NHL Rumors: New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Vegas Golden Knights

Welcome to the Sunday edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The Stanley Cup Playoffs are here and the action is hot and heavy. While all eyes will be on the teams playing for the Stanley Cup, the teams that did not make the playoffs will be focused on improving their team for next season. Plus, the teams in the playoffs have work to do once their season is over as well. In this edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, and Vegas Golden Knights.

New York Islanders – Mike Babcock

Rumor: Per – Kevin Kurz – theathletic.com. Kurz makes the point that Lou Lamoriello has a history of going with known quantities when appointing a new head coach. Could he be considering Mike Babcock?

Lamoriello doesn’t like to bring in a coach he doesn’t know very well. While Babcock wasn’t hired by Lamoriello in Toronto, Lamoriello was signed about two months after Babcock took the job behind the bench with a long-term eight-year deal.

The two have a unique relationship, and that familiarity makes Lamoriello feel warm and fuzzy. Lamoriello may want a head coach who pushes his players more than Barry Trotz did. Babcock is known for pushing his players hard, but he knows not to cross the line.

Of course with Lamoriello’s history of not allowing much information out as to his next move, this could take a while. Yet, if Lou wants to put this last season way back in his memory banks, moving forward in hiring someone like Babcock needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

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New Jersey Devils – Trading the #2 Pick

Rumor: Per – Shane Seney – nhltaderumors.me. The New Jersey Devils find themselves in an ideal situation with their second overall pick. Trade it or keep it? If they trade it, what could they get in return?

There could be three possibilities here.

Option 1: Trade the pick for a premier scorer like the Chicago Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat. Think about it. The Blackhawks are in a rebuild and the #2 pick has to be an attractive option even if it means losing DeBrincat. He has had 73 goals in his last 134 games and that has to make Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald licking his chops.

Option 2: Trade the pick to the Arizona Coyotes for Jakob Chychrun along with forward Lawson Crouse. The Coyotes would then have the second and third pick along with #30, #31, #34, #36, #43, and #45! That would make GM Bill Armstrong‘s strong drafting skills look that much better. This of course, would mean the Devils would be going for it by taking two experienced players in Chychrun and restricted free agent Crouse who tallied 20 goals, 14 assists in 65 games. Adding Chychrun to the Devils blueline with Dougie Hamilton on the right side has to be enticing. The Coyotes would love this since they are in the midst of a huge rebuild.

Option 3: Trade the pick to the Vancouver Canucks for forward Brock Boeser. The Canucks will have over $13 million in cap space next season, but need to pay Boeser a $7.5 million qualifying offer to keep him. The Canucks could choose between center Logan Cooley or forward Juraj Slafkovsky. Not a bad thing at all.

Vegas Golden Knights – Reilly Smith

Rumor: Per – Danny Webster – lasvegassun.com. Webster feels Reilly Smith will be a hot commodity this summer. Salary cap issues may prevent the Golden Knights from signing Smith. Will he go, or will others so he may stay?

Smith was out for the final six weeks of the season with an injury, but managed 38 points in 56 games. Unfortunately, the Vegas club is already $500,000 over the cap limit which increases to $82.5 million next season. They may need to decide if they will move Evgenii Dadonov, William Karlsson, Laurent Brossoit, or even Robin Lehner to accommodate Smith’s salary needs. Tough spot.

So if they do decide to trade Smith, who will be an unrestricted free agent, where could he go? The four teams who could afford him may be the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Detroit Red Wings, and the Ottawa Senators.

Wherever Smith may go, his 98 goals, 132 assists in 321 games in Vegas will certainly be an attractive addition to the team.

That does it for this edition of NHL rumors. Be sure to check out our next article!