{"id":771645,"date":"2026-07-01T07:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T07:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/771645\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T07:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T07:51:11","slug":"thoughts-and-predictions-on-the-nhl-off-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/771645\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts and predictions on the NHL off-season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Not a ton of predictions tonight, been working on the Zach Werenski story. But I\u2019ve got a few.\u00a0<\/p>\n

First, Werenski himself: The most important thing is that cooler heads prevail. One rumour making the rounds Tuesday night is that Werenski\u2019s camp is so upset at recent developments that all trade possibilities will be rejected. (I absolutely believe that\u2019s part of what happened with Dallas<\/a>.) But that might be short-term hot-headedness, as opposed to realistic long-term outcome. We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think Toronto will fool around. The Maple Leafs will step up and take their swing. (Werenski and wife Odette\u2019s roots are not difficult travel to Toronto, which is believed to be a reason he\u2019d consider the Maple Leafs.) I\u2019d be very curious to see what Tampa offers. If Florida wants to trade a legitimate player from its roster, the Panthers could be a player, too.<\/p>\n

As Michael Keaton once said: \u201cYou wanna get nuts? Come on! Let’s get nuts!\u201d<\/p>\n

Connor Hellebuyck: I don\u2019t buy the New Jersey hype. It\u2019s not a contract that fits the profile of new GM Sunny Mehta. Hellebuyck would waive to Buffalo, but a couple of sources have said since last weekend that a trade wasn\u2019t as close as we thought. Some of the rumoured Sabres returns have new trade protection. Winnipeg would love to bring him back, but I think it\u2019s unlikely.<\/p>\n

\"FreeFree agency kicks off on Sportsnet<\/p>\n

Sportsnet is your home for the start of free agency. Watch the Signing Season special Wednesday, starting at 11:30 a.m. ET \/ 8:30 a.m. PT on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+.<\/p>\n

Broadcast schedule<\/a><\/p>\n

Dylan Larkin: Steve Yzerman would rather make no trade than what he thinks is a bad trade.<\/p>\n

Jason Robertson: Wants Dallas to budge. Don\u2019t see it now. My guess is they go to arbitration. Unless Yzerman decides he\u2019s the best option for Larkin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sergei Bobrovsky: Heard Edmonton had interest, but I\u2019ve honed in on Toronto. Believe his last ask of Florida was three years, $21 million. So I\u2019d expect the overall dollars to come in around there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bowen Byram: Signs Wednesday, $12 million range.<\/p>\n

Nico Hischier: Signs Wednesday, just under $12 million per year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Quinn Hughes: 3 x $18 million, sometime in July. That\u2019s my whopper pick. I don\u2019t think Cale Makar, Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini or Leo Carlsson sign with their current teams Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Darnell Nurse: Pittsburgh wanted Edmonton to take back a contract. The Oilers didn\u2019t like whatever was presented to them. Philadelphia\u2019s had a challenge putting all of the different pieces together in and out. Boston\u2019s shown interest, but that\u2019s also about what has to go out to make it work. I believe the Sharks are very interested, but Nurse remains east-focused as I write this.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"3232 Thoughts: The Podcast<\/p>\n

Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.<\/p>\n

Latest episode<\/a><\/p>\n

Mason Marchment: There was a lot of interest. Montreal, I think Toronto. Someone made a great point that a sentimental favourite might be San Jose, longtime NHL home of his late father Bryan. The two were extremely close.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alexander Nikishin: A lot of interest. Carolina will hold until they get what they want, which includes a player. Rangers are believed to have offered a first and another pick. But that didn\u2019t do it. Heavy competition, with many asking: what does he want on his next deal? Can\u2019t sign an offer sheet.<\/p>\n

The centres: Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Toronto, Utah, Vancouver. These teams were all around Noel Acciari, Erik Haula, Boone Jenner, Scott Laughton, Colton Sissons (Nashville reunion?), Kevin Stenlund. I believe Utah still lusts after Vincent Trocheck, who prefers the east. Kings tried to get Haula before Laughton, but he was hurt at the time. They like him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rasmus Andersson: He\u2019s staying.<\/p>\n

Stuart Skinner: If Hellebuyck is traded, Winnipeg makes the most sense. Otherwise, I\u2019d take a shot if I was the Mammoth. They need to lighten Karel Vejmelka\u2019s load.<\/p>\n

The defencemen: San Jose. Sharks need D. Ian Cole? Jamie Oleksiak? Jacob Trouba?<\/p>\n

Ryan Shea: Had a really good year. Heard Lightning really liked him. But they also have their eyes on Werenski and John Carlson, if he doesnt sign in Carolina. Good player.<\/p>\n

Alexander Ovechkin: he returns in 2026-27.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Offer sheets: Last year, the Hurricanes threatened the Oilers (who signed Evan Bouchard) and the Rangers (who acquiesced and traded them K\u2019Andre Miller). I think they\u2019re considering doing it again. I have a theory, but I\u2019m too chicken to say it. I also believe Seattle is considering it, as they basically created an offer-sheet trade for Jason Robertson, if he\u2019d taken their cash. I also believe Mavrik Bourque is another potential target. I don\u2019t want to get everyone\u2019s hopes up, but there\u2019s lots of noise out there.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Not a ton of predictions tonight, been working on the Zach Werenski story. But I\u2019ve got a few.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":771646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-771645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=771645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/771646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=771645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=771645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=771645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}