31 Thoughts rumor roundup
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: Dale Tallon told George Richards that he didn’t make any racial comments while in the bubble. The HDA may have known about the allegation before it was made public. One team may have been interested in Tallon in an advisory role before the allegation was made.
The Florida Panthers hope to have a GM in place by early September.
The Arizona Coyotes don’t have a GM in place yet. They will be close to the salary cap for next season and their goal is to cut salary and rebuild. After losing their picks for prospect workout violations, they now no longer have a pick in the first three rounds this year, and no first- and third-round picks next year.
Darcy Kuemper has two years left at $4.5 million and could be an attractive trade piece. The Coyotes could test the trade market for defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has seven-years left at $8.5 million. OEL has a no-movement clause but he might be okay to a move if he likes the team. Jason Demers, Alex Goligoski, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jordan Oesterle all have a year left and could be moved. A lot of teams could be interested in Hjalmarsson.
The Calgary Flames may take a week or two to decide if they’ll remove the interim tag from Geoff Ward or go a different direction.
Jacques Martin could replace Lindy Ruff with the New York Rangers.
The Washington Capitals have permission to speak with Peter Laviolette.
Todd Reirden could be an assistant coach option for the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The St. Louis Blues and Alex Pietrangelo met this week to discuss a contract extension. Sources have said that it wasn’t easy for Pietrangelo when his extension talks stalled and they were extending Justin Faulk, Marco Scandella, and Brayden Schenn.
The Carolina Hurricanes have shown some interest in Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen. The Leafs may see how the goalie market shakes out before making a move for an upgrade.
Don’t believe the Maple Leafs will trade forward William Nylander unless they are able to get a legit top-four right-handed defenseman.
Teams are asking the Montreal Canadiens about Phillip Danault after he made his comments about not being sure of his role with the team anymore.
Max Domi could be switching his agent this week.
The Penguins are seeing what the trade market is like for Jared McCann.
The Columbus Blue Jackets could look at moving a goaltender. Joonas Korpisalo and Matiss Kivlenieks are expansion draft eligible, with Elvis Merzlikins being exempt.
The Minnesota Wild will see what the cost will be to extend defenseman Jonas Brodin before he becomes a UFA after next season.
Don’t believe the NHL will use bubbles for next season as the players and owners won’t want it. They will likely look to limit travel by possibly having back-to-backs in one city. There could be an all Canadian division next year.
