NHL Rumors: Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers

Welcome to the Sunday 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 post-trade-deadline edition of NHL Rumors we look at the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Philadelphia Flyers.

Boston Bruins – Jeremy Swayman

Rumor: Per – Jimmy Murphy – bostonhockeynow.com. Since last offseason when the Boston Bruins started to be mentioned in NHL trade rumors surrounding Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun, the rumor was that if the Boston Bruins wanted the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Chychrun in black and gold by the March 21 trade deadline that just passed, Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong was insisting Jeremy Swayman be part of any package that would get Chychrun to the Bruins.

While the Coyotes were very interested in obtaining Swayman in a proposed deal for Chychrun, Boston general manager Don Sweeney decided to keep his up-and-coming netminder. Swayman has had a great season with a 19-9-3 record, recording a .920 save percentage along with a 2.24 goals-against-average.

While the Bruins coveted Chychrun, they were able to acquire a pretty good replacement in Hampus Lindholm. They now possess a solid top-four on the blue line and with Swayman playing well, the Bruins are a legit Stanley Cup contender. They also have Linus Ullmark in the net to make their goaltending tandem that much stronger. It does present the question that if Sweeney was ‘all-in’ with Swayman enough to not trade him, why did he sign Ullmark to a four-year deal with a $5 million average annual cap hit?

Swayman may be the future for the Bruins in the net, and with his reasonable $925,000 contract through next year, it becomes quite clear why Sweeney wants him around.

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Toronto Maple Leafs – Wayne Simmonds

Rumor: Per – James Mirtle – theathletic.com. He’s being passed on the depth charts by younger guys. Is Wayne Simmonds’s time with the Maple Leafs nearing an end? The Leafs younger players could knock some other vets off the fourth line for their playoff run.

Wayne Simmonds, who is 33 years old has a lot of miles on his body. He’s played a physical role his entire career, and that can take a lot out of any player. He’s been a healthy scratch six times this season and four in the past seven Toronto Maple Leafs games. He has only two assists in his past 27 games and his TOI is 8:49 in those games.

Simmonds is under contract for next season at $900,000. The Leafs don’t have a lot of salary cap flexibility but haven’t put him on waivers yet. Will he be able to turn things around, or will he be replaced? Younger players are showing up all the time. Just take Michael Bunting for example. Even though he struggled in the AHL for a while, when he arrived in Toronto things started happening for him. He now has accumulated 20 goals, and 31 assists in 67 games. The likelihood of Simmons sticking around with that kind of production to replace him seems remote, at best.

It happens to all NHL players. Some can play well into their late thirties, while others run out of gas. It seems that for Simmonds, he’s falling into that last category.

Philadelphia Flyers – Head Coaching Possibilities

Rumor: Per – Nathaniel Tennesen – phillysportsnetwork.com. The Philadelphia Flyers will need to make some big changes this offseason both on the ice and behind the bench if they want to be fighting for a spot in the playoffs next season.

Tennesen covers five possible head coaching candidates, including Mike Yeo who is currently filling an interim role since Alain Vigneault was fired in December last year. Here are the five possible head coaching candidates for the Philadelphia Flyers.

• Rick Tocchet
• Claude Julien
• Mike Yeo
• Rikard Gronborg
• John Tortorella

Rick Tocchet

Hiring Tocchet seems to be a no-brainer. He played in Philly for 11 seasons and has been a head coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes. While not wildly successful as a head coach, he still knows how to win. He’s a player’s coach, yet is a strict personality, which could be just what the Flyers need to turn the corner.

Claude Julien

He knows what it takes to win a Cup having done that in 2011. His valuable asset would be his experience. His 19 years of coaching experience has to hold some value. He has a 667-445-10-152 record in 1,274 games. His .587 points percentage is something that has to attract the Flyers. Plus, he’s itching to get back behind the bench.

Mike Yeo

Yeo may be a better fit to stay on as an assistant head coach. His 13-25-7 record doesn’t do the trick, yet this team just hasn’t performed much at all this season. While he’d be a dark horse to stay on as the head coach, he does possess the abilities to stay with the organization as an assistant.

Rikard Gronborg

If the Flyers want to think “outside of the box”, then Gronborg may be their guy. He does have a successful track record with the ZSC Lions in the National League, but no NHL experience. That doesn’t mean he won’t get some consideration.

John Tortorella

The always feisty and controversial ‘Torts’ could be yet another option. If they want a strict disciplinarian, Torts is their guy. Does he go overboard at times? Yes. But he’s also a damned good coach. He has no qualms about sitting down a star player if he’s not performing. More than anything, the Flyers really need that.

That ends this edition of NHL Rumors. Be sure to check out our next article!