there’s a chance Andersen stays with the Maple Leafs. His agent, Claude Lemieux, has confirmed that the Leafs have reached out to see if Andersen is interested in re-signing. Andersen’s answer was yes, he would like to talk an extension.
This doesn’t mean a deal will be easy to get done. He’ll need to be willing to take a pay cut and to share duties with Jack Campbell. The good news is that the second part (sharing the net) is something Andersen is more than willing to do.
How much of a pay cut Andersen will be asked to take will be intriguing. If this is all about staying in Toronto, we could see the deal come sooner than later. If it’s about a lack of options, Andersen could test the market first and then circle back to Toronto.
Makar Could Be Target for an Offer Sheet
Offer sheets in the NHL are rare. With a flat salary cap, perhaps even more so. But, as per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun a few different sources believe Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar is the one player who could receive one. Because the Avalanche have a lot of internal contract stuff to do — contracts for Makar, Gabriel Landeskog, Philipp Grubauer, Brandon Saad and eventually Nathan MacKinnon– they could be prone to lose someone if another team makes things tight.
