NHL Rumors: Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks

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 just days 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 Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Vancouver Canucks.

Carolina Hurricanes – Nick Schmaltz

Rumor: Per – Craig Morgan – @PHNX_Sports. Nick Schmaltz recently emerged as possible trade bait for the Arizona Coyotes.

Nick Schmaltz recently emerged as possible trade bait for the Arizona Coyotes.

Why would the Yotes trade Schmaltz? What would a deal look like? @CraigSMorgan breaks it down!https://t.co/A96sNl7IdI

— PHNX Coyotes (@PHNX_Coyotes) February 23, 2023

As Morgan stated most of the trade talk concerning the Coyotes has been focused on Jakob Chychrun, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Nick Bjugstad. Once you take into consideration that Schmaltz has a fairly reasonable contract ($5.85M through 2025-26), it becomes a no-brainer that other teams may be interested in him. While he has had injury issues, when he plays he scores 0.77 points per game. Now, a team like the Canes who want to go deep into the playoffs could use that offensive boost, especially without Max Pacioretty. Another factor may be that he has a no-trade clause kicking in after this season. Schmaltz just turned 27 years old and may not be around after the rebuild in Arizona is completed.

If Carolina loses out on the Timo Meier acquisition, you can bet they will be calling GM Bill Armstrong on the possibility of a trade. The Canes have nine total picks this year and could possibly offer either Jesperi Kotkaniemi ($4.82M)and/or Seth Jarvis ($894,167) as a return. The Coyotes don’t want to retain any salary, but Carolina currently has over $10.1 million in cap space.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Trade Deadline Possible Moves

Rumor: Per – Shane Seney – nhltraderumors.me. The Pens are sliding in the standings, and the fans are chanting for Hextall’s demise. What moves can he make to right the ship?

#FireHextall Chants at PPG Paints Arena… one the worst games I’ve ever been to. #LetsGoPens #Pens pic.twitter.com/yHUdKVBKyo

— Did the Pens Win? (@DidPengWin) February 24, 2023

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“It doesn’t impact me at all. I understand the fans’ frustrations. We have high expectations as well, and we haven’t met them,” Hextall said. “So I totally get it. When you’re a GM, you know what you’re signing up for. We work in the public eye, and they pay good money to come to the rink, and they certainly have the right to say whatever they choose. So it’s not going to affect anything I do or don’t …. since I was 22 and came into the league, criticism is part of the business, and you have to deal with it.”

Three players Hextall could move may be Jason Zucker, Brian Dumoulin, and Tristan Jarry. Hextall did make one move already by waiving Kasperi Kapanen. He was picked up by the St. Louis Blues. That move was more involved in making room for Jan Rutta to be released from LTIR. It certainly didn’t allow for the team to have enough cap space to acquire Jakob Chychrun, which has been rumored. The Arizona Coyotes and Penguins have been discussing making a deal, so we shall see how that goes as the trade deadline approaches.

Something needs to be done to prevent the Pens from missing the playoffs, They have been in the postseason for 16 straight seasons and currently have three teams chasing them for the final wild-card spot who are within one point.

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Vancouver Canucks – Luke Schenn

Rumor: Per – Chris Johnston – @TSNHockey. Schenn was a first-round pick of the Maple Leafs back in 2008. The 33-year-old blueliner is tough as nails and leads the league in hits this season. He’s a pending free agent who at $850,000 could easily be fit in under the Maple Leafs $4.4 million deadline cap space. 

The Canucks may just keep Schenn, but if he gets dealt, the Maple Leafs could have extended interest. His physical play can only fortify the Toronto blueline and at a very reasonable price. The Seattle Kraken and Tampa Bay Lightning have expressed interest in adding Schenn. He has been held out of three games since the trade rumors have intensified so something may be decided soon.

Is Luke Schenn on Toronto's radar? @jkamckenzie and @reporterchris discuss the Leafs' plans heading into the deadline and the blueliners that could be targeted. #CJShow #LeafsForever

📺: https://t.co/VK82uLGNaM
🎧: https://t.co/WVWXdWvtym

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— sdpn (@sdpnsports) February 25, 2023

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