In today’s rumour rundown, we start off with the Montreal Canadiens, who are looking for a right-shot defenseman, and two targets have been revealed. Next, the Los Angeles Kings are retiring Anze Kopitar‘s number and will reveal a statue in his honour.
Finally, Quinn Hughes remains without an extension, but he and the Minnesota Wild have made progress on a new deal.
Canadiens Linked to Ristolainen, Carlo
While the Canadiens’ defensive group has a lot to like, general manager Kent Hughes has looked at making some moves.
There have been reports that the Canadiens are looking to move on from Arber Xhekaj, and multiple teams have shown interest in his services, and they recently signed Maksymilian Szuber to a new deal.
Kent Hughes, Montreal Canadiens general manager (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
With Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, and Mike Matheson headlining the group, they are benefiting from the depth that Kaiden Guhle, Alexandre Carrier, and Jayden Struble bring.
Anthony Di Marco reported that the club is looking for a big right-shot defenseman and listed Rasmus Ristolainen and Brandon Carlo as targets.
If they were to go down the Ristolainen path, they would have to give the Philadelphia Flyers a lot of value. Di Marco previously reported that the Flyers are looking for a return similar to what the Boston Bruins received for Carlo at the 2024 Trade Deadline, being a first-round pick and top prospect Fraser Minten.
Would the Canadiens be willing to give up a package like that? They already have Dobson, Hutson, and Carrier on their right side.
Carlo is a much more affordable target. He was recently traded to the St. Louis Blues for a pair of third-round picks, and depending on how their season goes, they could look to sell players like Carlo at the deadline.
It might not be an immediate acquisition for the Canadiens, but Hughes is often cited as a manager who is always working the phones.
Kopitar’s Number Retired, Statue to be Unveiled
After over 1500 games across 20 seasons, when Kopitar retired, it was fair to expect his number would hang in the rafters of Crypto.com Arena, but the club announced on Aug. 7 that they would also be unveiling a bronze statue outside.
He will stand alongside Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robitaille, and Dustin Brown as fellow members of the Kings with statues.
Outside of hockey, the arena is flooded with basketball statues, too, including the likes of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, and some others.
Kopitar might go down as the most underrated player of his generation, but the Kings and their fans are making sure that he is given all the respect he deserves.
Quinn Hughes & Wild Making Contract Extension Progress
On the Aug. 6 episode of Worst Seats in the House, The Athletic’s Michael Russo took some time to speak about Hughes and the current status of his contract extension.
Russo stated that Hughes and general manager Bill Guerin met in early June after being knocked out of the playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche in the second round. Hughes reportedly told Guerin that he is interested in re-signing.
Last week, Guerin and Hughes met again, this time in Detroit, and the belief is that he reiterated that he wants to stay.
When it comes to the term, it is pretty easy to deduce that he wants a short-term deal, and that three years would be the magic number. His brother, Jack Hughes, has three years remaining on his deal, and it would be fair to expect them to try and line up to join forces somewhere when they are both unrestricted free agents.
We saw Brady Tkachuk request a trade from the Ottawa Senators, and the only team he was willing to go to was the Florida Panthers. While there are a number of reasons to want to play for the Panthers, Tkachuk having his brother there was almost certainly the leading factor.
In the case of the Hughes’, neither of them have won much in the NHL. They got their taste of winning with Team USA at the Olympics, but the New Jersey Devils haven’t broken through the way many expected, so Quinn may not want to join them.
For the Wild, they can certainly entice Jack to join, as they could guarantee he is the top centre, gets to play with Quinn, and they have been a perennial playoff team, even without elite centre depth.
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