Rumor roundup involving the Sharks, Devils, Wild, Canadiens, Panthers, Senators, and the Rangers
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The San Jose Sharks season is a writeoff and the “For Sale” sign is up. Defenseman Brenden Dillon is expected to be traded and there will be teams keeping an eye on Joe Thornton. Thornton carries a no-movement clause, but does he want a shot at the cup? The Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins could be good fits.
The New Jersey Devils could try to move pending UFAs in Wayne Simmonds, Kevin Rooney, Andy Greene and Louis Domingue. They could see if Travis Zajac would waive his no-trade clause. New York Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello could be interested.
Bet that Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin has Peter Laviolette as his leading candidate for their next head coach.
The Montreal Canadiens would like a second-round pick for Ilya Kovalchuk, but interested teams want the price to come down. Teams will be calling the Canadiens about pending RFA Max Domi but the Habs may not be ready to move him yet.
The Florida Panthers could be getting closer to realizing they’ll be sellers and not buyers. The Panthers have pending UFAs in Mike Hoffman and Evgeni Dadonov. There is also some speculation that they could look at moving out Vincent Trocheck. Trocheck has two-years left at $4.75 million and they may have to take a contract back.
Ottawa Senators defenseman Dylan DeMelo could be on the move. The Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning, Winnipeg Jets, and the Vegas Golden Knights are believed to be looking for a defenseman.
The New York Rangers are trying to extend Chris Kreider but it won’t be easy.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau could be the top rental forward if Kreider is re-signed. Wouldn’t expect a team to give up a first-round pick for Pageau.