Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The 2022-23 regular season is nearly halfway done and players will be evaluated. Now, with the trade deadline 33 days away, rumors are sizzling. The NHL holiday trade freeze ended at 12:01 am on December 28th. That could mean trade activity or NHL rumors could be picking up.
Clubs are always working to improve their rosters for next season. Some teams are having difficulty creating enough cap space to make moves. Others are experiencing severe injuries to star players. Trade rumors/signings are still possible. In this Sunday edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche, and the Detroit Red Wings.
New Jersey Devils – Timo Meier
Rumor: Per – Pierre LeBrun – TSN.com. While the Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald couldn’t say he was after Meier, which would make him guilty of tampering, it can be assumed that he wants a top-six forward who is not a rental… that fits Meier perfectly. And, Meier is close friends with the Devils captain, Nico Hischier.
It must be known that the Devils have the depth, the prospects, and the draft picks to make the Sharks a very attractive offer for Meier’s services. Another consideration is that the team still must sign Jesper Bratt. Both Meier and Bratt are going to be restricted free agents with arbitration rights. Fitzgerald could sign Meier with the savings he makes on a potential Bratt trade if negotiations break down. The big sticking point could be Meier’s $10 million qualifying offer. Then, he will need to be signed long-term as well. That’s a lot of money.
What about a return to San Jose? Sheng Peng of sanjosehockeynow.com suggests the Devils could send Andreas Johnsson and his $2.275 million contract along with prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin, and their 2024 first-round pick (top-15 protected) to the San Jose club for Meier. Of course, the Sharks would need to retain 50 percent of Meier’s $6 million cap hit this season. New Jersey will have about $36.6 million in cap space for next season to give Meier a worthy contract. This has possibilities, but other teams like the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabers may compete for Meier. What a landing place for additional NHL rumors!
Colorado Avalanche – Sean Monahan
Rumor: Per – Pierre LeBrun – TSN.com. The Canadiens reportedly aren’t actively shopping Monahan, but it’s believed they’d move him for the right offer. That would probably be a first-round pick in this year’s draft or a top prospect.
Gabriel Landeskog hasn’t played a single game this season due to an injury. According to LeBrun, he is due back in early March. The Avs currently have about $6.29 million in cap space. Landeskog’s cap hit is $7 million. When going down the list of possibilities for the team, Monahan’s $6.375 million cap hit is a bit cheaper than Ryan O’Reilly’s $7.5M. Of course, Bo Horvat is only at $5.5M but will require a big increase if acquired. The Avs don’t possess the required assets to gather in either O’Reilly or Horvat, making Monahan a much more logical choice.
The Montreal Canadiens are in the midst of a rebuild, so draft picks or prospects are on their list for a possible Monahan return. When he was sidelined in early December he had 17 points in 25 games and the Colorado club can really use that offense. Monahan has size too at 6′-2″, 200 pounds. Adding Monahan to an already excellent front line can help the Avalanche in the playoffs.
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Detroit Red Wings – Dylan Larkin
Rumor: Per – Ansar Khan – mlive.com. Larkin is unlikely to be traded because it would really set back the Red Wings rebuild. They’re more likely to get futures (a young player, prospect, draft picks) than a player who could have an immediate impact.
The two sides have agreed on the term being an eight-year deal, but the dollar amount needs to be worked out yet. The team favors $8 million, while Larkin and his camp want more like $9 million. A compromise between the two amounts may be what happens. The Red Wings are going to have about $41 million in cap space next season, so there’s plenty for Larkin. They would like to bring in a top-line center and could be in the hunt for a player like Horvat once he goes to free agency.
They must also re-sign or replace fellow UFAs like Tyler Bertuzzi, Pius Suter, Adam Erne, Oskar Sundqvist, Olli Maatta and Alex Nedeljkovic.
Larkin seems to be a lifelong Red Wing, so he won’t be going elsewhere unless something bizarre happens. He’ll get his money because Steve Yzerman has no other choice but to keep him. He’s the lifeblood of the team, and it’s not often you find a player like that.
That concludes this edition of NHL rumors. Be sure to catch our next article, and thanks for reading!