With the NHL offseason underway we will take a daily look at some of the rumors around the NHL. Today we look at another update on the Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade front, where Henrik Lundqvist might land, and some news on the Tampa Bay Lightning in their quest to shed salary cap space.
Ekman-Lasson wants trade by Friday
The Coyotes’ captain has imposed a Friday deadline for a trade to be completed with either Boston or Vancouver. If no deal is completed by then, he will remain with the Coyotes.
That news comes from Ekman-Larsson’s agent, Kevin Epp, who made that comment to TSN.
Ekman-Larsson has the power to make that sort of deadline because he has a no-trade clause that allows him to dictate where he goes. The Canucks and Bruins have reportedly been the only two teams he has been willing to accept a trade to, with Vancouver reportedly being his preferred destination.
The 29-year-old defenseman has seven years remaining on his current contract that pays him $8.25 million per season.
The Canucks would almost certainly need to move some salary to take on that contract.
Henrik Lundqvist and the Capitals?
Lundqvist still wants to play following his buyout from the New York Rangers, and you know he is going to want to play for a contender to try and win the Stanley Cup.
Which contender could that be?
How about the Washington Capitals.
Bob McKenzie Tweeted on Monday night that the “word on the street” is the Capitals have emerged as a front-runner to sign Lundqvist. It would obviously be a short-term deal, and one that is also cap-friendly for the Capitals.
Washington is almost certainly going to lose long-time starter Braden Holtby to free agency and would need someone else to share the net with Ilya Samsonov.
Stamkos not untouchable in Tampa Bay?
Tampa Bay has reportedly told teams that only four players are untouchable this offseason in trade talks: Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
That list does NOT include team captain Steven Stamkos.
That obviously does not guarantee that they will trade him, or that they will even seriously consider offers, but it certainly creates the possibility that maybe somebody could see an opportunity to snag a franchise player on the trade market that may not normally be available.
The Lightning have to shed some serious salary this offseason to remain under the salary cap while also re-signing restricted free agents Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev.
Stamkos counts more than $9 million against the salary cap. They just won the Stanley Cup while getting a little less than three minutes of ice-time from him.
Still, though, a healthy Stamkos is a game-changing force offensively and you have to think it would have to take a whale of a trade offer to make that happen. He also has full no-trade protection in his contract.
It is far more likely that someone like Tyler Johnson and/or Alex Killorn moves. The Lightning have reportedly already started working with Johnson on putting together a list of teams he might be willing to accept a trade to (he also has a no-trade clause on his contract).
Toffoli likely headed to free agent market
It sounds like the Vancouver Canucks will not be able to afford to re-sign Tyler Toffoli due to their salary cap crunch, and that the veteran is going to be headed to the unrestricted free agent market.
He should be an attractive option there for a team in need of offense.
This is also a reminder as to how much the Canucks have hurt themselves against the salary cap by spending so much on the bottom half of their lineup.
Via Elliotte Friedman on Twitter
—
Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.