It’s time for another round of NHL rumors. We are reaching the end of the 2023-24 regular season, but general managers are already planning for the summer. Executives must decide who remains and who leaves during the offseason. The 2024 NHL Entry Draft and July 1st, 2024 NHL Free Agency, are two key dates when agreements can and will be done. Today’s NHL rumors revolve around the Montreal Canadiens and the Vegas Golden Knights.
All NHL rumors originate from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Montreal Canadiens
Rumour: According to Arpon Basu of The Athletic, the Canadiens may have to trade a defenseman due to the abundance of prospects in the system. A young defender may be on his way out due to the numbers game.
Analysis: Montreal has a lot of quality young blueliners that are anticipated to be cornerstones for the franchise. Younger players such as Lane Hutson, David Reinbacher, Logan Mailloux, Adam Engstrom, and Justin Barron are not on the roster but have a lot of potential. Montreal’s NHL roster includes four defencemen aged 23 or younger.
This could result in a logjam at the top of the lineup, necessitating some adjustments. General Manager Kent Hughes was approached about dealing a young blueliner. Hughes, on the other hand, stated that he was not in a rush to make a move at the NHL trade deadline on March 8th. Jordan Harris was rumored to be involved in numerous trades, however this did not happen. Players like.
The Habs could move David Savard over the summer to make room on the right side of the blueline. Savard was a name that was bandied about at the deadline. However, a trade couldn’t happen.
Vegas Golden Knights Front and Centre for NHL Rumours
Rumour: Sportsnet’s Luke Fox released the list of the Top 12 available unrestricted free agents heading into the offseason. Vegas leading-scorer Jonathan Marchessault shows up seventh on the list.
Analysis: Marchessault is the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner and is leading the Golden Knights in goals with 39. One would think Vegas would love to bring back the Cap-Rouge, Quebec native. In contrast, the veteran forward is 33 years old has a cap hit of $5 million. This is major for NHL rumours but will Marchessault want to score one last big contract before he calls it a career?
Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon has plenty of hard choices to make this coming off-season. His team has plenty of players carrying big contracts. Long-term injured reserve has been helpful, but there will come a day when those players are officially healthy.
Who Else Could Vegas Move on From
Another name that is on the list is Noah Hanifin. (This is despite us thinking a contract was going to happen), Anthony Mantha, Chandler Stephenson, Alec Martinez and William Carrier are just among some of the other names that are UFAs in the offseason. McCrimmon is likely going to have to make some tough choices and let a few of the veteran players hit the open market.
Will someone like Marchessault have a future in Sin City? He is an older player and Vegas is going to try to get maximize the salary cap space as much as it can. It could be possible that Marchessault takes a discount for the team that he was a part of that won the Stanley Cup. However, the other school of thought is that he wants one last big contract at the tail-end of his career. There’s a lot of uncertainty with the winger’s future in Sin City.
