The Boston Bruins aren’t close to Pavel Zacha’s price yet, and that gap is shaping up to be the big issue as he heads toward pending unrestricted free agency.
On the latest NHL Rumour Report, Chris Johnston said on the Hockey PDOcast that Boston has a number in mind for Zacha, but it’s not lining up with what the player is looking for in this climate.
“I know there’s a number they would sign him at, but the numbers don’t align in their mind with, with what the player wants in a…rising salary environment.”
Elsewhere, a report from last week about Brenden Dillon supposedly using no-trade protection to block a deal got corrected. Daniel Amoia of NJ Hockey Now reported that Elliotte Friedman said on The Fan Hockey Show that Dillon had vetoed a trade last season, but Friedman later said on Friday’s show that Dillon told him that wasn’t true.
“ Devils that used their protection, as is their contractually obligated right, and I heard the one was Dillon. I mentioned it, and he said it wasn’t true.”
The Devils still had one confirmed case of a player blocking a move: Dougie Hamilton, who vetoed a trade to the San Jose Sharks. Dillon, meanwhile, has been a healthy scratch several times this season.
In Toronto, the Maple Leafs are hearing the same defensive-help chatter everyone else is, but GM John Chayka played down the idea that the answer has to come through the trade market.
“It’s been discussed much, but I think there’s no doubt we need to improve our defensive play overall to reach our ultimate goals. But I don’t think that transaction is necessarily always the way to improve.”
With Chris Tanev out, Toronto may not have a clear top-six defense option waiting in the wings right now. For the moment, the plan is to look internally and see who can take advantage of the opening.
The Leafs have just under $2.4 million in cap space, with Max Domi, Dakota Joshua, who could be recalled from his conditioning stint real soon, and Elvis Merzlikins on the LTIR. Chayka said he still believes the club has room to maneuver and added that he would be comfortable making another blockbuster trade.
When the conversation turns to the kind of pieces that might be moved in a big deal, Easton Cowan and defensive prospect Ben Danford are the names that come up.
In Other News...
Devils Cap Squeeze Could Cost Them A Respected Veteran
The Devils roster crunch has become one of the quietest but most important storylines around the team as the season moves along. After adding Connor Hellebuyck, New Jersey is sitting just under the salary cap and still has work to do to round out the lineup, which is why the club has already tried to carve out space by putting Stefan Noesen on waivers. Even then, only part of his salary could be buried, leaving the front office with very little room to maneuver.
Brenden Dillon has emerged as the next possible pressure point. The veteran defenseman carries a $4 million cap hit, and his limited no-trade list gives the Devils some flexibility if they decide a move is the cleanest way to open more space before the trade deadline. For a team that wants to stay competitive while keeping options open, the balance between keeping a respected veteran and creating room for upgrades may be one of the trickier calls ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Are Winning But One Lineup Flaw Still Looks Obvious
The Devils have started to pile up wins again, and the top of the lineup is doing its part. Over the last four games, New Jersey has leaned on its best forwards to drive the offense and keep the club moving in the right direction, a welcome sign for a team trying to stay in the thick of the Metropolitan Division race.
Jesper Boqvists name keeps coming up because the bottom six still looks like the obvious soft spot. The fourth line has struggled to provide much of anything, and there is a case for shifting Boqvist down there with Amadeus Lombardi and Cody Glass to give that group a little more purpose and balance. If the Devils are going to keep winning at this pace, getting more out of those minutes feels like the next step. [Read more 🡒]
Quinn Hughes Buzz Puts The Devils In A Dangerous Sweet Spot
Ryan Whitney lit up the rumor mill on a podcast by saying he believes Quinn Hughes will be playing for the Devils next season, and it is the kind of speculation that instantly gets attention in New Jersey. Hughes is in the final year of his contract with Minnesota, and while he has said he is focused on the Wild for now, he also left the door open to future changes. For a Devils team always thinking about the next big swing, that alone is enough to keep the conversation going.
The challenge is obvious: the Devils have some salary cap space to work with for the 2027-28 season, but adding a player of Hughes' caliber would not be as simple as just creating room. It would take real roster maneuvering to make any potential fit work, and that is where the intrigue lives for New Jersey. For a club trying to stay competitive while also chasing a franchise-altering upgrade, this is the kind of possibility that can linger in the background long before anything concrete ever happens. [Read more 🡒]