NHL Rumors: Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers

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 Wednesday’s edition of NHL Rumors, we will look at the Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Philadelphia Flyers.

NHL Rumors in this edition are as follows:

Will newly signed Ryan O’Reilly‘s prediction that the Preds can compete for a Cup come true? Which teams are interested in defenseman Brett Pesce? Will the Flyers eclipse the 65-point mark next season?

Nashville Predators – Ryan O’Reilly

Rumor: Per – Tristin McKinstry – clutchpoints.com. Newly signed forward O’Reilly opened up about what he saw in the Predators that led to his decision to sign on the dotted line when the free agency market opened.

“I think the veteran players that are here right now, the way they impact the game is so impressive,” O’Reilly said Thursday, via NHL.com. “I think, too, watching last year and the youth, and what they do, there’s a great balance of both.” Then, he made a really bold statement, “I think we can take a step and be right there competing for the [Stanley] Cup,” the Predators forward said.

While the Preds did narrowly miss the playoffs last season, they accumulated 92 points, trailing the Winnipeg Jets by just three points for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. In his seven-year NHL career, O’Reilly has shown he’s a big-time contributor, especially in the playoffs. He has 25 goals, 40 assists in 75 postseason contests.

O’Reilly made it clear that he felt he needed to go elsewhere after being traded at the deadline to the Toronto club. For some players, the intense expectations of playing in Toronto can cause a player to not want to be a part of that.

This morning on #FirstUp, we were joined by @PredsNHL forward Ryan O’Reilly and he opened up about why he left #LeafsForever in free agency.

Listen to O'Reilly's full interview HERE: https://t.co/TUzhvM5XD7 pic.twitter.com/GzryIM1tYS

— First Up (@FirstUp1050) July 17, 2023

For now, O’Reilly seems content to want to help the Preds get to the postseason, and he has all the tools to do just that.

Carolina Hurricanes – Brett Pesce

Rumor: Per – Shayna Goldman – theathletic.com. Pesce is arguably part of the Canes’ core, but management may feel the foundation set would allow them to replace him if they can’t find common ground.

For @TheAthletic:

The Hurricanes and Brett Pesce are trying to hammer out a contract extension.

What is the defenseman likely looking for in a new deal? And if the price is too steep for Carolina, what could Pesce fetch in a trade?https://t.co/kGDDIp2l9D

— Cory Lavalette (@corylav) June 21, 2023

So, where could he go if a new contract isn’t going to happen? At least five teams could be in on adding him to their rosters. His six-year $4.025 million AAV contract doesn’t expire until next summer, but even with the salary cap projected to increase to $87.5 million, other star players need to be re-signed as well. Both Sebastian Aho, and Teuvo Teravainen will need new contracts including well deserved raises. So, with that said, here’s where Pesce could be heading,

• Dallas Stars – Their blueline could use a boost and Pesce could fit right in. Since the Stars didn’t add a defenseman in free agency, the trade market is probably the best bet. Pesce stands out as a strong top-four fit on the right side. The Stars would need to give up draft picks, but it could be well worth it to add a quality D-man like Pesce.
• Buffalo Sabres – The Sabres already added Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton, so adding Pesce is more of a luxury than a need. Still, Pesce stands out as a strong top-four fit on the right side.
• Toronto Maple Leafs – Sure, how could they afford to add yet another player, right? They are already $8.83 million OVER the cap limit, but things could change. They still need to re-sign Ilya Samsonov and figure out what to do with Matt Murray. If tweaking the defense is still a priority, then Pesce is absolutely a player to inquire about.
• Nashville Predators – Nashville doesn’t need Pesce as much as others around the league, even less so after signing Luke Schenn for three years. He could be somewhat of a Mattias Ekholm replacement. The Preds have assets and cap space to make a trade happen and don’t have a ton of long-term contract commitments keeping them from extending Pesce.
• Edmonton Oilers – While the left side has a lot more stability, especially after the Ekholm trade, the right side doesn’t thrill enough behind Evan Bouchard with Cody Ceci and Vincent Desharnais. So maybe Edmonton should be in the market for Pesce. The big roadblock to adding Pesco to the Oilers is cap space. They still need to re-sign Evan Bouchard and he deserves a good raise.

Philadelphia Flyers – Rebuild challenges

Rumor: Per Adam Gretz – bleacherreport.com. While the Flyers rebuild may be puttering, GM Daniel Briere is into the solution.

Briere noticed the draft assets were barren and made sure to acquire picks in the 2023 draft to help restock. They had five picks in the top 100 compared to the seven they had in the three previous drafts combined. Injuries to Sean Couturier, Cam Atkinson and Ryan Ellis have hurt them, but every team needs to contend with that.

The Flyers somehow squeezed out 75 points last season, but after Briere traded both Kevin Hayes and Ivan Provorov this team will be lucky to obtain 65 points in the 2023-24 season. Briere is doing it the right way by building through the draft and losing huge contracts, but be patient Flyers’ fans this is not an overnight fix. Rebuilds take patience and fortitude and thus far it appears that Briere possesses both of those attributes.

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