With Elias Lindholm off the trade market, check out the latest on Jake Guentzel and Sean Monahan plus updates on the Bruins and Sabres in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
THE LATEST PENGUINS’ SPECULATION
THE ATHLETIC: Josh Yohe believes Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas would like to re-sign Jake Guentzel. The 29-year-old winger is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. It could depend on Guentzel’s willingness to sign what Yohe called a “somewhat team-friendly deal.”
Yohe believes Dubas isn’t afraid to trade Guentzel if a new deal isn’t possible. He won’t let the winger walk away for nothing this summer. Nevertheless, the Penguins GM would love to sign him for the right price.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Guentzel’s cap hit on his current contract is $6 million. With the salary cap projected to jump by $4.2 million for 2024-25, he could get between $9 million and $10 million annually on the open market.
My guess is Dubas’ number is between $7.5 million and $8 million per season. It would then come down to how much Guentzel wants to stay and remain Sidney Crosby’s wingman.
PITTSBURGH HOCKEY NOW: Dan Kingerski noted the Penguins have a couple of holes to fix among their middle-six forwards. He wondered if Dubas would attempt to move struggling winger Reilly Smith and his $5.5 million annual cap hit through next season to make room for another solution in a similar role.
Kingerski’s suggested trade targets include Ottawa Senators right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, Buffalo Sabres winger Victor Olofsson, and former Penguins winger Jason Zucker of the Arizona Coyotes.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The 32-year-old Smith’s production is well down this season with just eight goals and 20 points in 40 games. He has a 10-team no-trade list for this season which becomes an eight-team list next season.
Smith might not be willing to move to a rebuilding team, though the Coyotes are showing signs of a potential breakthrough as a playoff contender this season. Whether the Coyotes would want him, however, is another matter.
UPDATE ON THE CANADIENS
SPORTSNET: In his Jan. 30 mailbag, Eric Engels was asked if the Montreal Canadiens will trade Sean Monahan and if so what type of return he might fetch.
Engels believes it would take a first-round pick for Canadiens GM Kent Hughes to part with Monahan. As for when Hughes can expect to receive serious offers for the 29-year-old center. Engels expects talks in the trade market will pick up following the All-Star break.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Those discussions could start now after the Lindholm trade yesterday. That was the first domino to drop. Trade activity won’t take place during the All-Star break because the league doesn’t want anything to overshadow that.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the next big move takes place soon after the end of the All-Star weekend. Teams that were interested in Lindholm could shift their focus toward Monahan and that could drive up his trade value.
WILL THE SABRES BECOME SELLERS?
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Michael Augello noted that the Buffalo Sabres have six pending unrestricted free agents (Victor Olofsson, Kyle Okposo, Zemgus Girgensons, Eric Robinson, Eric Comrie and Erik Johnson) who could become trade bait leading up to the March 8 deadline. However, he doesn’t expect they’ll fetch big rewards for the Sabres.
Augello also noted some recent speculation suggesting the Sabres could trade forward Casey Mittelstadt. He carries an affordable $2.5 million cap hit and is eligible for restricted free-agent status this summer. However, that might be a move that Sabres management can hold off on until this summer.
BUFFALO HOCKEY NOW: Jason Moser recently noted the speculation about David Jiricek’s future with the Columbus Blue Jackets after the rookie defenseman expressed frustration over being demoted to their AHL affiliate.
Moser thinks it could be worthwhile for the Sabres to look into acquiring Jiricek if he’s available. He thinks offering up a top prospect forward such as Matthew Savoie, Noah Ostlund, Jiri Kulich or Isak Rosen would make sense.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Sabres playoff hopes appear dashed for another season. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Sabres peddled some of those pending UFAs for middle or low-range draft picks and prospects that could be used as trade bait in the offseason.
They could move Mittelstadt but that could depend on how his contract talks go. If it appears he could be headed to arbitration they might shop him during the draft in June for a skilled defenseman or an established starting goalie.
As for Jiricek, he hasn’t asked to be traded and I doubt that the Blue Jackets want to move him given his potential as a top-pairing blueliner. If he did become available, however, the Sabres possess the depth in promising young assets to make a competitive offer.
WHAT MUST THE BRUINS ADDRESS BEFORE THE TRADE DEADLINE?
NBC SPORTS BOSTON: Nick Goss ranked the Bruins biggest needs to address as the trade deadline approaches.
Acquiring a physical veteran defenseman who can clear the front of the net, kill penalties and play tough minutes against quality opponents. is the top priority. Adding a middle-six forward with a decent scoring touch could also help.