In today’s NHL rumors rundown, there is an update about the status of talks between the Montreal Canadiens and goaltender Jake Allen. Meanwhile, it appears Jake Virtanen is going to decline the Oilers offer of a PTO. The Winnipeg Jets were open to trading Mark Scheifele and the Ottawa Senators have signed two players to a couple of PTOs.
Allen Talks Slowed Because of Term
As per Arpon Basu and Marc-Antoine Godin of The Athletic report, the stumbling blocks in extension discussions between the Canadiens and goaltender Jake Allen revolve around term. The Canadiens want to sign him to a two-year extension. He might want a little longer.
They wrote:
But nothing is set in stone, because if the Canadiens are comfortable extending Allen for two more seasons after this one, anything longer than that becomes a bit more delicate. And our understanding of the situation is that it is the term on the contract that is currently being negotiated more so than the price tag.
source – ‘Basu and Godin: Nick Suzuki’s first hint of the captaincy, the Jake Allen talks and jersey ads’ – Arpon Basu and Marc Antoine Godin – The Athletic – 09/12/2022
Still with the Canadiens, but unrelated to player news, Shawn Simpson reports that a marketing executive estimated the Canadiens are getting $5 million a year for having the RBC patch on their jerseys. That would rank among the highest in the NHL and it goes to show why the league is doing this.
Rangers Not in a Rush to Move Lundkvist
With all the talk that surrounds a possible trade of Nils Lundkvist out of New York, it is important to remember that Rangers’ GM Chris Drury is not the kind of manager that will simply trade a player without good value coming back. Vincent Z. Mercogliano of Lohud (subscription required) reports that it is believed that Drury is looking for a cheap, young center in return for Lundkvist.
Related: Rangers News & Rumors: Othmann, Lundkvist, Vesey & More
As it stands right now, Lundkvist is not at the Rangers rookie camp.
Virtanen Unlikely to Choose Oilers
According to a report by Mark Spector of Sportsnet, “Oilers offered Jake Virtanen a PTO, but feeling is he will go elsewhere.” He adds, “My take: That is for the best. EDM has one project already in Puljujarvi. They don’t need a second one.”
There is mixed reaction to the news but a number of media personalities that cover the Oilers agree with Spector that this could be for the best. Jonathan Willis of The Athletic tweeted, “It’s for the best for a lot of reasons. Among them the fact that (picks a name out of a hat) Anton Lander has been a significantly better hockey player than Jake Virtanen over the last two seasons and probably still wouldn’t crack my top-100 list of PTO candidates.”
Interestingly, a number of people pointed to the production of former Oiler Nail Yakupov in the KHL versus Virtanen and said they’d rather give Yakupov another look.
Were Jets Prepared to Trade Scheifele?
Murat Ates of The Athletic writes that the Winnipeg Jets were trying to sign Pierre-Luc Dubois to a long-term deal and had they done so, that could have meant the exit of Mark Scheifele from the organization.
Ates explains:
If the Jets had Dubois locked up long-term, there is a chance that they would have shopped star scorer Mark Scheifele. Scheifele looked disengaged defensively last season and sounded deeply frustrated when the season was over. He’s also set to become a 31-year-old UFA in 2024 and a pricey one at that, given that he’s scored at least a point per game in each of his last six seasons.
source – ‘Winnipeg Jets offseason review: Despite all that trade talk, familiar roster returns’ – Murat Ates – The Athletic – 09/12/2022
As it went, Dubois was only willing to accept a one-year, $6 million offer from the Jets. Speculation is that he’ll take advantage of his arbitration rights next summer and try to walk himself into unrestricted free agency.
Senators Sign Brassard and Dal Colle to PTOs
A report relayed by Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia notes that Senators’ GM Pierre Dorion told the media that both Derick Brassard and Michael Dal Colle will be attending the Senators training camp on professional tryouts. Brassard isn’t a stranger to Ottawa, having played parts of two seasons with the team in the past. Meanwhile, Dal Colle will be moving on to only his second NHL team after having spent his entire career to this point with the Islanders.
Jim Parsons is a senior THW freelance writer, part-time journalist and audio/video host who lives, eats, sleeps and breathes NHL news and rumors, while also writing features on the Edmonton Oilers. He’s been a trusted source for five-plus years at The Hockey Writers, but more than that, he’s on a mission to keep readers up to date with the latest NHL rumors and trade talk. Jim is a daily must for readers who want to be “in the know.”
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