BS Meter on the Latest NHL Free Agency and Trade Rumors
We are starting to get into the dog days of the NHL offseason where the draft is in the rearview mirror, the biggest trades have been made and all of the top free agents have been signed.
But there are still always a few major moves lurking during this time period, and the rumor mill is still rolling along with some big names.
The biggest of which remains San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson who would still like a trade to help improve his chances of winning a Stanley Cup.
Karlsson is the biggest name still available and is the focal point of this installment of the BS meter.
Penguins Are Erik Karlsson's Preferred Destination
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The Penguins have been one of the most prominent teams featured in Karlsson rumors and reportedly almost acquired him on July 1 and it's been rumored they are his preferred destination at this point.
Karlsson has a lot of say in where he ends up going given his no-trade clause, but there are some pretty significant obstacles in making a deal work with the Penguins.
For starters, Karlsson counts $11 million against the salary cap for the next four years and the Penguins for this season are already $2 million over the cap. They would need to move a LOT of salary (Jeff Petry? Mikael Granlund?) and figure out a way to either get San Jose to retain some money on Karlsson, or bring in a third team to funnel him through. They might need to do the latter part even if they move salary and get San Jose to agree to some retention.
The Penguins also have an extremely thin farm system and the oldest roster in the league. That is not a great match for a Sharks team that is looking to rebuild and collect as many young assets as it can with its biggest and best trade chip.
Still, the Penguins remain persistent in their pursuit of Karlsson and have an aggressive general manager in Kyle Dubas that has a way of making deals come together in a tight salary cap environment. Even though Karlsson has said he does not have a specific destination in mind, it also probably helps their cause that he wants to go there.
Karlsson would be a great fit in Pittsburgh in a number of ways, giving them another elite defenseman to go along with Kris Letang while also helping to fix an inconsistent power play that held them back for much of the 2022-23 season. The Penguins also play a style of hockey that would play to Karlsson's strengths while he would have three other future Hall of Famers (Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang) to help him get closer to a championship.
BS meter: Not BS. Both sides -- Karlsson and the Penguins -- would have ample reason to want this match to happen.
Hurricanes Still a Favorite for Erik Karlsson
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The other team that has been prominently mentioned as a favorite for Karlsson is the Carolina Hurricanes, and as long as Karlsson has an interest in going there they might have the inside track over Pittsburgh.
Why?
They have a slightly better salary cap situation (still over $2 million in cap space this offseason) and have a much better collection of young players and prospects to deal from.
Carolina had been rumored all offseason as trying to work out a deal to bring Tony DeAngelo back to Raleigh, but there were some obstacles there with the league. The Flyers waived DeAngelo on Friday for the purposes of buying him out, which will make him a free agent.
If DeAngelo ends up in Carolina as a free agent that might take the Hurricanes out of the running for Karlsson. That would not only eat up a significant chunk of their remaining salary cap space (if not all of it), but it would also round out their defense unless they were willing to move somebody like a Brett Pesce.
BS meter: Not BS, in fact, unless he has some reason for not wanting to be reunited with Brent Burns this should be high on Karlsso's list because they are probably closer to winning a championship right now than Pittsburgh is. The Hurricanes are one of the best teams in the NHL and adding Karlsson to that lineup would give them the type of game-breaking offensive force they have lacked the past few years.
The Canucks Have to Deal a Forward
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Patrick Johnston of the Province reported this week that the Canucks might have to deal a forward or two to address a glut of wingers the team has following the re-signing of Nils Hoglander.
As Johnston puts it, that gives the Canucks 16 forward options at the NHL level and that is simply too many. At least two of them will have to go before the season begins, either as part of a demotion or a trade.
Head coach Rick Tocchet reportedly wants to see younger players like Hogland and Vasily Podkolzin play prominent roles this season on the wings.
Vancouver is set at center with Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and free agent acquisition Teddy Blueger occupying the top spots. None of them are going anywhere at this point. The logjam comes from the fact that Vancouver also has players like Anthony Beauvillier, Conor Garland, Brock Boeser and Andrei Kuzmenko on the wings as potential top-six options, while Tanner Pearson and Ilya Mikeyev could be options to return after injuries wiped out their 2022-23 campaigns.
The most obvious trade candidates out of that group are the two player that have been mentioned in trade rumors for the better part of the past calendar year -- Boeser and Garland.
BS Meter. Somewhat BS. The Canucks definitely need to figure out a way to address their forward logjam, especially if Pearson is able to return healthy at the start of the season. But we're not necessarily convinced that Boeser or Garland will be the players to move. At least not now. If Vancouver was going to trade one of them it would have probably already happened by now, and it might make more sense to see how they do at the start of the season to see if they can re-boost some of their value.
Matt Dumba and the Coyotes
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While most of the free agent class has already been signed, Dumba remains one of the bigger names still available.
And it is a little surprising given how strong his career has been.
One of the teams that has been mentioned as a possible landing spot in recent weeks is the Arizona Coyotes who have a need for some veteran leadership on their defense, especially after the trade of Jakob Chychrun to the Ottawa Senators at the NHL trade deadline this past season.
Dumba's offense has declined from what it was at his peak when he was a double-digit goal-scorer and putting up 35 points, but he still brings a lot of leadership and a strong on-ice presence.
BS meter: Not BS. The Coyotes' defense still needs a lot of help not only in terms of good players, but players in general. As of publication. they only have five defensemen under contract at the NHL level and it is not a particularly deep or impressive group. Sean Durzi was a nice offseason addition from Los Angeles, and they have a couple of promising young players, but they still need somebody to help them get through an NHL season.
Arizona had a lot of success last season in taking a player like Shayne Gostisbehere, putting him in a position where he could pump up his value, and then trading him at the deadline for assets.
They could follow a similar path with Dumba if he were open to it.
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