NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, Colorado Avalanche

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The 2022-23 regular season is over and players as well as front offices will be evaluated. Now, with the season completed, the focus shifts toward deals that may go down this summer. What about free agency? Clubs are always working to improve their rosters for next season. Teams who were eliminated from the postseason need to assess what happened and make adjustments. 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, while teams are competing in the playoffs. In this Wednesday edition of NHL Rumors, we will look at the Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, and the Colorado Avalanche.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Kyle Dubas/Auston Matthews

Rumor: Per – Shane Seney – nhltraderumors.me. The chances of Matthews staying in Toronto went way down after Dubas was shown the door.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you would know that the Maple Leafs are going through a complicated, huge transition. When that happens things tend to trickle downward. With Kyle Dubas’ contract not being renewed in a questionable decision by President Brendan Shanahan, things are in a disarray, to put it mildly. The future of the four top-core forwards of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner have been brought to the NHL rumors forefront. WIth Matthews, their most important franchise player, what will happen to his future with the team?

Friedman on 32TP: "I did have one player reach out to me and say that they weren't even sure if Matthews would have signed by July 1 with Dubas, cause if they made big changes around the draft, the question became how would Matthews feel about it?"

— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) May 22, 2023

His agent is the same agent Dubas has, showing the close relationship between the former GM and Matthews. Matthews’ no-movement clause begins on July 1, so any move after that needs to be approved by the Leafs star. It certainly seemed like Matthews was very content staying in Toronto, and mentioned that to the press. BUT… that was before Dubas exited as GM. With no general manager in place, that leaves the team’s management a little over a month to figure out how to proceed. Matthews will certainly weigh his options, but now he may be thinking he’s had enough of the turmoil and failed postseason results.

Then, if he does decide to stay (and he very well could), either Marner or Nylander may be traded to shake things up. Tavares is safe with his no-movement clause through 2024-25 in place. Something will need to be done and the new GM in Toronto will have his hands full from day one. Will Matthews bolt? Will Marner be dealt? What about Nylander? All questions that need an answer at this juncture.

St. Louis Blues – Trade two first-round picks?

Rumor: Per – Frank Seravalli – dailyfaceoff.com. “Reload not rebuild” the plan for St. Louis Blues’ GM Doug Armstrong.

The Blues really want to bounce back from a season where they missed the playoffs after a 109-point season. They still have young players like Joel Hofer, Jordan Kyrou, and Robert Thomas to assist with the “re-tool”. The main asset they possess though is two first-round picks they received in deals, besides their own #10 pick in the NHL 2023 draft. The team received the Maple Leafs’ #25 pick in the Ryan O’Reilly trade. They also have the #30 pick from the Dallas Stars in the Sammy Blais, Hunter Skinner trade. To possess a top-ten pick along with two late first-round choices gives GM Doug Armstrong some negotiating options.

There were some wild NHL rumors out there about the Blues possibly obtaining either Patrik Laine or Kyle Connor. The Winnipeg Jets are at a crossroads with some of their players and adding either one (more likely Connor than Laine) would certainly help the retool in a quick fashion. Of course, the Blues may not want to give up any of their prime prospects to pull off a deal for Connor. You never know, though… stranger things have happened in the past.

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Colorado Avalanche – Devon Toews

Rumor: Per – Michael DeRosa – nhltraderumors.me. With the Avs possessing an excess of left-shot defensemen and limited cap space, will they deal Toews? 

Toews is in the last year of his $4.1 million contract, and deserves a raise. He has added 107 points in 146 games over the last two seasons. If he is allowed to go to free agency next season, they will lose him without getting a return. The Avs could trade him for a top-six center or winger. The loss of captain Gabriel Landeskog may force the team to see what they could get for Toews in a trade. His trade value is at a good point, which can make his value increase for a deal to be made.

Some interested teams could be the Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, and Florida Panthers. To complicate things, the Colorado club has eight unrestricted free agents and three restricted free agents needing new contracts. With only about $13.3 million available in cap space, some tough decisions must be made. Being eliminated in the first round by the upstart Seattle Kraken motivates the team’s management to get back to Cup contention.

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