NHL Rumors: Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of Full Press Hockey‘s NHL Rumors. The trade deadline is just about five 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 16th edition of NHL Rumors will cover the Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks, and the Washington Capitals.

Vegas Golden Knights – Robin Lehner

Rumor: Per – Frank Seravalli – dailyfaceoff.com. GM Kelly McCrimmon indicated on Monday that goaltender Robin Lehner has an “upper-body” injury, which sources say is a torn labrum in his shoulder that will eventually require surgery. Lehner underwent a procedure in the same shoulder in Oct. 2020. He may be able to battle through to finish this season, though that much is not certain.

While the uncertainty for the Vegas Golden Knights in the net increased, McCrimmon immediately dismissed the rumors that the team is interested in bringing back popular goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

GM Kelly McCrimmon on a potential Marc-Andre Fleury reunion: “There is absolutely no credence to that rumor at all. I wouldn’t normally speak (officially) on such things, but there will be so much racket about this, it’s important to let people know that’s not going to happen.”

— David Schoen 🗞🏒 (@DavidSchoenLVRJ) February 15, 2022

Even if the reunion would be made possible by placing Lehner’s $5 million salary in long-term injury reserve, the Golden Knights deny they are attempting to re-acquire Fleury. Then, there’s the thing about how infuriated Fleury was to be traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. Fleury’s contract calls for a $7 million cap hit.

If Lehner will be out for surgery, the net would go to backup Laurent Brossoit, who has a respectable 9-3-2 record. His goals-against-average is at 2.66 and he possesses a .905 save percentage. Still, he’s a backup, and the Golden Knights would need to find a starter especially since they are in postseason contention. The team ranks 22nd in the NHL with a .901 save percentage.

Could a possible replacement be the Seattle Kraken‘s Chris Driedger? After two great seasons with the Florida Panthers where he went 21-8-4, his Kraken days have not been appealing. He is just 4-7-0 with a 3.24 GAA, and a .890 SV%. He is signed to a three-year $3.5 million AAV deal. If Lehner goes under the knife, it would be a good investment to grab Driedger who is just 27 years old. And, we all know how crafty McCrimmon can be in making deals. As far as NHL rumors go, this one is starting to get interesting.

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Vancouver Canucks – Pavel Zacha

Rumor: Per – Jeff Marek – sportsnet.ca. The Vancouver Canucks may have some interest in acquiring Pavel Zacha.

Much has been talked about which players may be leaving the Canucks, but what about a player being added to the team?

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

Zacha has some good stats to show for this season. He has collected 12 goals, 11 assists in 46 games. Zacha has one goal, three assists in his last five games. He is an 11.8 percent shooter and is just 24 years old. With six centers on the New Jersey Devils roster, Zacha could be expendable. It goes without saying that the Devils are loaded at center-ice. Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer aren’t going anywhere, so why not see what the Devils can get for Zacha?

Vancouver is making some changes or wants to, so Zacha could fit right into that equation. He is an excellent possession player this season with a 57.0 Corsi For and a 7.3 Relative Corsi. There’s not too much to say except watch for this and other NHL rumors to take center stage soon as the trade deadline is almost just a month away.

Washington Capitals – Goaltending situation

Rumor: Per – Tarik El-Bashir – theathletic.com. Will the Capitals get Marc-André Fleury at the trade deadline?

A reader asked Tarik El-Bashir what the Washington Capitals will do to solve their inconsistent goaltending which has added to their recent slide in the Eastern Conference standings. He wondered if they’re in the market for a rental such as the Chicago Blackhawks’ Marc-Andre Fleury or should they target a veteran starter under contract beyond this season such as the Los Angeles Kings’ Jonathan Quick or the New York Islanders’ Semyon Varlamov?

Much depends on how both the Kings and Islanders do as far as getting to the postseason. The Kings are in a playoff hunt currently and may not want to rock the boat by trading Quick. He’s a veteran goalie who could be valuable in the playoffs. The Islanders, on the other hand, are 18 points out of a playoff spot.

If the Caps acquire Varlamov, they would have some stability in the net. He is signed through next season at $5 million but has only participated in 13 games since starter Ilya Sorokin has been the starter for 29 games. It looks like the Islanders would consider trading Varlamov since they are not contending this season.

That wraps up another edition of NHL Rumors, be sure to catch the next article!