In today’s NHL rumors, the Vancouver Canucks and a few other teams weren’t happy about some of the rumors that popped up over the deadline. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Devils temporarily solved their goaltending concerns, but it is expected they’ll revisit their needs at the position during the summer. Did the Edmonton Oilers have deadline options on the table they chose not to pursue? Finally, the Los Angeles Kings were quiet at the deadline. What were they working on before opting to sit deadline day out?
Canucks Unhappy About Lindholm Speculation
Heading into the trade deadline, a rumor popped up that suggested the Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Boston Bruins might have had a three-way trade in the works. It’s not clear if that trade was ever close, but word got to the teams and the players weren’t happy about the chatter.
Specifically, Friedman said people disputed the rumors and added the Canucks were less than thrilled when Elias Lindholm‘s name popped up. He noted on the 32 Thoughts Podcast:
I think Vancouver was really unhappy that some of the Lindholm stuff got out. I think there was some really tough conversations between the Canucks and Lindholm and his representatives about that. I don’t think it was easy. I think the Canucks were really unhappy.
Devils Plan to Keep Searching for Goaltending
As per The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, reports are out there that the New Jersey Devils intend to pursue a starting goaltender during the offseason. They added Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen at the deadline, but they were looking for a much bigger name with their hooks in the water on Calgary Flames’ netminder Jacob Markstrom and the Nashville Predators’ Juuse Saros.
Related: NHL Projected Lineups, Starting Goalies, Injuries, Updates
LeBrun writes:
The idea here is to try to finally reel in a stud goalie and have Allen there to create a 1A-1B situation. All of which is why it was paramount for Montreal to retain 50 percent on Allen, making him a bargain at a $1.925 million cap hit through next season. It’s also why New Jersey had to move Vitek Vanecek and his $3.4 million cap hit for next season.
source – ‘LeBrun rumblings: Gabriel Landeskog’s timeline, the Devils’ goalie plan and more deadline aftermath’ -Pierre LeBrun – The Athletic – 03-12-2024
Saros’ situation intrigues LeBrun. The 28-year-old Predators netminder is signed through next season and the Predators have been public about wanting to keep him.
Oilers Chose Not to Make a Few Deadline Moves
Friedman also heard about some moves that didn’t happen in Edmonton at the deadline. He noted that GM Ken Holland was in on several conversations and he thinks the team’s offseason could be intriguing. He said his sources had the Oilers offering up Cody Ceci in a deal before ultimately deciding not to go there.
“I’m going to be very curious about what Edmonton did not do. I think they had a few irons out there, obviously they were around on [Chris] Tanev. But I think there were a couple others.”
Kings Were in on Toffoli and Smith
Friedman reported that the Los Angeles Kings came close to acquiring Reilly Smith from the Pittsburgh Penguins but didn’t have the salary cap space to pull off a move. They were also said to be a team interested in Tyler Toffoli before the Winnipeg Jets made their move.
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When Toffoli was off the table, the Kings then shifted their attention to Smith. They just couldn’t make it work. Friedman noted, “There was a lot of competition for Toffoli” and added, “There were a lot of rumors about LA.”
