Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! Teams are settling in after the busy trade deadline deals. There are still rumors to report about prospective trades that didn’t happen for whatever reason. On the final day of the trade deadline, 43 trades were transacted.
In this Sunday’s edition of NHL Rumors, we’ll examine the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and New Jersey Devils.
NHL rumors in this edition include:
Did Linus Ullmark reject a trade to the West Coast? How close were the Red Wings to acquiring defenseman Erik Johnson? Could Tyler Toffoli re-sign with the Devils this summer?
Boston Bruins – Linus Ullmark
Rumor: Per Frank Seravalli of dailyfaceoff.com, The Bruins had a deal to move Ullmark to the Los Angeles Kings, but he nixed it.
Fascinating day for #NHLBruins, sounds like they had a deal on the table to move G Linus Ullmark to #LAKings that didn’t end up crossing the finish line.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 8, 2024
Ullmark had a 16-team no-trade list, and the West Coast was on his list due to geographical favorites. There had been widespread speculation that the Bruins would have entertained moving Ullmark to address other needs on their roster. They sought to acquire Elias Lindholm before he was traded to the Calgary Flames. Subsequently, the Flames traded him to the Vancouver Canucks.
It was no secret that the Kings have been searching for a more stable goaltending situation. They currently employ both David Rittich and Cam Talbot in between the pipes. Adding a skilled goalie like Ullmark would have solved their problem. That is why players have no-trade clauses negotiated in their contracts. Ullmark wants nothing to do with playing on the West Coast.
Kevin Weeks of ESPN he was reported what his sources told him.
.@KevinWeekes on ESPN The Point says #NHLBruins thought they had something with Linus Ullmark, “so there was a deal that he essentially nixed, in large part based on geography, I’m told.”
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) March 8, 2024
So, in the end, Ullmark is still a Bruin, but for how long? His $5 million contract expires after next season. He could be back in trade deadline NHL rumors in a year. We’ll see.
Detroit Red Wings – Erik Johnson
Rumor: Per Kevin Allen, detroithockeynow.com, NHL sources speculated that the Red Wings were also in the bidding for the 2006 first-overall pick.
According to #NHL scources #RedWings were among the suitors for D Erik Johnson before he was dealt by #Sabres to #Flyers.
— Detroit Hockey Now (@DetHockeyNow) March 8, 2024
The Flyers recently parted ways with defenseman Sean Walker and landed a first-round pick for him. While the return was undoubtedly good for the Flyers, it created a hole on the right side of their defense. With the Flyers still in the playoff race, they decided to fill it with Johnson. The Red Wings valued his experience and leadership, but they waited too long to go for it. The Flyers added Johnson as one of the last transactions done on the trade deadline day.
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As it turned out, the Red Wings did make a minor move at the deadline.
UPDATE: The #RedWings today acquired defenseman Radim Simek and New Jersey’s 7th round pick in 2024 (previously acquired by SJ on 2/26/2023) in exchange for forward Klim Kostin. pic.twitter.com/jz8TvqozFC
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 8, 2024
Johnson’s $3.25 million contract could have been absorbed by the Detroit club, which now has about $3 million in cap space. When it’s that close, any NHL GM finds a way to make it work. The Red Wings have lost four straight, including being shut out twice. The New York Islanders, meanwhile, have won five straight and are right on the heels of the Wings.
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New Jersey Devils – Tyler Toffoli
Rumor: Per Jim Biringer, nhlrumor.com, after losing Toffoli to the Winnipeg Jets, GM Tom Fitzgerald may try to re-sign him this summer.
Fitzgerald says Devils and Toffoli could reengage in contract talks and could come back in the summer when he is UFA #NJDevils @FullPressNHL @myNHLTradeRumor
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) March 8, 2024
Dougie Hamilton has been on LTIR with a torn pectoral muscle since mid-December. The Devils couldn’t get a renewal contract done for Toffoli. He has a $4.25 million contract and retained 50 percent of that in the deal with the Jets. The Devils will have a projected $21.3 million available next season when the cap limit increases to $87.5 million. While they could not get it done by this trade deadline, they would still like to have Toffoli on their roster. In addition to trying to get Toffoli in the fold, the Devils dismissed their head coach, Lindy Ruff.
🚨BREAKING🚨
The #NJDevils have fired head coach Lindy Ruff.@JimBiringer breaks it all down on the #NightCapRecap.#NHL #HockeyTwitter #FPC pic.twitter.com/Hb8N7RC3IF
— Full Press Hockey (@FullPressNHL) March 4, 2024
For the Jets, they are going “all in” this season. They have the second-best record in the Western Conference and the Central Division. Adding Toffoli will only help their Cup aspirations. The Devils are still in it with a six-point deficit to make up for a wild-card spot. They can only hope that Toffoli is open to returning to them this summer to help with next season’s playoff run.
This edition of NHL rumors concludes. Be sure to catch our next article, and thanks for reading!