In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news that the New Jersey Devils might try to offload a player or two. In St. Louis, is there a way Alex Pietrangelo will accept a bridge deal with the Blues? And, is there an update on Max Domi’s situation in Montreal? Finally, are the Toronto Maple Leafs willing to move Frederik Andersen to land Matt Murray out of Pittsburgh?
Devils to Dump a Contract or Two
In his most recent mailbag, The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required) writes that the New Jersey Devils would like a number of their prospects to take on bigger roles with the team, thus they may look to unload a player or two during the offseason.
Miles Wood #44, New Jersey Devils – January 20, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Masisak names players in the system like Jesper Boqvist, Janne Kuokkanen, Joey Anderson, Nicholas Merkley, Nolan Foote and the potential of a 2020 lottery pick being ready for the NHL. That means trade candidates could be players like Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha. He also writes:
It will depend on a few factors. One is what happens with Kyle Palmieri and Nikita Gusev. If either or both sign new contracts for beyond next season, then spots in the top nine are going to be pretty limited.
source – ‘Devils mailbag: Expectations for Jack Hughes, best lines and arena music’ – Corey Masisak – The Athletic – 05/17-2020
Update on Max Domi and Canadiens
We reported the other day that the Montreal Canadiens and Max Domi haven’t talked an extension and that perhaps his desire to play center could create a situation where the Canadiens wonder about the long-term fit with the Habs.
Sportsnet’s Eric Engels acknowledged recent trade rumors but feels there are plenty of reasons why the Montreal Canadiens will retain Domi. Furthermore, Engels said he never heard from anyone that the Canadiens were considering trading him. It sounds like both sides want to get a deal done so it will a matter of waiting until salaries are more certain.
Alex Pietrangelo will be an expensive re-signing for the St. Louis Blues. With that in mind, some of the buzz around the rumor mill involve ways the Blues might clear up space to make any deal with their captain work.
Assuming Pietrangelo accepts a “hometown discount” of between $7.5 million to $8 million, Jim Thomas of St. Louis Today was asked about the possibility of Pietrangelo accepting a one-year bridge deal. He didn’t think it was likely, based mostly upon the fact that salaries might not rebound in a year’s time and the Blues would be right back to the same problem next summer.
Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues, January 6, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
But, Thomas did say there was one scenario where a bridge deal could be possible:
Even with a flat cap, there are still several teams that are in good enough cap shape for next season to make a run at Petro. Last time I checked CapFriendly, there were 18 teams with less than $70 million committed to the cap next season.
So maybe the agent checks the market, and if the waters are lukewarm at best, then maybe he thinks about a bridge deal.
source – ‘Quick Hits: JT on the Blues’ – Jim Thomas – St. Louis Post-Dispatch – 05/13/2020
Most believe the only way the Blues get out of this without much issue is if the NHL implements compliance buyouts. The belief is that this won’t happen.
Luke Fox of Sportsnet suggests not to look too deep into any rumors that include the Maple Leafs trading Frederik Andersen and trying to pick up Matt Murray from Pittsburgh.
While Fox thinks the Penguins could trade Murray, the scribe ins’t convinced Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas sees Murray as a better goaltender and wonders what his future contract will look like. He believes it’s better for the Maple Leafs to push Andersen contract talks past this season and see what happens next summer.
As more news and rumors hit the NHL wire, we’ll be sure to keep you updated.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
