Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The focus has shifted toward the new season. Teams are always looking to improve, and the excitement of another NHL season is upon us. With the March 8th trade deadline approaching, the rumors are hot and heavy!
In this Sunday Christmas Eve edition of NHL Rumors, we’ll examine the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, and the New Jersey Devils.
NHL rumors in this edition include:
It is revealed where else Jack Eichel could have landed instead of Vegas. Could Elias Lindholm be a good fit in Colorado? Now, possessing cap space due to Dougie Hamilton’s injury, how will the Devils use the cap space?
Vegas Golden Knights – Jack Eichel
Rumor: Per – Shane Seney – nhltraderumors.me. The Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche were the two closest teams to land Eichel before the Golden Knights swooped in.
With the possibility of Eichel going to Calgary, one must imagine how that could have changed the fortunes of the Flames. The same goes for the Avs, as they could have used Eichel to replace the scoring prowess of injured captain Gabriel Landeskog. With Eichel, they could have very well won back-to-back Cups.
As it turned out, Eichel wound up in Vegas and they have certainly used his talents to win their first Cup. He has accumulated 56 goals and 74 assists in 135 games in Sin City. In this podcast, he summarizes the teams who were going after him and also gives us an excellent impersonation of Phil Kessel.
Jack Eichel confirms that it came down to the Calgary #Flames and Vegas Golden Knights when he requested a trade from Buffalo pic.twitter.com/i235V3Xc8H
— Dennis Wideman (@widemanden) December 21, 2023
the kessel impression is k!lling mee ? pic.twitter.com/e4G52qm2zH
— em (@lrdhive) December 18, 2023
So, even after two years since the big trade, which sent Eichel to Vegas with Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs coming to Buffalo, there is no clear winner of the trade. Tuch has flourished with the Sabres, tallying 57 goals and 84 assists in 151 games. Krebs has been a bit disappointed, with only 18 goals and 36 assists in 154 games. One can argue that the Golden Knights won a Cup with Eichel, and the Sabres are still struggling to win a playoff berth.
Colorado Avalanche – Elias Lindholm
Rumor: Per – Evan Rawal – coloradohockeynow.com. Lindholm would be a perfect second-line center behind Nathan MacKinnon.
Lindholm’s contract expires next summer, and with his current deal of $4.85 million, even with the salary cap increase, the Avs would need to move a contract. Sportsnet.ca’s Elliotte Friedman put it this way:
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“The other team really looking around: Colorado. They made that Tomas Tatar trade, and everybody is saying, ‘OK, what’s the other shoe?’ And I think they need to wait because they’ve got some cap issues and roster issues, but there isn’t a contender in the league who isn’t trying to figure out what the Avalanche are up to. I know some people suspect Lindholm. They’re not the only ones, but I know some people suspect that that’s one of the guys that they’re eyeing.”
After Jeff Marek discusses how the Tatar trade felt like Colorado establishing a jab, and everyone is now waiting for a jab to come, Friedman continued…
“I think Lindholm is one of the guys they’re looking at, but I’m sure there are others. Again, I don’t know what’s going to happen, how much is going to happen before the freeze. Like I said, Colorado has got some roster issues and some cap issues. They might have to wait, but they’re lurking. There’s no question that they are lurking out there.”
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New Jersey Devils – What to do with cap space
Rumor: Per – Pierre LeBrun – theathletic.com. If there’s a silver lining to Dougie Hamilton‘s injury, it means his $9 million cap hit could come into play ahead of the March 8 trade deadline.
It’s no secret that the Devils want to improve on defense and goaltending. With that amount of cap space at their disposal, it becomes very possible that they could add at both positions. Per LeBrun on TSN’s Insider Trading, the Devils could look at adding either Chris Tanev or Noah Hanifin to the roster. They would rather have their star D-man Hamilton back, but with his torn pectoral muscle, he could be done for the season. Optimistically, he could be back by the time the postseason begins. It’s an injury which is difficult to recover from quickly.
The Devils sit within three points of a wild-card spot behind the Tampa Bay Lightning but have three games in hand. They are 6-3-1 in their last 10 contests. There’s no doubt that adding to their blueline with Tanev or Hanifin would help them advance. There has also been chatter about the Devils being interested in netminder John Gibson. But his $6.4 million cap hit may be an obstacle.
James Nichols of newjerseyhockeynow.com reports that the Devils’ GM, Tom Fitzgerald, has re-engaged in trading for Gibson. The salary cap could be an issue he would need to address.
That concludes this edition of NHL rumors. Be sure to catch our next article, and thanks for reading!
We here at fullpresshockey.com want to wish everyone a joyous and peaceful holiday season.