{"id":252505,"date":"2025-10-31T14:52:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T14:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/252505\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T14:52:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T14:52:12","slug":"nhl-rumor-mill-october-31-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/252505\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumor Mill \u2013 October 31, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updates on where contract talks sit for the Rangers\u2019 Artemi Panarin<\/a> and the Stars\u2019 Jason Robertson<\/a>, a look at several centers drawing interest in the trade market, and the latest on the Maple Leafs in today\u2019s NHL Rumor Mill.<\/p>\n

UPDATES ON PANARIN AND ROBERTSON<\/p>\n

THE ATHLETIC<\/a>: Pierre LeBrun believes the New York Rangers<\/a> want to see how this season unfolds before opening contract extension discussions with Artemi Panarin<\/a>. The 34-year-old winger is eligible for unrestricted free-agent status next July.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin (NHL Images).<\/p>\n

Contract term could be the issue in those talks. LeBrun doubts that Panarin will be interested in a short-term deal, which would probably be the Rangers\u2019 preference. The Panarin camp will seek the longest term possible, because this will be their client\u2019s last big contract in his NHL career.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: The Rangers\u2019 performance this season, and that includes Panarin\u2019s, will determine whether he has a future in New York beyond this season. Given his age, the Blueshirts could be reluctant to sign him for longer than three years. They could consider it if he\u2019s willing to accept a substantial pay cut, but he was reportedly unwilling to do so this summer.<\/p>\n

LeBrun reports the Dallas Stars\u2019 focus has shifted to Jason Robertson<\/a> after signing defenseman Thomas Harley<\/a> to an extension earlier this week. The 26-year-old winger is due to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next July, and will be a year away from unrestricted free-agent eligibility.<\/p>\n

Robertson surfaced in the offseason rumor mill. The Stars weren\u2019t shopping him, but wanted to see what teams were offering when they came calling.<\/p>\n

The two sides decided to wait to open contract talks. LeBrun speculated they might begin in January, or they could wait until the offseason.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: Robertson is no longer on the top line following the Stars\u2019 acquisition of Mikko Rantanen<\/a> at the March 2025 trade deadline. However, he\u2019s settling in on the second line, scoring nine points in 11 games.<\/p>\n

The Stars want to keep Robertson, but it\u2019ll depend on his asking price. His arbitration rights and his UFA eligibility the following year give him leverage whenever the two sides finally begin negotiating.<\/p>\n

RG.ORG:<\/a> James Murphy reports the trade market for centers appears to be heating up ahead of the American Thanksgiving (Nov. 27).<\/p>\n

The Calgary Flames\u2019 poor start to this season has made Nazem Kadri<\/a> the subject of growing trade conjecture. However, his status reflects the Flames\u2019 uncertain direction. They\u2019re trying to right the ship but face mounting pressure to rebuild if things don\u2019t improve by December.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: Kadri no longer has full no-trade protection, but he does have a 13-team no-trade list. His age (35) and average annual value ($7 million) through 2028-29 could make him difficult to move if he wants to be traded. So far, all reports claim he loves living in Calgary.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, teams are eyeing Alexander Wennberg<\/a> of the San Jose Sharks<\/a>. He\u2019s UFA-eligible next July, and multiple clubs see him as a good middle-six trade option.<\/p>\n

In Boston, the Bruins remain undecided on Pavel Zacha\u2019s future as they consider competing and retooling. The 28-year-old forward has a year remaining on his contract.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: TSN\u2019s Pierre LeBrun recently reported that the Bruins believe Zacha fits into their long-term plans. He suggested it wouldn\u2019t be surprising if the versatile forward signs a contract extension next summer.<\/p>\n

Bo Horvat<\/a> has also surfaced in recent trade speculation. However, Murphy claims the 30-year-old New York Islanders<\/a> center is untouchable unless the club collapses in the standings. Even then, it would take a significant offer to pry him away from the Isles.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: Horvat is signed through 2030-31 with an AAV of $8.5 million. He also has a full no-trade clause. If, and that\u2019s a big if, he\u2019s willing to waive that clause, it\u2019s unlikely that sort of trade takes place during the season. That seems more like an offseason move.<\/p>\n

TSN<\/a>: Darren Dreger reports the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> continue to explore the idea of trading forwards David Kampf<\/a> and Nick Robertson.<\/p>\n

Kampf is now with the Leafs\u2019 AHL affiliate, and they\u2019d like to move his contract. The 30-year-old center is signed through 2026-27 with an average annual value of $2.4 million and a 10-team no-trade clause for this season.<\/p>\n

The Leafs have time for the 24-year-old Robertson, but he\u2019s been up and down the Leafs\u2019 lineup. They\u2019d move him if they could get back a player of a similar age, but that\u2019s what makes moving him so difficult, so they\u2019re not in a rush to move him out.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: Robertson\u2019s been a fixture in the rumor mill since the summer of 2024, and yet he remains with the Maple Leafs. As I\u2019ve mentioned before, either the Leafs have set a ridiculously high asking price, or he\u2019s not as valuable a trade chip as some observers seem to believe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updates on where contract talks sit for the Rangers\u2019 Artemi Panarin and the Stars\u2019 Jason Robertson, a look…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-252505","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}