Buying or Selling the Latest NHL Trade and Free Agency Rumors
We've entered the dog days of both summer and the NHL.
Now that the draft and the onset of free agency have come and gone, it's time for hockey watchers of all shapes, sizes and allegiances to hunker down for the 90-plus days until the 2023-24 season gets going in October.
But for those who simply can't do without ice-related news, we do have rumors.
They're the league's most prevalent cottage industry and nearly every hockey watcher with a device and a Wi-Fi connection weighs in on the blockbusters of the day.
Thus, the B/R hockey writing team joined in as well and came up with a buy/sell designation on the more notable tidbits. Click through to see our thoughts and drop a viewpoint or two of your own in the comments.
Vladimir Tarasenko to Carolina
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The deal seemed all but done.
Winger Vladimir Tarasenko didn't get the Stanley Cup he'd sought in New York City this spring but it seemed he was prepped to chase it again in Carolina.
The Hurricanes were among a cluster of teams bidding for the 31-year-old's services and it made sense given their proximity to title contention, but when the six-time 30-goal scorer abruptly changed agents, it sent the wooing process back to square one.
One of his new representatives, Pat Brisson of CAA, told ESPN that speed is not necessarily what they need when it comes to deciding on the right destination.
"We've been evaluating the market based on what we have in front of us," he said. "We've had conversations with Vladdy and his wife, Yana. This isn't something we're rushing into. We're making sure that we're educating ourselves and them. We're going to hopefully make a decision in the near future."
Carolina surely remains in the mix, but given its relative lack of cap space (just more than $3.3 million according to CapFriendly.com) it'll take some maneuvering to get it done. And the new agent team opens the doors for others with more cash (Ottawa, perhaps) to swoop in.
Verdict: Call it a sell for now, but it won't be too alarming if he does wind up in Raleigh.
Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are big on championship windows.
And they're stubborn when it comes to closing them.
Then-GM Ron Hextall went all-in on nostalgia last summer when he re-signed multiple Cup winners Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang to new deals and they performed well in 2022-23, but Hextall was shown the door when the team missed the playoffs.
He was replaced by ex-Toronto boss Kyle Dubas, but the determination to keep the band together for one more run hasn't changed. And toward that end, Dubas and the Penguins seem motivated to bring in San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson, who won a Norris Trophy after posting a career-best 101 points from the blue line at age 33.
Unfortunately for the Swede, the Sharks are a competitive dumpster fire for the time being and he's got four years left on a contract paying him $11.5 million per year, which means San Jose GM Mike Grier is fielding offers for his high-priced services.
The suggestion is that Grier wants two first-rounders as part of his asking price and Dubas is weighing his options. Karlsson is no shutdown defender but he is exactly the kind of offensive-minded player that fits into coach Mike Sullivan's run-and-gun style.
So, if Dubas is truly committed to giving his new employer, the best chance to win now, even if it compromises the future, it's a reasonable price to pay.
Verdict: Buy. Unless someone else swoops in late, Karlsson is a Penguin.
Sharks Signing Matt Dumba
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Hey, didn't you use to be Matt Dumba?
OK, it's not as if the now-28-year-old has fallen entirely off the NHL map—he did average better than 20 minutes across 79 games in 2022-23—but he doesn't get talked about with quite the same reverence as when he scored double-digit goals for four straight seasons.
He played the final season of a five-year, $30 million contract and became an unrestricted free agent as of July 1, but he's not the first name discussed in a free-agent pool that still includes guys like Tarasenko, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
So if there was ever a guy in need of a one-year, prove-it type deal before the salary cap (presumably) goes up again next summer, it's Dumba.
Enter the San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks aren't exactly in the mix for a Cup anytime soon and GM Grier is more preoccupied these days on maximizing the return for Norris Trophy winner Karlsson, as mentioned in the previous slide. And assuming he's ultimately able to strike the right deal for Karlsson, it will leave a void that'll need to be filled on the blue line.
Who better to fill it than Dumba, who could arrive in northern California, help in a veteran leadership capacity and rebuild his value to the league as a whole with a strong season? It's not a long-term fix, but it's a pretty good win-win in the meantime.
