NHL Rumors: Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, and Winnipeg Jets

Welcome to the Thursday edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The NHL Trade Deadline is long gone and the push to the playoffs is on. That means teams are going to be focused on their pending free agents. Not to mention all the moves that did not happen at the trade deadline could be revisited. In this post-trade-deadline edition of NHL Rumors we look at the Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, and Winnipeg Jets.

Calgary Flames – Johnny Gaudreau

Rumor: Per Steven Macfarlane of Calgary Hockey Now, recently reported the Johnny Gaudreau trade rumors did not disappear until before the March NHL Trade Deadline and while everyone is mum on contract talks, Macfarlane believes with Gaudreau’s recent play he will be in line for a massive raise come the off-season. 

The Calgary Flames are thankful to have Johnny Gaudreau playing the way he is playing this season. Calgary sits in first place in the Pacific Division and Gaudreau is leading the Flames in points with 95. General manager Brad Treliving knows how important Gaudreau is to his hockey team. That is why he wants to sign him to a long-term extension. But Treliving also knows it is going to cost him to keep the likes of Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk on the team. Entering the season, there was a lot of pressure on the Flames to perform on the ice. Off the ice, Gaudreau and Treliving both agreed they would not discuss the terms of his new extension with the media. They also agreed they would not let the dollars be a distraction for his play on the ice. However, Gaudreau’s play on the ice has gotten a lot of people talking. And as Macfarlane writes, Johnny Hockey is due for a hefty raise come the off-season. Gaudreau is in the final year of his deal which carries a salary-cap hit of $6.75 million. He is continually getting praise from his head coach Darryl Sutter and from others around the league. With other players set to be free agents as well, it will be interesting to see where the number comes in for Gaudreau as they would like to keep this team together.

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Nashville Predators – Filip Forsberg

Rumor: Per Adam Vingan of The Athletic, who writes, the Nashville Predators can re-sign Filip Forsberg to an extension, but it could affect the depth of the roster. 

In his latest mailbag, Vingan was asked if the Predators re-sign Filip Forsberg to a $9 million AAV, and if they could, what lasting impact it could have going forward on the roster. With the salary cap going up next season by $1 million, the Predators could afford to lock up Forsberg to that type of salary cap hit. As a matter of fact, as we have reported in our first after trade deadline rumors, the starting AAV for the Predators to keep Forsberg in Nashville would be exactly what Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen make. Both players have a salary cap hit of $8 million, so it would make sense for Forsberg to get more. He might deserve Roman Josi‘s cap hit of $9.5 million, but $9 million would be a solid number for Forsberg to stay. General manager David Poile would love to keep him going forward, but with Forsberg an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, he is going to have suitors. But if the Predators were to keep at that number of $9 million, and there are some, who would let him walk, then out of $26.2 million in cap space the team would have $17 million left to fill other needs. It could be done, but other areas of importance might get cut.

Winnipeg Jets – Pierre-Luc Dubois

Rumor: Per Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet, who writes, the Winnipeg Jets need to prioritize getting Pierre-Luc Dubois locked up to a long-term extension before making any blockbuster trade. 

There could be lots of changes coming this off-season in Winnipeg. There is talk of the Jets blowing it up if they do not make the playoffs. However, one player the team wants to get under control before doing anything is Pierre-Luc Dubois. While it took some time, Dubois has finally got comfortable playing in Winnipeg. Both the Jets and Blue Jackets are benefiting now from the trade that saw Dubois and Patrik Laine trade places. In 69 games this season, Dubois has recorded 51 points good for fourth on the team. Not to mention Dubois is third on the team in goals with 25. This is good considering he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Dubois currently has a salary cap hit of $5 million and that is expected to go up. He has formed a formidable one-two punch down the middle with Mark Scheifele. So the Jets would like to build around those two guys along with Kyle Connor. With Paul Stastny set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, there is plenty of money to pay Dubois. The key will be not to overpay. But if he going to play like this, then a bump up in salary is due to him. That does it for the Thursday edition of NHL Rumors. Stay tuned for another edition on Sunday.