NHL Rumors: Latest on Vincent Lecavalier, Nathan Horton and NHL Draft Buzz

Buckle up. This could be one of the craziest NHL offseasons in recent memory.

With an abbreviated 2013 season in the books, teams are looking ahead to finishing the work they started prior to the league’s lockout. The season may have been cut in half, but franchises were given almost no time to prepare for what would follow.

Big names are already being thrown around on both the trading block and the freeagent market. In addition, the NHL draft is on the horizon, giving several teams ammunition to either add young talent or use their picks as ammunition to get substantially better this season.

Let’s take a look at some of the most notable rumors ahead of the NHL draft, highlighting two noteworthy players who could be on the move and one top draft pick potentially up for grabs.

Lecavalier’s New Home

The Tampa Bay Lightning created quite a bit of financial flexibility by buying out Vincent Lecavalier’s contract, but there are sure to be plenty of teams interested in acquiring the 33-year-old center now that he’s on the open market.

According to Ryan Rishaug of TSN, he’s already in the process of meeting interested teams:

Lecavalier can sign with a team on July 5, but given the serious amount of interest from teams around the league, it wouldn’t be a surprise for the forward to continue weighing his options. After being bought out for the remainder of an 11-year, $85 million contract, Lecavalier could be in line for a sizable payday on the open market.

All three teams on Rishaug’s list are viable options, but the Detroit Red Wings may be the most intriguing. Detroit is in need of some veteran depth on its front line, and there are few players on the market who fit that description as well as Lecavalier.

Horton Testing the Market

Nathan Horton was superb throughout the playoffs, but it looks like he won’t be returning to the Boston Bruins next year, as reported by TSN’s Bob McKenzie:

As noted by Fluto Sinzawa of the Boston Globe, Horton is coming off a six-year, $24 million contract as he approaches his first opportunity to test the free-agent market, and he could be looking at a new deal worth $6 million annually.

As part of one of the best top lines in hockey last season, Horton won’t be without suitors. But as Dan Rosen of NHL.com suggested, it will be hard for Horton to find linemates as good as the ones he played with in Boston:

Still, Horton has earned the right to secure a big payday on the open market. Given the demand for top-six forwards on the free-agent market, he won’t have a hard time doing so.

What of the No. 5 Pick?

The NHL draft is upon us, and to this point, there hasn’t been much talk of a big shake-up at the top of the draft.

That could change by the time the Colorado Avalanche are on the clock.

According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Carolina Hurricanes could look to move out of the No. 5 selection, and they may do so before the first pick:

Nick Kypreos of SportsNet.ca supports that belief with this tweet, identifying a potential suitor for the pick:

Carolina’s apparent willingness to trade back makes some sense. Some believe there are as many as five elite prospects in this class, but beyond Seth Jones, Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin and Aleksander Barkov, there isn’t a consensus for the next best player available.

If the Hurricanes believe they can move back a few spots and still get their guy, it makes sense that they would pull the trigger for the right offer.