The dust has settled with the passing of the trade deadline. There are still NHL rumors to discuss. The discussion can be about what teams will do about signing players before free agency and how they will attempt to improve their rosters
As the season concludes, more and more NHL rumors will surface. Stay right here at stadiumrant.com to know the latest news.
Per Kypreos:
“Contract talks between pending unrestricted free agent Sam Bennett and the Panthers have gone well enough since the NHL trade deadline that some believe he will ending up staying where he is. What both sides have going for it, in no particular order: Bennett’s love for the team, head coach Paul Maurice’s love of the player, and a contract that is expected to be upwards of $60 million (U.S.), with no state tax.”
Depending on the terms, a $60 million deal would see Bennett earning a $7.5 million AAV on an eight-year deal. Or, in the unlikely event of a seven-year pact, that would work out to an $8.57 million AAV.
Several teams have great interest in Bennett if he hits the open market. That could include two teams he has terrorized in intra-division play and the playoffs in recent years, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins. The Leafs are among seven teams that Bennett would refuse to sign a contract. The Boston Bruins could be a possibility, especially after losing the gritty two-way play of Brad Marchand. Boston GM Don Sweeney will have about $30 million of cap space to attract Bennett.
The 28-year-old Toronto-area native has 22 goals and 45 points in 67 games this season, his third 20+ goal season in the last four years. He also has 138 hits and 82 penalty minutes.
That could give the Canes some flexibility to sign a player with impact… for instance a free agent like Mitch Marner. The Carolina team is certainly a contender for a Cup, and it is known the Maple Leafs have not been in contention for a championship in a long time. Would Marner consider it? He is not allowing his feelings towards leaving Toronto known, except that he wants to stay in Toronto.
The problem with that is, that there is only so much available cap space to pay all the high-priced stars on the Leafs. If the projected new contract for John Tavares comes in at $7 million, and Matthew Knies at $7.5 million, that quickly reduces the Toronto cap space for 2025-26 from the $27.5 million limit. Throw in what Marner expects to receive at about $13 million and that leaves little to make other needed deals if necessary.
When analyzing the Canes’ cap space it shows that they will have about $36.2 million to cover Marner’s salary demands… or another much-needed star player.
The Carolina Hurricanes are always an active team trying to take big swings, and they will do that again this summer with all that cap room.
By “pieces”, Dreger would be referring to the draft pick compensation necessary in the event of an offer sheet signing, per NHL rules. The higher the AAV in the offer sheet, the more costly the draft picks. But the Flames have two firsts, a second, and two third-round picks in the 2026 draft. Consequently, they do have a little extra to play with for offer sheets this coming summer. Then there’s that boatload of cap room they have.
With the Flames unexpectedly competing for a playoff spot, they intend to build their roster to continue the success. Expect the Flames to be “aggressive” in trying to secure a young RFA star on the rise this summer. One name that Molberg & Dreger mentioned as a potential target is defenseman Bowen Byram of the Buffalo Sabres. He was a topic of discussion to be traded before the deadline, but it didn’t transpire.
No doubt possessing cap space enables a team to have the power to make moves that in the past were limited. The Flames see their opportunity and intend to use it to their advantage.
That concludes this edition of NHL rumors. Please continue to use stadiamrant.com as your source for the latest NHL happenings.
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