NHL Rumors: Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The 2022-23 regular season is more than halfway done and players will be evaluated. Now, with the trade deadline less than two weeks away, rumors are sizzling.

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 Sunday edition of NHL Rumors, we will look at the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Calgary Flames – MacKenzie Weegar

Rumor: Per – David Pagnotta – thefourthperiod.com. Strong reason to believe the Flames have considered moving defenceman Mackenzie Weegar.

Per Pagnotta: “They’ve denied it, and it doesn’t sound like a trade is presently imminent. But multiple well-placed league sources have not only heard Weegar’s name floating around but have informed me the Ottawa Senators are a team that has expressed interest in acquiring him.”

The Ottawa Senators have been looking for a top-four, right-shot defenceman, and Weegar could be a perfect fit for them. He carries a current cap hit of $3.25 million and has signed an eight-year $50 million contract that begins July 1st.

Weegar hails from the Ottawa area and certainly wouldn’t mind playing there. There’s no doubt that Weegar is a valuable asset for the Flames. With all their issues this season, it may be time to move Weegar.

MacKenzie Weegar, traded to CGY, is an elite two-way defenceman who drives play at both ends of the ice at a level that very very few can equal. One of the best transition D – offensively and defensively – in the NHL. Commits the odd inopportune penalty or giveaway. #Flames pic.twitter.com/xST2G2XD33

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 23, 2022

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St.Louis Blues – Colton Parayko

Rumor: Per – Darren Dreger – TSN.ca. Dreger feels it is very possible we’ll see the Blues move one of their top-four defensemen and teams have been calling about Parayko the most.

After the Blues have traded both Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly, it seems a rebuild is obvious. They may continue down that road by trading Parayko. He has a $6.5 million AAV through the 2029-30 season with a no-trade clause. He has 18 points in 51 games this season and has great size with his 6-foot-6, 228-pound frame.

With skills other teams covet, he creates lots of interest. Clubs like Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and Tampa Bay Lightning could take the leap to obtain him.

Could the Ottawa Senators be the one to make a trade?

Colton Parayko looks like a top 4 defender that would help the Sens win now.

However, 7 more years at 6.5 million for a player who turns 30 in three months is not ideal.#GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/AmajUhB274

— Jordi (@JordiSens) February 14, 2023

Vegas Golden Knights – 5 Possible Additions

Rumor: Per – Jesse Granger – theathletic.com. There are some less-expensive deadline options who could help the Golden Knights without majorly hamstringing the cap situation moving forward.

• Tyler Bertuzzi – He fits right in as a hard-to-move body in front of the net and scores goals from the hard areas of the ice. He’s injury prone and the Detroit Red Wings want to re-sign him, if not then Vegas may swoop in.
• Ivan Barbashev – The Blues forward could be viewed as a good middle-six contributor who can play all three forward positions. The best part is his reasonable $2.25 million cap hit.
• Jesse Puljujarvi – The highly rumored to be traded Edmonton Oilers forward could find new life in Sin-city. If he goes to waivers, the Vegas club may be all-in on that as may many others teams.
• Nick Bjugstad – The 6-foot-6 Arizona Coyotes center could also add strength in front of the net and he would be a type of player that Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy likes in his bottom-six. He also has a cheap $900,000 cap hit.
• Karel Vejmelka – While the Vegas team may not need a goalie with Logan Thompson and Robin Lehner expected to be back from injuries, Vejmelka would be a good option. He carries a $2.275 million contract for two more years.

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