NHL Rumors: Rangers, Wild, Oilers, Lightning, Maple Leafs – The Hockey Writers NHL Rumors Latest News, Analysis & More

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the New York Rangers are struggling and the finger-pointing has begun. Who are the players holding responsible? Meanwhile, are the Minnesota Wild closely looking at Kaapo Kakko? A strange story was mentioned during Jeff Marek’s podcast about a trade that was being worked on in 2019 between the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Finally, what’s the latest on John Tavares‘ contract talks and a potential return of Matt Murray?

Rangers Players Want To See Management Changes

According to Steve Dangel of SDPN, while finger-pointing has led to speculation about trades coming out of New York, the players aren’t happy. Interestingly, — excluding potentially Kaapo Kakko — the issues aren’t with the head coach. Instead, the player’s frustration reportedly centers around general manager Chris Drury.

Dangle stated, “As far as I can tell, their relationship with Laviolette is fine.” He added that the players are upset because they like being Rangers, but they either want Drury to change his ways or be gone. Dangle pointed to Jacob Trouba’s comments about being fired as a rite of passage and said that he wasn’t just being entitled but probably speaking for the room.

Regarding the latest on Kaapo Kakko, Johnny Lazarus of Daily Faceoff tweeted, “On ESPN+, @emilymkaplan mentioned that Kaapo Kakko is getting a lot of attention from teams in the West, specifically the Wild I honestly think he’d be a perfect fit there.”

Oilers and Lightning Almost Did Draisaitl for Kucherov?

According to Jeff Marek, back in 2019, the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning talked about a blockbuster trade that summer. It would have included two of the biggest names in hockey in Leon Draisaitl and Nikita Kucherov.

He explained:

“That year, there were conversations — and I’ve had this confirmed — there were conversations between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Edmonton Oilers and the two primaries changing were Nikita Kucherov for Leon Draisatil. That was the conversation… I’m not sure how close they got. I think Edmonton may have also wanted Anthony Cirelli and that’s when things kinda ‘Mehhh well that’s not going to happen.’ It’s not as if they didn’t consider massive change, because that was the conversation between those two teams.”

Looking back at this potential deal five years later is wild. The fabric of both teams would have been dramatically changed if the trade had gone through.

Latest on Tavares and Maple Leafs and Contract Comparables

The Toronto Maple Leafs are actively engaging in talks with captain John Tavares about a contract extension as the veteran center approaches the end of his seven-year, $77 million deal. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, discussions have referenced contracts like Anze Kopitar’s two-year, $7 million AAV agreement with the Los Angeles Kings and Claude Giroux’s three-year, $6.5 million AAV deal with the Ottawa Senators.

Interestingly, Steven Stamkos’ four-year, $8 million AAV contract with the Nashville Predators hasn’t been brought into the conversation by Tavares’ camp. Dreger suggests that Tavares is likely aiming for a figure lower than Stamkos’ if he remains with Toronto.

For the Leafs, an extension closer to Giroux’s structure would be ideal, particularly given the team’s tight salary cap considerations. However, the final number could be influenced by the NHL’s projected cap increase for next season.

TSN’s Chris Johnston has also offered an update on the Maple Leafs, noting, “Assuming everything goes well, I do think that everything is in place now for [Matt] Murray to get a chance to come back to the NHL after more than a year away.”