In today’s NHL rumor rundown there is reactionary news out of Toronto in regards to the Mitch Marner signing. What really happened behind the scenes to help get this deal done? In Edmonton, where everyone is watching Connor McDavid closely, he took part in the first day of training camp. How involved did he get? And, are the Montreal Canadiens trying to acquire Julius Honka out of Dallas?
About the Marner Signing: Who Blinked?
The Toronto Sun’s Kevin McGran writes that Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs were quite a ways apart until Marner blinked. The belief is that Marner was worried about missing games so he budged on his ask. When he did, the Maple Leafs budged too and the two sides sat down and worked it out.
Related: Mitch Marner Signs 6-Yr Deal With Toronto Maple Leafs
Kyle Dubas explained in the piece:
“It was great for Mitch to tell me how he felt, and me to explain where we were at and what we were proposing and so on. About how he fit into the team, how the team was going to move forward and everything of that nature. It was a real positive in the process.”
source – ‘Mitch Marner blinked first in contract staredown with Maple Leafs’ – The Toronto Sun – Kevin McGran – 09/14/2019
With Marner signed, the team’s core is set and Dubas must fill around the core with inexpensive pieces over the next few years. The Maple Leafs will be in salary cap trouble over the next few seasons and Dubas has a tricky job ahead of him.
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McDavid Wants to Play Games
Ryan Rishaug of TSN tweeted that when it comes to McDavid at Oilers training camp, new coach Dave Tippett says McDavid wanted no part of a non-contact sweater. “He’s out there to play. ”
McDavid was cleared for contact in practice and did actually go down in front of the net on a minor collision. He got up, shook it off and was fine. McDavid says he wants to play in games but the Oilers are going to be very cautious with him.
According to Edmonton Sun’s Jim Matheson, both players involved in the collision on the coach were joking about it afterwards. “Kass is doing everything he can to stay on that line (McDavid and Leon Draisaitl) and he hits his centreman. That’s not going to keep Kass on that line,” kidded Oilers’ coach Dave Tippett.
Related: 10 Biggest Oilers Draft Busts Since 2000
Anaheim Not Happy With Carolina
It became clear the rumored deal between Anaheim and Carolina that involved Justin Faulk was not going to happen early Saturday. General manager Bob Murray seems to be blaming Carolina owner Tom Dundon for partially getting in the way of the deal, or at the very least, negatively impacting his roster by publicly leaking the players involved.
According to Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register, Murray says the Hurricanes’ owner leaked out Ondrej Kase’s name in the trade negotiations. Murray explained:
“When things are out there and haven’t happened and some owner decides he’s going to garner some friendship with the media, and he’s going to get close to the media, and he puts things out there, some of these people, I wish they were players at some point in their lives,” Murray said. “Obviously, they weren’t.”
source – ‘Ducks GM Bob Murray rips Ondrej Kase trade rumors’ – OCRegister.com – Elliott Teaford – 09/14/2019
Canadiens Calling About Honka
Eric Engels of Sportsnet writes that the Montreal Canadiens are among a couple of teams that are interested in Dallas Stars defenseman Julius Honka. Recently it was reported Honka had requested a trade with such an uncertain future with the Stars.
The Canadiens are rumored as willing to trade a player for Honka instead of just giving up a draft pick. Sean Shapiro of The Athletic writes he too had heard that the Canadiens name connected to Honka and that a player-for-player swap might make more sense than Dallas acquiring a pick too low for their liking.
Elliotte Friedman suggests the Carolina Hurricanes could be another team that has some interest in Honka. Althought it would be interesting to see how that works considering Carolina’s depth on defense or if the trade only makes sense should they move Justin Faulk.
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