NHL Rumors: Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens

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 past, what trades almost happened? What deals may go down this summer?

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 over for now, but teams will be gearing up for the playoffs. In this Wednesday’s edition of NHL Rumors, we will look at the Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, and the Montreal Canadiens.

Carolina Hurricanes – Timo Meier

Rumor: Per – Shane Seney – nhltraderumors.me. The Canes made a huge trade offer For Timo Meier before the deadline.

After the Hurricanes lost forward Max Pacioretty for the remainder of the 2022-23 season, management went to work to attempt to fill the hole in their lineup. On the top of their wish list was none other than Timo Meier. They, along with other serious suitors including the New Jersey Devils (where he ended up going), were doing everything in their power to attract the gifted forward to head their way.

The Devils won the Meier sweepstakes, but how close did the Carolina club come to acquiring him? It has now been revealed that the Hurricanes made a very substantial offer to the San Jose Sharks for Meier. Rumor has the ‘Canes were willing to give up a 2023 first-round pick and prospect Ryan Suzuki, along with young forward Seth Jarvis. That’s a very aggressive offer made by Canes’ GM Don Waddell. Instead, Waddell settled for adding Shayne Gostisbehere and Jesse Puljujarvi.

Thus far, Waddell’s decision to trade for Gostisbehere has been brilliant. He has collected two goals, two assists in two games. “Ghost” has added all four of his points while on the power play. Meanwhile, Puljujarvi had to wait to play his first game until visa issues could be completed. The Canes may have missed out on Meier, but they will be a force in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They have talent to burn.

Los Angeles Kings – Vladislav Gavrikov

Rumor Per – Saurabh Saini – sportskeeda.com. The newest member of the Kings will test free agency after this season.

The Kings had hoped to sign the defensive specialist to a long-term deal, but he has decided to check out free agency first. Now, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to stick around, it merely means he and his agent want to test the market for his services before he makes a decision about next season. The 6′-3″, 213 pound native of Yaroslavl, Russia is already making a difference on the LA blueline.

This shift from last night perfectly illustrates Vladislav Gavrikov’s game.#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/gvfQNBoFw0

— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) March 3, 2023

Gavrikov has a $2.8 million contract good until July 1st. Will GM Rob Blake make him an offer that he can’t refuse? Many Kings fans hope so due to what Blake had to give up to acquire Gavrikov. Trading away the longtime goalie Jonathan Quick to the Columbus Blue Jackets stung fans to the core… and didn’t make Quick a happy camper either. His teammates were shocked.

Blake will have about $8.7 million in cap space for next season and still must re-sign young forwards Rasmus Kupari and Gabriel Vilardi. They could also be good assets to use as trade bait in the offseason. Now, that will create some NHL rumors for sure. Trading Gavrikov before he becomes a free agent has to definitely be on Blake’s possibility list. Gavrikov will demand and deserve a hefty raise going forward. According to dobberhockey.com, Gavrikov’s projected salary in free agency could come in at $3.895 million AAV. Blake has some decisions to make and depending on how the Kings fare in the postseason, we shall see what he does.

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Montreal Canadiens – Mike Hoffman

Rumor: Per Louis Robitaille – TVAsports.ca.  Could the Arizona Coyotes add Mike Hoffman in the offseason?

Robitaille feels Hoffman could help the rebuilding Coyotes turn the corner. Whether they share that view, however, is another matter. He said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Hoffman ended up in Arizona. Maybe they’ll find a way to make room for him. The plan may not be that crazy, but when are they going to turn the corner? They have good young players and they will have to find a way to manage them in the right way. At some point, you want to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it may be very long.”

While it never hurts to have some veteran leadership on a young team, Hoffman is 33 years old. Whether he could be considered to be added to the Coyotes lineup is something that GM Bill Armstrong will need to decide. The Yotes have a boatload of draft picks, and they can only sign so many players. Per Coyotes insider Craig Morgan, “When the dust had settled on deadline day, the Coyotes had increased their draft-selection stock to 47 picks over the next four seasons (2023-2027). If Arizona were to execute all of those picks, it would set an NHL record.”

Hoffman only has nine goals and 16 assists this season in 49 games. He carries a $4.5 million contract good through 2023-24. It’s not that the Arizona club won’t have cap space with about  $26.3 million available pending signings of free agents. If Hoffman could regain his scoring touch, the Coyotes would be a good option for him.

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