In today’s NHL rumors rundown (part one of two), after a busy two days at the NHL Draft, teams have set themselves up to take a run at some of the bigger names in free agency. The Toronto Maple Leafs traded for the rights to Chris Tanev and it looks like they’ll get a deal done. Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators will take a run at Steven Stamkos after Tampa Bay balked at a better offer to chase Jake Guentzel. Rumors are that the Edmonton Oilers have asked Evander Kane to waive his no-move clause, and the New York Rangers are trying to clear cap space and might have a frustrated Jacob Trouba on their hands.
Lightning Out on Stamkos, Going for Guentzel
According to Luke Fox, “Hearing Detroit Red Wings very interested in Steven Stamkos, who is heading to the market on July 1. There are others (Nashville), of course.” This comes after GM Julien BriseBois confirmed the Lightning talked to Stamkos’ agent and nothing has changed with their offer. The team chose not to pursue a deal with Stamkos last season knowing they were risking a scenario where they couldn’t get something done late in the game. It seems clear they want to move on if Stamkos isn’t open to taking a highly-reduced deal.
Having moved on from Stamkos and after trading Mikhail Sergachev and Tanner Jeannot, Elliotte Friedman believes the Lightning are now the favorites to land Jake Guentzel in free agency. The Carolina Hurricanes have an offer on the table of eight years and $8 million per season but Guentzel has not accepted it yet. Friedman writes, “It’s possible Guentzel’s rights are traded prior to Monday. There are other teams who want to talk to him, to gauge his interest.” He adds, “I think right now the team to beat for Guentzel is Tampa Bay,” said Friedman.
BriseBois confirmed the Lightning did intend to be active in free agency. He said:
“The hope is that this newfound cap space, our favorable taxation situation and the opportunity to play with some great players should make us an appealing destination when free agents have to make decisions on where to sign come July 1. The unexpected consequence of this newfound cap space is that a number of teams are now reaching out about players that might be available.”
Oilers Ask Evander Kane to Waive No-Move Clause?
Friedman is also reporting rumors surfaced at the draft that the Edmonton Oilers asked Evander Kane to help the team facilitate a trade. On the latest 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman noted: “There were rumours they had asked Evander Kane to waive his no-move clause, but as of Saturday, that had not occurred. He added, “That’s another one to keep in mind. “We’ll see if that becomes a thing at all, but as of Saturday, it had not happened.”
Related: Oilers Make Surprising Decision With Jack Campbell Buyout
Essentially, Friedman is saying that there was talk about the Oilers asking Kane to waive but they haven’t… at least not yet. It’s not clear if they intend to or this was simply a baseless rumor that got around.
Maple Leafs Likely to Sign Chris Tanev
The Maple Leafs traded for the rights to Chris Tanev at the end of the draft on Saturday. The belief is they will offer a six-year term with a lower cap hit to get Tanev signed. Darren Dreger of TSN reports, “Toronto is positioned to strengthen their blueline. Some creative negotiating is required, but [Nikita] Zadorov and OEL (Oliver Ekman-Larsson) remain prime targets in addition to Tanev.”
The Dallas Stars did try to sign Tanev, but they were unable to come to terms with him. There is talk that they will have better luck re-signing Matt Duchene.
Rangers Trading Trouba Won’t Be Black and White
There was a lot of chatter on Saturday that the New York Rangers were working with the Detroit Red Wings to possibly trade Jacob Trouba to Detroit. That may not be as simple a deal as some are expecting. Friedman notes, “One of the things that has really made this challenging is that Trouba has struggled with the idea that the Rangers might want to move on from him.”
Trouba has a modified no-trade clause as of July 1 and it’s not clear if the Red Wings are on it. So too, he’s an $8 million cap hit for the next two years.
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