NHL Rumors: Latest Buzz on Blackhawks Rebuild, Alex Pietrangelo and More

With free agency officially starting Friday, a number of the NHL's biggest dominoes have already fallen.

Teams looking for immediate upgrades still have some options on the open market. The fallout from this offseason's moves is only starting to be felt as well. One franchise in particular could be facing some internal strife.

Here are the latest updates around the league.

Blackhawks Veterans Upset with Team's Offseason Strategy

David Banks/Associated Press

When Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman confirmed the team wasn't going to re-sign longtime goaltender Corey Crawford, it didn't come as a major surprise.

The Blackhawks failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2018 and 2019 and would have missed out in 2020 under a traditional postseason format. Chicago is headed for a transitional period as it phases out the players who are still around from the run of three Stanley Cup titles.

After Crawford, Brandon Saad was the next to go.

Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook haven't gone anywhere yet, which could create a tricky dynamic. The Athletic's Mark Lazerus spoke to a source who said the four are "pissed" and "have had enough."

Toews went on the record and couldn't hide his frustration:

"Bottom line is, I want to win. The expectation for the other leaders on this team and myself is to come ready to training camp every year to be a playoff team. We prepare ourselves to win a Cup for our fans. I've never been told that we were going through a rebuild. That has never been communicated to me, for that matter. A lot of this comes as a shock because it's a completely different direction than we expected."

One can sympathize with Toews, Kane, Keith and Seabrook. A rebuild is in stark contrast to the approach they have seen from the front office in their years with the team. One could also argue they've earned the right to be alerted when the franchise is planning to tear down the roster.

But winding down a dynasty is never easy, even under the best of circumstances.

Lazerus noted the four stars in question are all signed for at least three years. That could add a level of difficulty to executing any trade that would send one or more from the group away.

Vegas Emerging as Favorite for Pietrangelo

Alex Pietrangelo's time with the St. Louis Blues is clearly over.

The Blues announced Friday they signed Torey Krug to a seven-year, $45.5 million contract. According to The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford, Pietrangelo said the signing "caught me off-guard."

With Krug off the board, the 30-year-old is far and away the best defenseman available. Pierre LeBrun reported on TSN that Pietrangelo had an in-person visit with the Vegas Golden Knights. LeBrun went on to say the Golden Knights are "clearly the front-runner."

Pietrangelo would be an obvious upgrade to Vegas' blue line. He finished with 16 goals and 36 assists in 70 games in 2019-20. His 52 points would've ranked fourth on the Golden Knights, and Shea Theodore was the only defenseman with 40-plus points.

Fresh off a run to the Western Conference Finals, the team is in a position to take a big swing in free agency, too, in the hope it can lift the Stanley Cup.

Hoffman Not Lacking in FA Suitors

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Only one team can land Taylor Hall. Any general manager pursuing the 28-year-old should have alternatives in mind should they fall short.

Mike Hoffman could be one of those contingencies. According to LeBrun, around five or six teams have shown interest in Hoffman, and some within that group are making a simultaneous play for Hall.

The 30-year-old scored 29 goals and assisted on 30 more in 69 appearances for the Florida Panthers. He has averaged a little more than 28 goals a year since 2014-15.

Sportsnet's Justin Bourne questioned whether Hoffman's goal tally will end up inflating his salary, though:

"Only, I'm not sold his contributions to winning are commensurate with what those goal totals are going to do to his salary. He certainly hasn't driven play at even strength the past few years, and there aren't many teams who don't have a good PP1 flank guy, so is he going to replace yours? Without going too deep on Hoffman, he's 30 years old, he's one-dimensional, he was playing on a offensively-heavy Panthers team, and he's going to cost real money and require top linemates and PP time. For a few million dollars per, absolutely, give me Mike Hoffman. But for what he's likely going to cost, there's a chance someone gets burned."

Hoffman might be waiting to see where Hall signs before he commits to a contract. The teams that strike out with Hall could grow more desperate, and his deal could help set the bar in terms of Hoffman's final demands.