NHL Rumors: Minnesota Wild, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The 2022-23 regular season is nearly halfway done and players will be evaluated. Now, with the trade deadline less than two months away, rumors are still around. The NHL holiday trade freeze ended at 12:01 am on December 28th. That could mean trade activity or NHL rumors could be picking up.

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 possible. In this special Friday edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the Minnesota Wild, Calgary Flames, and the Vancouver Canucks.

Minnesota Wild – Matt Dumba

Rumor: Per – Darren Dreger – TSN.ca. There’s no cap space for Dumba, so he will be moved eventually. He’s not coming back, so why not get what you can for him?

With the cap dilemma that Bill Guerin has found himself in, he needs to move out Dumba’s $6 million cap hit to even survive. There’s no doubt that the Wild would miss his physical play since their blueline is not especially big. Guerin will wait it out as long as possible to see what other teams may offer for Dumba. There have been suggestions that perhaps Sam Bennett would be a good trade piece for Dumba. The Wild could use a center and the Panthers could certainly use Dumba’s excellent play on their blueline.

Bennett has a cheaper cap hit at $4.425 million and still has two more years after this season in his deal. Then, there’s the issue of replacing Dumba on defense. Can young Calen Addison fill the right side of the Wild blueline if Dumba left? He has shown some signs he can with three goals and 18 assists in 39 games. No doubt he is earning a new contract since he will be a restricted free agent after this season.

Calgary Flames -Trade Possibilities

Rumor: Per – Julien McKenzie – theathletic.com. Calgary Flames’ biggest need — a goal-scoring winger — has been obvious from Day 1 of training camp.

With a projected cap space of just over $6 million by the March 3rd trade deadline, the Flames have some trade possibilities. This list of five prominent forwards is a good starting point.

• Timo Meier – $6 million cap hit, contract expires next July. He has played 43 games with 24 goals and 19 assists. He has an impending $10 million qualifying offer, which could scare off some teams.
• Travis Konecny – $5.5 million cap hit, contract good through 2024-25. He has played 36 games with 24 goals and 22 assists. Putting him on a line with Jonathan Huberdeau would be awesome.
• Josh Anderson – $5.5 million cap hit, contract good through 2025-26. He has participated in 39 games with 11 goals and three assists. He may be overpaid compared to Meier and Konecny’s output, but he fits the Flames playing style.
• Anthony Duclair – $3 million cap hit through 2023-24. He has been sidelined all season after an Achilles tendon inquiry. He did collect 31 goals last season but may be a bit rusty upon return. He played a key role in Huberdeau’s offensive production last season… and his contract is way less than others on this list.
• Max Domi – $3 million cap hit through 2022-23. Domi has played 39 games with 12 goals and 16 assists. It’s debatable that Domi’s fiery personality would fly well with Darryl Sutter. Still, he could be a valuable addition.

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Vancouver Canucks – Andrei Kuzmenko

Rumor: Per – Pierre LeBrun – TSN.ca. While Kuzmenko has performed great, can the Canucks afford a new contract for him in the $6 million range?

LeBrun thinks there could be some movement on signing Kuzmenko later this month. Other teams are calling about his availability as they know he has produced 12 goals, with 18 assists in 39 games. His reasonable $950,000 contract is very affordable to other teams, especially with the cap limit only rising by $1 million next year.

The Vancouver club would love to keep him, but that estimated bridge deal of $6 million may prevent it from happening. The Canucks have just $1.48 million in cap space currently. With all the NHL rumors circulating around Vancouver, who knows who will stay and who will go? This team is projected to look way different next season.

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