A few familiar names keep surfacing around the NHL rumor mill, and the latest chatter touches everything from Alex Ovechkin’s future in Washington to trade possibilities in Montreal, Winnipeg, Colorado and Carolina.
The biggest uncertainty centers on Ovechkin. Darren Dreger said on TSN OverDrive that, based on how active Chris Patrick and the Capitals have been, “Just how active Chris Patrick and the Capitals have been, all indications are he’s not , but we don’t know that officially yet.”
In Montreal, the Canadiens explored Mason Marchment, but only up to a point. Pierre LeBrun reported that the Canadiens were interested in Marchment, though they were not willing to commit long-term and block players. Eric Engels added that Montreal’s best path to improving this offseason is through trades rather than free agency.
Winnipeg’s goaltending situation also remains part of the rumor conversation. Nick Kypreos said on Sportsnet that the likely Hellebuyck scenario would involve Buffalo sending “Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Jack Quinn …to the Jets.
The Jets’ original ask was for Zach Benson, but the Sabres haven’t been willing to go there.” Dreger also noted that the Jets signing Stuart Skinner to a two-year deal with a $3.75 million cap hit does not mean a Hellebuyck trade is around the corner.
He described Skinner as “a good insurance goalie, or a backup to Hellebuyck.”
Out in Colorado, the Avalanche sound ready to keep their powder dry and build cap space for later. Evan Rawal reported that Joe Sakic basically said the team is done, adding: “We have a little bit of cap space that we’re just going to try and accumulate over the course of the year, see how much money we can save for the deadline.”
Carolina is still shopping for help on the back end. David Pagnotta said the Hurricanes were actively looking at the defenseman market yesterday.
And one more name to watch: Alexander Nikishin. Dreger said on TSN’s Free Agent Frenzy that he believes Nikishin is “likely ending up in the West; I know St. Louis was a contender.”
In Other News...
Avalanche May Have Quietly Found Jack Drurys Replacement
Colorados offseason swap of Jack Drury to Nashville was always going to be judged by what came back, and the Avalanches attention now turns to whether Fedor Svechkov can settle into the kind of role Drury occupied. Colorado also brought in Zachary LHeureux, but Svechkov is the one expected to get the clearest look as the club sorts out its lower-line center mix and tries to keep its depth from thinning out after the trade.
Svechkov arrives with a profile that gives the Avalanche some reason to believe they may have found a workable replacement, even if the fit is still being sorted out. He is expected to compete for a bottom-six job, likely somewhere in the third-line center or fourth-line range, and the broader hope is that he can bring enough two-way value to make the deal look smarter over time. Drury has already moved on with an extension in Nashville, so Colorados side of the trade will be measured by whether Svechkov can turn opportunity into a steady NHL role. [Read more 🡒]
Sakic Just Addressed Two Avalanche Needs Fans Have Been Stressing Over
July 1 brought the usual free-agent churn around the NHL, but Colorado came out of the day with a clear attempt to shore up two areas that had been nagging at the roster. The Avalanche added a forward to help absorb the loss of Valeri Nichushkin and also brought in another defenseman to deepen the blue line, while the front office spent the rest of the day sorting through AHL moves at both forward and defense.
For a team that has been trying to keep its core intact while patching obvious holes, those additions mattered as much as the departures. One of Colorados unrestricted free agents also found a new home elsewhere, leaving the Avalanche with a little more work to do as the market settled and the roster picture kept shifting around the edges. [Read more 🡒]