In today’s NHL rumors rundown, 14 players were elected for arbitration, including some bigger names like Ryan Lindgren and Martin Necas. Meanwhile, star goaltender Jeremy Swayman did not. Also, the Colorado Avalanche doesn’t seem willing to trade Valeri Nichushkin. Finally, the Edmonton Oilers have cleared some cap space by trading Ryan McLeod to the Buffalo Sabres for star prospect Matthew Savoie.
Swayman Steers Away From Another Arbitration
Arbitration can get tough on players, as the team is looking to find as good a deal as possible. Often, management comes prepared with ways to critique the player in ways they otherwise wouldn’t have. Arbitration can get messy.
After going through arbitration in 2023, Swayman had this to say after the process was over:
I think the biggest thing was living day by day, understanding that what you hear might not be the truth at all times. And again, it’s a business and I wanted to make sure that whatever was thrown my way I was going to be able to attack with a good mindset and making sure that at the end of the day, I was doing everything I could to be a Boston Bruin
Jeremy Swayman after being award a one-year, $3.475 million deal via arbitration.
He followed that statement by saying that he is glad it is over, he is more than happy to be a Boston Bruin, and that there are no hard feelings; it is just the cost of doing business sometimes. As Swayman returned to his restricted free agent (RFA) status, he opted not to file for arbitration. The team-elected arbitration is due July 6 at 5 p.m., and there is still a chance that he could return to arbitration, but the belief is that the Bruins want a long-term deal done.
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The players who filed for arbitration, notably Lindgren, Necas, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and J.J. Moser, are ineligible for an offer sheet and can sign a contract with their respective teams until they enter the arbitration negotiation.
Avalanche Won’t Look to Trade Nichushkin
On a recent episode of The Chris Johnston Show, Johnston spoke about the latest news on Nichushkin and believes that the Avalanche are not looking to move on from the winger.
Nichushkin was entered into Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, and he is ineligible to play for six months from that date, which will be in November. According to Johnston, teams have called Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland about Nichushkin’s availability, and he has been telling teams that they will not be trading him during his time in the Player Assistance Program.
Johnston then added that the Avalanche will look to help rehabilitate the player and person.
Nichushkin was off to a very good start in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, scoring nine goals in eight games. He is a valuable winger to the team, and despite off-ice troubles, the club will stick with their player and do its best to help him take the next step.
Oilers Clearing Cap Space for Big Contracts
In a surprising deal between the Oilers and Sabres, the Sabres sent star prospect Savoie to the Oilers. It is clear that Hockey Operations CEO and interim general manager Jeff Jackson is looking to clear some cap space by trading expendable players.
The Oilers valued what McLeod brought to the team, but with a cap hit of $2.1 million, they have too much center depth to pay their fourth-line center that much. Moving forward, the Oilers need to solve the contract situation with Leon Draisaitl, and they will need every dollar to do that. Evan Bouchard is in that conversation, too, but he is an RFA upon his current contract expiry, so they can put that on the back burner for now.
Along with moving McLeod, the Oilers seem to be exploring the idea of moving on from Evander Kane, but with a full no-move clause, this presents challenges. The Oilers have done a great job getting low-cost and high-impact players under contract for this upcoming season, including Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson, so that they can move out some of the depth.
Hurricanes Interested in Ehlers
Despite having their own skilled winger with an uncertain contract situation on the trade block, Stefen Rosner confirms that the Carolina Hurricanes are pushing for Nikolaj Ehlers from the Winnipeg Jets.
As mentioned earlier, the Hurricanes have Necas, who filed for arbitration. Even if an arbitrator agrees upon a contract, Necas’s goal is to have an opportunity to have a bigger role on a forward group and potentially get a shot at center. There are a lot of question marks about Necas’s future in Carolina, but despite that, they are still targeting Ehlers.
Ehlers, who has expressed that he isn’t interested in re-signing with the Jets as of now, has one season left until becoming an unrestricted free agent. Since the Hurricanes couldn’t re-sign Jake Guentzel, the need for a high-end winger opens up on the left side, and Ehlers has shown that he can be versatile and play either side.
The lack of opportunity was part of the issue between the Jets and Ehlers, similar to Necas and the Hurricanes. Still, with the ability to play either side, Ehlers could get a better chance in Carolina.
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