NHL Rumors: Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The NHL Christmas trade freeze happens over a 9-day period from Dec. 18th to Dec. 27th where no player can be traded or sent to the minors through waivers. This may apply pressure on general managers wishing to complete a deal.

Clubs are always working to improve their rosters for next season. Some teams are having difficulty creating enough cap space to make moves. Others are experiencing severe injuries to star players. Trade rumors/signings are still prevalent. In this Wednesday’s edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, and the Arizona Coyotes.

Vancouver Canucks – Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Rumor: Per – Rob Couch – nhltraderumors.com. Canucks defenceman being asked to waive no-trade clause.

It wasn’t long after acquiring the 31-year-old Karlskrona, Sweden native that the Canucks regretted it. His hefty contract paying him $7.26 million (with the Coyotes retaining $990,000 per year) is good through the 2026-27 season. The other factor is he possesses a full no-movement clause meaning he must approve any trade.

It has been an adjustment for OEL in Vancouver. In Arizona, he was the captain of the team and played on the power play as well as the penalty kill. In Vancouver, that role is filled by Quinn Hughes, their top defenseman.

The Canucks have various NHL trade rumors swirling around them. Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser, and Conor Garland have all been rumored to be traded at some point. It’s no secret that the Canucks who rank 30th in the league allowing an average of 3.86 goals per game, must improve on the back end.

The real improvement may be to capture more cap space to make some moves. If they can convince another team to accept a trade for OEL if it meant retaining salary, it could happen. That is if OEL approves it first.

Philadelphia Flyers – Kevin Hayes

Rumor: Per – Larry Brooks – nypost.com. Is it time to either trade or buy out Kevin Hayes?

With $7,142,857 million AAV facing the Flyers until the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, is it worth it to keep Hayes? If the Flyers decide to buy him out, it will cost them between $1.61 million and $4.754 million on the cap for each of the following six years. That may be a bit expensive seeing that the 6′-5″, 216-pound forward is definitely earning his money this season. He has collected nine goals and 19 assists in 30 games. While that is excellent, it hasn’t really helped the Flyers’ causes. They sit 9-13-7 and look to be a lottery team at this point. Even a zealous head coach in John Tortorella can’t get this club to excel.

If that were the case, will the Flyers tank to get a chance at Connor Bedard? Trading or buying out Hayes would certainly put them in that mode. Considering the Flyers picked up the talented forward for just a fifth-round pick in 2019, they could cash in by trading him for assets to build the team going forward. He has a 12-team no-trade list and that could complicate things.

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Arizona Coyotes – Karel Vejmelka

Rumor: Per – Sportsnet.ca staff – sportsnet.ca. Could the Coyotes add a goalie to the trade market?

It’s common knowledge that the Coyotes will be sellers at some point this season. We already know (it seems endless) that defenseman Jakob Chychrun will be dealt sooner or later. Even with the poor record of the Yotes set at 9-13-4, they have a goalie in Vejmelka who has an 8-7-3 record with a very respectable save percentage of .913. Even more impressive is his 15.8 goals saved above expected.

(Graphic courtesy MoneyPuck.com.)

Per Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek (at the 22:30 minute mark), discussing if Clayton Keller is untouchable in Arizona. Friedman mentioned that the guy they’d be wondering about there is Vejmelka. If another team was looking for someone he thinks it would be Vejmelka. Marek contended that his good stats and contract would be a good reason to keep him. He is signed for two more years after this season at a very reasonable $2.275 million.

With the Yotes currently having $27.5 million in cap space, which leads the NHL, can’t you see the prospective deals that general manager Bill Armstrong is imagining? Stay connected to NHL rumors as they progress right here on Full Press Hockey.

That concludes this edition of NHL rumors. Be sure to catch our next article, and as always, thanks for reading!