Verdict: Buy. Makes as much sense as anywhere for a rebuilding player and team.
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Alex DeBrincat to Detroit
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It's been quite a year for Alex DeBrincat.
The productive 5'8" winger was among the talks of the league exactly 12 months ago this week, taking his 40-goal exploits from Chicago to Ottawa when the Blackhawks worked a draft day deal and sent him to the Senators for both a first- and second-rounder in 2022 and a third-rounder in 2024.
It seemed a natural move for a Chicago team in the early stages of a complete overhaul and an Ottawa team assembling pieces for a return to relevance.
But it didn't go quite as planned.
Now 25, DeBrincat dropped from 41 goals to 27 and from 78 points to 66 in his first season with the Senators and these days finds himself as a restricted free agent with no apparent interest in signing a long-term deal to stay in Canada's national capital.
Conveniently enough, it just happens that the Detroit Red Wings play their home games a shade more than 20 miles from the Michigan town, Farmington Hills, where DeBrincat was born. And GM Steve Yzerman, never shy about making deals to better his roster, has been relatively quiet this summer as he sits with nearly $12 million in available cap space.
DeBrincat is due a $9 million qualifying offer to follow his three-year, $19.2 million deal, and the Red Wings both have the money to make it happen and the need for offensive production after finishing 24th in the league last season with 2.84 goals per game.
Hometown boy. Hometown team. The contract story writes itself.
Verdict: Buy. Who says you can't go home?
John Gibson on the Block?
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It makes sense that John Gibson would be the topic of trade discussion.
He's a big, athletic goalie who's played in three All-Star Games, will be barely into his 30s by the time next season starts, and is in competitive limbo with the Anaheim Ducks.
The Ducks were last overall among 32 teams in 2023-24 and considering Gibson is signed for another four seasons at $6.4 million per, he's an attractive (albeit pricey) asset.
But in order for a deal to happen, there has to be a buyer to go along with the seller.
And a quick look across the league indicates the buyer simply won't be there to the point where acquiring Gibson makes sense at the moment.
Most of the teams in contention for a Stanley Cup either have their goaltending situations handled or don't have the cash available to bring in a guy with Gibson's price tag. And the teams that could afford it are in standings situations not all that different from Anaheim's.
So why bother? At least for now.
But fast-forward a few months to the trade deadline and you'll surely have teams that decide all they need to make a legitimate run is an established goaltender. And that's when Ducks GM Pat Verbeek's phone is most likely to ring with the kinds of offers he won't easily refuse.
Verdict: Sell for now. But assuming his season isn't awful, Gibson moves in the spring.
Adieu to Alexis Lafrenière?
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Remember the buzz around Alexis Lafrenière?
Though it may not have reached Connor Bedard levels, there's little doubt that the guy who tore up the junior hockey ranks in Quebec was expected to be an impact NHL player.
And when the New York Rangers won the lottery to get him with the first pick in the 2020 draft, it seemed a matter of time before parades would be planned in midtown Manhattan.
Since then? Sacre bleu!
Though he's been a respectable enough forward in three seasons at Madison Square Garden, the 47 goals and 91 points Lafrenière have posted across 216 NHL games have reminded precisely no one of Sidney Crosby, to whom he was compared after becoming just the second two-time winner of Canada's junior player of the year award.
Lafrenière finished his three-year entry-level contract this season and is due a qualifying offer near $900,000 as a restricted free agent, but it's hardly shocking given the historic impatience of the New York fan base that there's talk the Rangers ought to just cut the cord.
And whaddya know? The Montreal Canadiens might have some room.
Les Habitants are the jewels of Canada's French-speaking province and always welcoming to players who'll blend well with the culture. It's hard to imagine any situation being better for a young player—he's still just 21, after all—like Lafrenière to rebuild his confidence and rediscover his productivity than the team he grew up rooting for as a kid.
Verdict: Buy. Buy. Buy. There are no-brainers. And then there are no-brainers.
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