NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators

Welcome to the Saturday edition of Full Press Hockey‘s NHL Rumors. The trade deadline is still over six weeks away, but that does not mean the rumors are going away. Therefore we will be upping our coverage from two days a week to four days a week. The February 13th edition of NHL Rumors will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, and Nashville Predators.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Nick Ritchie

Rumor: Per – Elliotte Friedman – sportsnet.ca. Friedman discussed that there is traction around the NHL concerning Nick Ritchie. While there has not been a trade request, the Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to trade him to clear some cap space.

32 Thoughts HNIC version: Zacha & VAN/Nick Ritchie/Chiarot/Sarah Fillier/Hertl/Memorial Cup/World Cup/Ontario capacity: https://t.co/V2Wq9oKACF

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 13, 2022

Ritchie has just two goals, seven assists in 33 games for the Leafs and is presently on the AHL affiliate Marlies squad. He has yet to play an AHL game this season after being assigned there on February 3rd. He had been on the taxi squad, but NHL teams no longer can use that option, Thus, he was sent to the AHL to get some playing time.

The goal of the Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas is to… of course save on valuable cap space. The other option would be to buy out his two-year $5 million contract. While that will only cost $300,000 for the current season, it will be $1.1 million for next season. The Toronto club currently only has $534,816 in cap space.

The realistic solution would be to trade Ritchie, and according to Friedman as the trade deadline approaches things tend to loosen up. So, Ritchie could be moved and it may be a good thing for him to get a fresh start elsewhere. It would seem some NHL team could use his size coming in at 6′-2″, 230 pounds.

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Montreal Canadiens – Christian Dvorak

Rumor: Per – Elliotte Friedman – sportsnet.ca. Friedman mentions that Christian Dvorak (at the 4:15 mark) has had a nightmare of a year, but there are some Western teams interested in him.

Christian Dvorak who was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for a first and second-round draft pick has not played well this year. He has just seven goals, nine assists in 34 games. With his $4.45 million contract good through the 2024-25 season, the Habs could be looking to see what they can get for him in a trade. What could really be ironic is if the Canadiens trade him with the help of the Arizona Coyotes in a three-team type of deal.

The Habs have a new head coach in Martin St. Louis and a new general manager in Kent Hughes. Hughes has mentioned things will change. While Dvorak has always had potential and was an awesome performer in the OHL, his NHL stats have not blown anyone away. He has a manageable contract and with the likes of Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki around, they may find Dvorak expendable. Watch the NHL rumors to see where this one goes.

Nashville Predators – Filip Forsberg

Rumor: Per – David Pagnotta – thefourthperiod.com. During his Tuesday appearance on NHL Tonight on NHL Network, Pagnotta reported the Predators have not resumed discussions with Forsberg’s camp on an extension.

Per Pagnotta, “He’s due for a very, very big raise,” Pagnotta said. “They had conversations in the fall about re-upping him. Those kind of dwindled down. There haven’t been any significant talks, to date. I would imagine there’s going to be a conversation that’s going to come up ahead of the trade deadline to see what it would take to get him locked in. As much as they’re looking to add, they need to have an understanding where his future lies.”

It goes without saying Filip Forsberg is a huge part of the Nashville Predators success this season and going forward. He is a pure goal scorer and has 24 tallies this season with 15 assists. He’s instrumental in the Preds power play with four goals, six assists. He is an incredibly accurate shooter with a 24 percent rate of success.

He is earning $6 million and is an unrestricted free agent after this season. His next paycheck should go up into the $8-$9 million range. Is his worth it? Of course. The discussions on getting him signed may wait after the season, but they really don’t want to lose this guy. He is a vital cog-in-the-wheel of the Nashville team’s second-place standing in the Central Division. Get it done David Poile.

That concludes the Sunday edition of NHL rumors. Be sure to catch our next article!