NHL Rumors: San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers, Winnipeg Jets

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The 2022-23 season is over and players as well as front offices will be evaluated. Now, the focus shifts toward the new season.

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. The NHL draft is in the books. Trades and free agency began July 1st as teams look to make improvements to their rosters. In this Sunday edition of NHL Rumors, we will look at the San Jose Sharks, New York Rangers, and the Winnipeg Jets.

San Jose Sharks – Erik Karlsson

Rumor: Per – Sheng Peng – nbcsportsbayarea.com. Three teams are vying for the services of Erik Karlsson. Where will he go? 

As I just said on TSN, Sharks continue to try to push the Erik Karlsson trade talks. Believe Sharks allowed teams to speak directly with Karlsson yesterday. Believe Seattle, Carolina and Pittsburgh among teams interested, among others. Leafs interested but not among front-runners

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 1, 2023

No matter which team is fortunate enough to acquire Karlsson, the Sharks will need to retain some salary. We’re not certain how much the Sharks will retain, but Chris Johnston reported earlier this week that the Sharks were willing to make Karlsson an $8 million AAV player, meaning that they would retain $3 million or more a year. That certainly helps with the cap issues, and of these three teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins have the disadvantage of the least cap space to offer. Try -$1,516,842 at the moment. Unless they intend to move some contracts (and with GM Kyle Dubas you never know) their intentions to add Karlsson are just a dream.

The Seattle Kraken on the other hand, have about $17 million in cap space to attract Karlsson. They still want to sign Vince Dunn, but should have enough (barely)  to swing a Karlsson contract if it comes in at about $8 million. Dunn’s projected contract could come in close to that of Karlsson, but we all know GM’s can make it happen if they really get motivated.

Vince Dunn projected at 8 years x $8.1M

That would make him the 14th-highest paid D in the NHL.

Wonder how much playoff performance will impact that number. https://t.co/bMwpm48LME

— Emerald City Hockey (@EmeraldCityHky) May 2, 2023

The Carolina Hurricanes just signed Dmitry Orlov to a two-year $7.75 million AAV deal so they are down to just $2.28 million remaining in their cap space bucket. It makes one wonder why they are still interested in Karlsson now that they made two major signings in Orlov and Michael Bunting, who got three years at $4.45 million AAV.

Somebody’s going to land Karlsson, and it will take some magic to make it happen.

New York Rangers – Alexis Lafreniere

Rumor: Per – Michael DeRosa – nhltraderumors.me. According to league sources, GM Chris Drury has been “quietly shopping” 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafreniere.

The former 2020 first-overall NHL pick has not exactly been burning up the league. In 216 games with the Rangers, he has just 47 goals and 44 assists. That calculates to 0.42 points per game. Not exactly first overall selection statistics. The Rangers should get a good level of interest from teams including the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, and Vegas Golden Knights. He did take a step in the right direction this past season by adding 16 goals and 23 assists in 81 games, but was held scoreless in the playoffs in seven contests.

For whatever reason, Lafreniere has not been able to advance to the next step in his NHL career. He has tons of potential, but how much longer do the Rangers stay patient with his slow development? He averaged just over 15 minutes of ice time during the 2022-23 season, but his output is not as expected. It’s a tough decision for any team to give up on a player, yet his value could be decreasing as his play hasn’t improved.

Around Full Press Hockey

NHL: 2023 NHL Offseason: Top 10 NHL Free Agents

NHL:  Alexander Mogilny Deserves To Be In The Hockey Hall of Fame

NHL Draft: 2023 NHL Draft: Every First Round Selection

Full Press Bets:  PODCAST: Stack The Pucks – 2023-2024 Stanley Cup Odds

PODCAST: Ep 64: Hockey Hall Of Fame, Free Agency, and More

WANT MORE PODCASTS? Check Out Some Of The Latest From Around The FPC Network

Winnipeg Jets – Mark Scheifele

Rumor: Per – Rob Ellis – nhltraderumor.com. Would the New York Rangers consider a trade for Scheifele? 

It seems that the Rangers may have their sights set on Scheifele. And, why not? He collected 42 goals, 26 assists in 81 games last season. He is powerful on the power play too with 12 tallies, and 10 helpers. So, what would it take to get Scheifele in a Rangers’ uniform? Quite a lot. Try perhaps trading Filip Chytil for starters, and then throwing in a first-round pick too. Chytil earns $4.44 million for the next four years. Scheifele has a $6.125 million contract good through next season. Scheifele is 30 years old, while Chytil will be 24 in September.

The Jets have been in the NHL rumors for a bit. On free agent day, they lost Blake Wheeler to the New York Rangers. They also have been thinking of shipping out their Vezina-winning goalie, Connor Hellebuyck. They already trade Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings and got a boatload of a return. Scheifele could be next.

Lots to consider here. After the Rangers added both Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko at the trade deadline last season, and still came up empty, you wonder what they need to do to get there? Adding Scheifele would certainly help, but at what cost? When a team loses a player who is just starting to excel, it can be devastating to the team.

It all boils down to whether Drury wants to take that gamble. He does want to win a Cup, and having a deadeye scorer like Scheifele can be one way to get it done. You’ll need to watch NHL rumors to see what goes down here. Trades are not done at all yet, so more action could be coming.

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