NHL Rumors: Ducks, Maple Leafs, Canadiens, More

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is a team that has shown interest in defenseman Justin Faulk, but that there are complications with any potential trade. So too, Carolina wasn’t the only team to pitch to Jake Gardiner. Finally, what amount of wins or losses to start the season would be the line in the sand for Mike Babcock in Toronto?

Ducks Interested in Faulk

When the Carolina Hurricanes signed Jake Gardiner to a four-year deal, Justin Faulk’s name almost immediately came up as trade bait out of Carolina. There were a number of teams rumored to make sense and among them were the Anaheim Ducks.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Ducks have had discussions with Carolina about Faulk and there might be a trade worked out. The problem is, according to Friedman, the Ducks are on Faulk’s no-trade list. Further to that, James Mirtle of The Athletic tweets that Faulk’s 15-team no-trade clause has been “causing issues” and making any trade much more difficult to accomplish.

Depending on Faulk’s desire to stay with Carolina, he could really stick to his guns on the 15 teams.

Canadiens Pitched for Gardiner

The Carolina Hurricanes were not the only team to reach out to Jake Gardiner. GM Marc Bergevin confirmed to Eric Engels of Sportsnet that the Montreal Canadiens made an offer as well.

Bergevin called the process of talking to Gardiner’s side a “two-way street” and that the player needs to be interested as well. That comment makes it sound like Gardiner might not have been interested.

Still with the Canadiens, it sounds like they won’t be bringing in Jason Pominville despite rumors to the contrary. According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, Montreal wants to give their young players a “fair chance” during training camp. If Pominville wants to be part of the Canadiens organization, he may have to settle for a professional tryout.

Zacha Going to the KHL?

Pavel Zacha is still without a contract in New Jersey and according to Igor Eronko of Sport-Express, Zacha has agreed to terms with Avangard of the KHL. There has been no official announcement from either side at this point, but losing Zacha would be a big blow to the Devils who are trying to be as competitive as possible this season.