With the Four Nations Face-off tournament underway, NHL teams must get some deals done before time runs out. NHL rumors are prevalent. While there is no ban on completing trades during the tournament, it is unlikely that league general managers will be looking to make any deals. The NHL trade deadline is just 19 days away. That being said, let’s dig into the latest NHL rumors.
With a big playoff push ahead of themselves, the Capitals could use a player like McCann. With 14 goals and 28 assists in 57 games this season, McCann could help the Capitals’ offense going into the playoffs. He is versatile, too. Not only can he log big minutes, but he can kill penalties and also be an asset on the power play. He has accumulated two goals and eight assists on the man-advantage this season.
The Capitals are rumored to be looking into middle-6 forwards to bolster their offense at 5-on-5, and the third line needs stability and consistency. McCann can provide that. He doesn’t come cheap; he carries a cap hit of $5 million through the 2026-27 season and will likely require a significant return. Washington has draft capital and some prospects to offer, and potentially, may have to give up a roster player.
The price to acquire McCann could be a prospective defenseman or other up-and-coming forwards.
The Capitals are rolling with 80 points in 55 games, and they look like a shoo-in for the playoffs. Adding McCann would give them the assurances they need.
As mentioned on 32 Thoughts’ on Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman believes the Kings need a right-handed scoring forward. He suggested Kyle Palmieri. Palmieri would be the ideal candidate. He’s only one year removed from scoring 30 goals and has moderate playoff experience. If the Kings acquired Palmieri today, he would become their third-highest goal scorer and rank sixth in shots on goal. That’s the offensive boost they require if they intend to be a playoff contender instead of a pretender.
Palmieri has 16 goals and 21 assists this season in 55 games. The Kings are currently in a playoff spot and could use Palmieri to supplement their offensive deficiencies. Of course, the Kings need to take into account his injury history.
Palmieri hasn’t played 80 games in a season since 2016-17 and has only reached 70 once. That’s slightly unfair – he didn’t miss any significant time in the COVID-shortened seasons.
Since joining the Islanders, he’s missed extended periods of both seasons—in 2021-22, a “day-to-day” injury lasted over a month. Then, in 2022-23, he missed a month, then got hurt in his first game back and missed another month.
Some feel Tyler Toffoli‘s loss when he couldn’t agree on an extension with the Kings, was a management failure. Now, they must deal with it.
As things stand currently, the newest NHL franchise is six points back of a wild-card spot. With some winning and consistent play, they could qualify for the postseason. Unfortunately, that has not been the case this season. Their longest winning streak has been four games. Conversely, they have dropped five straight twice so far this year. Their schedule shows them playing against current playoff potential teams 16 times out of the remaining 26 games. They have had injuries to key players.
If Utah doesn’t make the postseason, it will become a seller. If that happens, these four players would be considered to be moved.
The push for the playoffs will be the Utah HC’s focus; some feel they have a shot.
That concludes this edition of NHL rumors. Be sure to catch this series, published every Wednesday and Sunday, for your reading pleasure.
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