Ahead of the NHL Draft on July 7 and the opening of free agency on July 13, TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.
Habs Looking to Move Up?
While the Montreal Canadiens will have all eyes on them with the No. 1 overall, it appears the team is also looking to add another top 10 selection.
Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports the Canadiens are believed to have called every team in the top 10 as they look to acquire a pick in that area.
Montreal is currently slated to make their second pick in the first round at No. 26 overall, acquired from the Calgary Flames in the Tyler Toffoli trade in February. The Canadiens also have two second-round picks and three selections in both the third and fourth rounds of next week’s draft.
On the Way Out?
With the Edmonton Oilers in need of cap space this summer, is Zack Kassian a player who be may be on the outs?
The 31-year-old winger is under contract for another two seasons at a cap hit of $3.2 million. He had six goals and 19 points in 58 games this past season, adding two goals and four points in 16 playoff games.
Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal writes that Oilers general manager Ken Holland will likely to have include a sweetener to move Kassian in a trade, pointing to prospect Dmitri Samorukov as a potential option, or the Oilers could retain salary or take back a contract to complete a deal.
McCurdy argues that while a buyout would free up $2.5 million in cap space this summer and $1.33 million the next, it’s likely not worth leaving a cap charge of just under $1 million ($966,667) in the following two seasons.
Should the Oilers move on from Kassian, McCurdy writes re-signing Evander Kane could help keep toughness in the lineup and would likely become more possible with the Kassian’s cap hit off the books.
According to CapFriendly, the Oilers will have just over $7 million in cap space this off-season with Ryan McLeod, Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto scheduled to hit restricted free agency.
Landing Spots
The Calgary Flames are hoping to re-sign Johnny Gaudreau before he hits the open market on July 13, but there will be no shortage of suitors if they fail to do so.
TSN Hockey Analyst Mike Johnson join That’s Hockey on Wednesday and pointed to the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils as two potential landing spots for the winger.
The Flyers have just $5.12 million in cap space, but Johnson believes the team will make the necessary moves to free enough space to sign Gaudreau as they look to right their franchise this summer.
The Devils have been tied to Gaudreau throughout the off-season and have no shortage of cap space with $25.3 million to spend this summer.
Watch Johnson’s full breakdown here:
Price of Soup
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger said on Overdrive Wednesday that he expects Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell to command a cap hit of roughly $6 million on his next contract.
The 30-year-old is set to hit unrestricted free agency next month for the first time in his career. He posted a 31-9-6 record with a .914 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average this season – his first playing in more than 31 games.
Campbell also started all seven playoff games for the team against the Tampa Bay Lightning, posting an .897 save percentage and a 3.15 GAA.
He is coming off a two-year, $3.3 million contract signed with the Los Angeles Kings in 2019, prior to being traded to Toronto.