NHL Rumors: Boston Bruins, Nashville Predators, and Arizona Coyotes

Welcome to the Thursday edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The NHL Trade Deadline is in the books and several big names got moved before and after the deadline. However, the focus now turns towards the playoffs and the moves tabled for the off-season. In this edition of NHL Rumors we look at the Boston Bruins, Nashville Predators, and Arizona Coyotes.

Boston Bruins – Jake DeBrusk

Rumor: According to Elliotte Friedman, Jake DeBrusk who recently signed a contract extension has not rescinded his trade request. 

The Jake DeBrusk signing by BOS is very interesting. The trade request has not been rescinded. The worry about his qualifying offer/next contract is erased, however. We will see where it goes.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 21, 2022

Heading into the NHL Trade Deadline, Jake DeBrusk’s name was out there a lot. The expectation was that he was going to move, as he requested a trade earlier in the season. But the morning of the trade deadline, it came as a shock when DeBrusk signed a new two-year contract extension with the Bruins. But as Friedman notes, this does not mean DeBrusk will remain with the Bruins through the life of this contract.

The issue for a lot of teams was DeBrusk’s qualifying offer of $4.4 million. Instead, however, teams are more likely to trade for him now that he has signed a contract that carries a salary-cap hit of $4 million. There was still a chance DeBrusk could have moved on the deadline, but the Bruins see him as a valuable piece for the rest of the season. Ever since DeBrusk was put on the first line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron his game has taken off.

Both sides know it is about winning now. Therefore, the Bruins are tabling the idea of trading DeBrusk for now.

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Nashville Predators – Filip Forsberg

Rumor: According to Adam Vingan of The Athletic, the Nashville Predators are going to do everything in their power to re-sign Filip Forsberg in the summer. 

Another name that was on the trading block heading into the trade deadline was Filip Forsberg. Forsberg is in the final year of his contract and had yet to sign a contract extension with the Predators. General manager David Poile has made it a priority to sign Forsberg. However, the two sides have yet to come to terms. And with Forsberg’s value continuing to increase thanks to his play on the ice, Poile is going to have a hard time getting him to sign a new contract.

However, Poile does not believe that is the case. In fact, he feels he can sign Forsberg in the off-season. Because if he did not believe this, Poile would have traded Forsberg at the deadline. But Poile and Predators are going to have to open up the checkbook to get him signed. Through 51 games, Forsberg leads the Predators with 63 points (35 goals and 28 assists) and is playing like a player who could have a salary cap hit of over $10 million.

Will Forsberg get that on the open market? Probably not. But the starting point is Roman Josi at $9.5 million a season. Regardless, the Predators will use Forsberg as their own rental as they push towards the playoffs.

Arizona Coyotes – Jakob Chychrun

Rumor: According to Dennis Bernstein and David Pagnotte of The Fourth Period, the Arizona Coyotes will revisit trading Jakob Chychrun in the off-season. 

With the deadline in the rearview, what about the deals that didn’t happen? @irfgaffar @DennisTFP & I discuss the futures of #Yotes Jakob Chychrun, #GoHabsGo Jeff Petry & #Canucks Conor Garland (+Dubas v Davidson) as we wrap our trade deadline coverage, presented by @betwaycanada pic.twitter.com/pOCFY3l90r

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) March 22, 2022

One of the biggest NHL Rumors heading into the trade deadline was whether or not the Coyotes were going to trade Jakob Chychrun. Once the final bell sounded on March, 21st, Chychrun was still a member of the Arizona Coyotes. And to no fault of general manager Bill Armstrong. Armstrong had an asking price for Chychrun and while teams were getting close, nobody could give him the package he wanted.

If you looked around the market and what rental players were going for especially on defence, the asking price for Chychrun went up. And the teams that wanted to trade for him were not going to pay that high of a price. Especially for a player that is injured. Now Chychrun is coming back in two weeks, but still, nobody was giving up four assets for that player.

Now the Coyotes will wait until the off-season to trade a player that will be a cornerstone player for a lot of franchises. Most likely around the draft in July when action on Chychrun will heat up again. The Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, and Anaheim Ducks will be all involved.

That does it for this edition of NHL Rumors. Stay tuned for another edition on Sunday.