NHL Rumors: Bertuzzi Market Heats Up, NHL Challenges DeAngelo Trade Block

THE 2023 NHL Draft is a day away and the new league year starts this weekend, which means the stoves are burning.

With the offseason in full swing, here’s a roundup of all the latest news and rumors coming out of the NHL:

Panthers among teams interested in Bertuzzi

With free agency set to begin Saturday, one of the players well-positioned to cash in is forward Tyler Bertuzzi.

The 28-year-old, who ranked second on Yahoo’s list of available free agentsshould be pursued by a “handful of teams”, whose Florida Panthersaccording to a report from Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest.

Bertuzzi spent the first part of last season with the Detroit Red Wings before a mid-season trade with the Boston Bruins. The power forward had four goals and 12 assists in 21 regular season games with Boston before a stellar playoff performance that saw him record five goals and five assists in the seven-game first-round loss against Florida.

The Panthers, who have reportedly been keeping a close eye on Bertuzzi in the playoffs, have about $10.2 million in available cap space, according to Cap Friendly, but have only signed 16 of 23 players for the upcoming season . Eric Staal is the only forward who played significant minutes last season and is expected to enter free agency, but the team could use a little more depth at star forward. Matthew Tkachuk will come out of a serious injury, because he had a broken sternum during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Strickland also said the Bruins have made signing Bertuzzi a priority, but have had no formal discussions to re-sign him.

The Bruins opened up some significant breathing room earlier in the week when they negotiated Taylor Room And Nick Foligno At Chicago Blackhawks. Per Cap Friendly, the Bruins have $10.9 million in projected cap space heading into the new league year.

Maple Leafs focused on Kampf before free agency begins

New Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has crucial decisions to make with Ryan O’Reilly, Luc Schenn, Michael BuntingAlex Kerfoot, and David Kampf all should become UFAs from July 1.

The Maple Leafs remain in the market for many of their pending free agents, but TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Tuesday that the team appears to be focusing on Kampf right now.

Kampf, 28, has been a steady defensive forward for the Maple Leafs since signing a two-year, $3 million contract in July 2021. He scored seven goals while appearing in all 82 games last season before adding three assists in 11 playoff games. .

The Maple Leafs will have to get creative to fill out the bottom half of their roster, as Treliving only has $9.1 million in available cap space and only 15 of 23 players have signed, per Cap Friendly.

Canadiens don’t gain any ground with Dubois trade

One team hoping to make an early splash this week is Montreal Canadiensaccording to Dreger.

One of the forwards the Canadiens were linked with was Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Winnipeg Jetsbut Dreger sees them as falling short of securing the current tender, as the Canadiens don’t have an NHL-ready forward who could appeal to the Jets in a trade.

Dreger and Pierre LeBrun of Athleticism wrote this week that Los Angeles is becoming the favorite for Dubiois, who hopes to land with the Kings. Dubois, who asked to move from Winnipegscored 27 goals and 36 assists in 73 games with the Jets last season.

Montreal is expected to pick No. 5 overall in Wednesday’s draft and is expected to draft an impact player even if it loses the Dubois sweepstakes.

Avalanche still interested in bringing Compher back

THE Colorado Avalanche took a step before the start of the championship year, landing Ryan Johansen in an exchange with the Nashville Predatorswho retained 50 percent of Johansen’s salary as part of the deal.

The Avs now have their second line center, but according to LeBrunthis does not “close the door” on re-signing pending UFA forward JT Compher.

Compher, 28, scored 17 goals and a career-high 52 points last season after being a key depth contributor to the team’s Stanley Cup run in 2021-22.

According to LeBrun, the Avalanche just need to find a number that meets their salary cap, since Compher could command up to $5 million per year on the market.

NHL delays DeAngelo deal

LeBrun also reported that the NHL disputed a transaction between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Carolina Hurricanes during the weekend.

The Flyers agreed to send a defenseman Tony DeAngelo return to Carolina in exchange for a prospect, while Philadelphia was to keep 50 percent of the $5 million salary. The NHL didn’t like the idea of ​​DeAngelo returning to the Hurricanes less than a year after his trade to the Flyers, and there were questions about whether it violated the collective bargaining agreement.

Here’s why it raised red flags for the league, according to LeBrun

“It is my understanding that the NHL challenged DeAngelo’s return to Carolina less than a year after his trade to the Hurricanes. There are provisions in the CBA regarding a player’s return within 12 months, including with retained salary, as a possible workaround.

I believe the Flyers and Hurricanes argued with the league over this, saying: 1) His contract wasn’t even signed with Carolina; Philadelphia signed him last summer to a two-year, $10 million contract. And 2) Chuck Fletcher was the GM who traded for DeAngelo and signed him, and he’s no longer there – so how could any of this be a workaround?

I understand the league will talk to teams about it this week in Nashville. Either the league will approve it or want teams to wait until July 9 to finalize the trade, per the 12-month rule. »