Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours! The Hughes bowl was as exciting as you could have expected it to be. Connor McDavid so back in full force with 19 points in seven games and the Edmonton Oilers are winning. The San Jose Sharks are not the worst team in hockey as it stands. A lot of fun stuff happening in the game of hockey. However, the rumour mill does not stop churning. Today we focus of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres.
NHL Rumours
Toronto Maple Leafs
Rumour: Bruce Garrioch from the Ottawa Sun discusses the Maple Leafs looking for help on the back end
The search is still underway for the Toronto Maple Leafs on the back end. This becomes more apparent now that John Klingberg is done for the season and will require surgery. Brad Treliving has done his due diligence and will work harder than the previous attempt.
Calgary is open for business and Toronto was first in line. However, terms could not be met but the return was Nikita Zadorov and Chris Tanev. Zadorov is now a member of the Canucks and Tanev remains a hot commodity on the open market. Garrioch mentions that Toronto wants Tanev and feels he is the right defenceman they want to add to the group. The most intriguing aspect to this deal is the price tag. Treliving could not meet the price tag to ultimately land both and some executives believe that Craig Conroy is in no rush to help the Maple Leafs. Nobody is owed a favour in this league, so if you want a player you’ll need to pay for it.
If the Maple Leafs want to add Tanev, they’ll need to pay the price. A league executive said, “That may be higher than it is for some other teams”. It will be intriguing to see what that price is and if the Leafs can get a deal done.
Buffalo Sabres
Rumour: Bruce Garrioch discusses the Sabres looking into adding goaltending
The next set of NHL Rumours stays within the Atlantic Division. If there is a position that the Buffalo Sabres need to address it is the goaltending position. The club sent down Devon Levi to the AHL for extra seasoning but it is still bleak in the goal crease. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is holding down the fort to the best of his ability. He has a 2.90 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. Also, he owns a -0.1 goals saved above expected. He has been good enough but overall the rest of the goaltending has not.
The Sabres as a whole have the 27th ranked save percentage (.874). That’s not ideal and a boost in the crease is needed. Garrioch has mentioned that the Sabres are in hot pursuit for a goaltender within the division. After signing Sam Montembault to a contract extension, the three headed monster will likely be cut down to two. Buffalo is pursuing Jake Allen in their search for goalie help but they are not alone. The Seattle Kraken are also looking to add Allen into the fold.
Allen currently has a 3.74 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. He has two seasons left and an affordable salary cap hit of $3.85 million. Allen does have a modified no-trade clause in his deal but any team looking for a boost could fit him in. The bidding war for Allen is in full swing and Buffalo is on the march. Buffalo currently sits seventh in the division and three points behind Montreal.
Main Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
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