In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Philadephia Flyers have officially brought in goaltender Ivan Fedotov. He arrived in Philly on Friday. Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs have extended Simon Benoit on a three-year deal. Are the New Jersey Devils going to hire Travis Green as their permanent head coach? Finally, there is chatter about Evander Kane and the Edmonton Oilers summer plans,
Maple Leafs Sign Simon Benoit to a 3-Year Extension
On Friday, the Toronto Maple Leafs officially inked defenseman Simon Benoit to a team-friendly three-year contract extension. Valued at $4.05 million in total, the deal comes with an average annual value (AAV) and cap hit of $1.35 million. According to reports from Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic, Benoit’s salary is evenly spread across all three seasons, without any signing bonuses.
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Benoit was set to be come a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. This deal gets all of the potential summer negotiation and back-and-forth out of the way.
Fedotov Officially a Flyer
After rumors Ivan Fedotov was joining the Philadelphia Flyers, the news became official on Friday, with the organization posting photos of the goaltender’s arrival. This is going to be an intriguing situation to follow. The Flyers want to play Fedotov down the stretch here to see what he’s got. He becomes a UFA at the end of the season and if the Flyers are going to commit to him, he’ll need to play games.
Even more interesting to see is what happens if he plays and he’s outstanding. The Flyers are still in the playoff mix and if Fedotov comes in and makes a difference in the post-season, he could become an attractive target for some teams. Considering the uncertain status of Carter Hart, the Flyers are hoping Fedotov is as good as he looks like he could be.
Is Travis Green the Top Candidate for Coaching Gig in New Jersey?
During Thursday’s “Insider Trading”, Pierre LeBrun said interim coach Travis Green is a serious candidate to take over the role full-time. However, he thinks GM Tom Fitzgerald will probably still consider other candidates. There are too many good coaches out there and available to make a quick decision and there could be even more coaches on the market after the regular season and first round of the NHL playoffs is in the books.
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There is always a team or two that moves on from a good coach after the team’s results aren’t what their respective organizations were hoping for. It would behoove the Devils to make sure they’ve looked at all options. That said, they really like what Green has done with the team since taking over and the style of play the team has employed since he got behind the bench.
Could Oilers Approach Kane About Summer Trade?
While he acknowledges that it is just an opinion, Adam Proteau suggests that if Evander Kane doesn’t find another gear for the Oilers in the postseason, there could be talk of an offseason trade. He notes, “If Kane is a passenger the rest of the season and in the playoffs, Oilers management will have to revisit Kane’s future with the franchise this summer.” He adds, “While he has a full no-trade clause until the last season of the current deal, Edmonton brass may quietly approach Kane this coming summer to see if it makes sense for both sides to move him to another team.”
He’s not the only one to suggest the future in Edmonton for Kane could be hazy. Frank Seravalli noted that there’s a belief by some that Kane’s act is wearing thin. He argued that this is a common theme among teams Kane has played for and while he’s not sure if will happen this offseason, there’s a solid chance to Oilers look to separate themselves from the Kane contract before it expires.
To be fair, Kane had an excellent game against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. He didn’t score, but he was all over the ice and physically engaged.
