NHL Rumours: Knies/Byram Swap, Pettersson Trade Talks & Dickinson Extension

In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we start off with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres, who could come together to talk about a swap of Matthew Knies and Bowen Byram. Next, the Vancouver Canucks are still looking to move Elias Pettersson, but they have budged a bit on their willingness to retain salary.

Finally, the Edmonton Oilers have extended Jason Dickinson to a five-year extension. What does that mean for their other free agents?

Potential Knies-for-Byram Swap Brewing?

The Maple Leafs have been looking at the possibility of a Knies trade since at least the 2026 trade deadline. There was a reported deal to the Montreal Canadiens that didn’t get across the finish line by 3:00 p.m., and with new management in place, some wonder if they will still look to move him.

Even with the update in the front office, TSN’s Chris Johnston reported that John Chayka, Mats Sundin, and the rest of the Leafs’ management are still willing to listen.

Johnston stated, “…even after the change in management, the Leafs are at least keeping their ears open to the possibility that Knies could bring them back multiple pieces that can help as they look to sort of refresh and retool moving forward.”

Over to the Sabres’ side of things, with the reports that they may look to move away from Byram, the Maple Leafs could be the kind of team to swoop in and execute a hockey trade.

The Sabres were interested in Knies at the trade deadline, but obviously, a trade never materialized.

Now that the Maple Leafs have brought in Darren Raddysh, they don’t have as much of a need for a defenseman like Byram, but they could still benefit from more puck-moving ability, and without Morgan Rielly’s cap hit, they could make it work.

Canucks Willing to Retain on Pettersson to Facilitate Move

It has been pretty widely known that the Canucks are looking to move away from Pettersson. After a disappointing last two seasons, where he collected just 96 total points, Pettersson’s rapid decline has the Canucks wanting to give him another chance somewhere else.

Pettersson is an attractive asset. Even coming in as a second-line centre, he could be a great player for many teams. The problem is the risk. Pettersson makes $11.6 million for each of the next six seasons, and that is a big cap hit to take on.

Until now, all reports suggested that the Canucks would not retain on his contract, which is likely why he has remained with the club this long.

Now, the Canucks are under a new regime, and according to Pierre LeBrun, they are now willing to retain salary.

If the Canucks will retain even $3 million, having Pettersson under contract for six years at $8.6 million is a bet worth taking, especially compared to where he is at now.

At his best, Pettersson could be a 100-point Selke Trophy candidate. He could be challenging for a spot on the top-five centres list. He showed that he can be that good.

Oilers Commit to Dickinson, Clarity on Remaining Free Agents

The Oilers announced that they have signed Dickinson to a five-year, $20 million extension. They had quite a list of bottom-six free agents they need to decide on before July 1, and this could help get some clarity on who is staying and who is going.

Dickinson was acquired to be a third-line centre and penalty-killing role player. He did well in his short post-deadline stint with the Oilers and has been rewarded for it.

Other remaining free agents from the Oilers’ forward group include Adam Henrique, Curtis Lazar, Kasperi Kapanen, and Jack Roslovic.

There haven’t been any indications that the Oilers are going to bring back any of these forwards. After the Dickinson extension, the Oilers have roughly $10 million in cap space and are working on getting a deal done for Connor Murphy.