In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the NHL is investigating one of the trades that took place yesterday because there’s some confusion about whether a no-trade list was submitted properly and if the trade should be voided. Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers tried to make a trade that didn’t materialize. Jake DeBrusk signed a two-year extension with the Boston Bruins, but does that mean he’ll be sticking with the team? Finally, the Chicago Blackhawks will be meeting with their key stars about their future, all while getting shots fired at them from the Toronto Maple Leafs for leaking conversations to two teams had about goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
NHL Investigating Dadonov Trade
The National Hockey League Players’ Association is in contact with the NHL and investigating a trade between the Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights due to an issue with Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade list, according to multiple sources, including TSN. The trade was announced as Dadonov and a second-round pick to the Ducks for defenceman John Moore and Ryan Kesler’s contract.
The issue is that Dadonov is contesting the trade because he claims he filed his no-trade list — Anaheim was on it — and the Golden Knights and Ducks are saying the no-trade list was never on record so they didn’t know Anaheim was a team he didn’t want to go to. When Dadonov was traded from the Ottawa Senators to the Golden Knights, it is being reported the no-trade list wasn’t presented.
As of now, it’s still not clear where the NHL will land on this.
DeBrusk Was Hoping to Be Traded Before Deadline
When DeBrusk signed a two-year, $8-million extension with the Bruins Monday morning, it wasn’t because he wanted to stay in Boston. In fact, the idea behind the signing was to make it easier for the Bruins to trade him before the deadline. Obviously, that didn’t happen.
Because other teams were concerned with his $4.41-million qualifying offer, the belief was if he signed an extension that gave some teams security about his future, they would be more interested. The Bruins kept him anyway as Piere LeBrun reports in The Athletic:
But even that didn’t lead to a trade. Simply put, the Bruins felt DeBrusk was the best player and fit for them relative to what they explored in the marketplace and what they were offered. Obviously, they may re-visit the trade market after the season.
source – ‘LeBrun: Artturi Lehkonen deal a win-win, why Flames didn’t pursue Mark Giordano, and more from deadline day’ – Pierre LeBrun – The Athletic – 03/22/2022
While DeBrusk loves the city of Boston, he was disappointed that signing didn’t lead to a trade yesterday.
Oilers Tried to Trade Josh Archibald
According to Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic, Oilers’ GM Ken Holland said he committed to Josh Archibald and his agent to trade the winger during this year’s deadline. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a market for him. Holland did say that he likes having Archibald and what he brings on the team and wasn’t willing to pay a sweetener to get a team to take him.
Related: Oilers Acquire Derick Brassard: Everything You Need to Know
Holland also hinted that he paid a little more for Brett Kulak than he would have liked in the trade with the Montreal Canadiens, but said the market for rental defencemen changed when Nashville gave up a second-rounder to Seattle to acquire Jeremy Lauzon. Holland noted, “The prices were higher than they were two years ago. … If you don’t want to pay the price, you still on the sidelines.”
Blackhawks to Meet With Kane, Toews and Jones
A meeting is set to take place this week between veteran agent Pat Brisson — who represents all three of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Seth Jones — and Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson to gauge where all three players are at in terms of their futures with the organization.
LeBrun writes:
But no doubt Brisson will want to get a bit of a sense of where this Blackhawks’ rebuild is headed and where his three high-profile clients fit into that heading into the offseason. There are a number of teams drooling at the idea of bidding on Kane if he’s available via trade this summer.
Dubas Upset Fleury Conversation Leaked
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks did discuss the idea of a trade for Marc-Andre Fleury but that discussion was never meant to go public. GM Kyle Dubas was disappointed that it did and noted in a presser that Davidson is the guy to ask about that.
“We rely on other teams to keep that confidential, so it’s disappointing,” said Dubas. Dubas added that ultimately the Leafs weren’t willing to part with the assets required to make that trade. These are interesting comments because it’s a direct jab at the rookie GM in Chicago and it also contradicts rumors that Fleury was not willing to come to Toronto.