{"id":777597,"date":"2026-07-03T12:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/777597\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T12:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:14:12","slug":"nhl-rumor-mill-july-2-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/777597\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumor Mill \u2013 July 2, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Check out the latest on Jason Robertson<\/a>, Connor Hellebuyck<\/a>, Claude Giroux<\/a>, and more in today\u2019s NHL Rumor Mill.<\/p>\n

PENGUINS INTERESTED IN JASON ROBERTSON<\/p>\n

THE ATHLETIC<\/a>: Josh Yohe reports the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> \u201cstill absolutely want to trade for Jason Robertson<\/a>.\u201d He believes they have the assets to acquire the 26-year-old Dallas Stars<\/a> winger.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson (NHL Images).<\/p>\n

The Stars still want to re-sign Robertson. However, the money that the winger is demanding makes it more likely that he will be traded.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: The Penguins acquired Robertson\u2019s brother, Nick, from the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> yesterday. Maybe that\u2019s an additional enticement for Jason to accept a trade to Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

The Penguins have the cap space ($25.4 million) to sign Robertson to a lucrative long-term deal (perhaps $15 million annually). Whether he\u2019s willing to sign an extension with the Penguins if they make an offer remains to be seen. He had the chance to join the Seattle Kraken<\/a>, but his unwillingness to accept their contract offer killed the deal.<\/p>\n

THE HELLEBUYCK TRADE WATCH IS STILL ON<\/p>\n

THE ATHLETIC<\/a>: Murat Ates believes the Winnipeg Jets\u2019 signing of goaltender Stuart Skinner<\/a> to a two-year contract leaves the questions about Connor Hellebuyck\u2019s future unanswered.<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old Hellebuyck has been the subject of recent trade speculation. It was reported that a deal that would\u2019ve sent the three-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender to the Buffalo Sabres<\/a> last Friday fell through before the opening day of the NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Ates pointed out that signing Skinner doesn\u2019t transform the Jets\u2019 defense or upgrade the second line. He thinks it means the Hellebuyck trade watch is still on, even if their trade options are limited.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: Skinner\u2019s signing is insurance if they end up trading Hellebuyck. In the meantime, he\u2019ll split the goalie duties with the Jets\u2019 long-time starter as his understudy.<\/p>\n

COULD CLAUDE GIROUX RETURN TO THE FLYERS?<\/p>\n

THE ATHLETIC<\/a>: Julian McKenzie and Kevin Kurz report the Ottawa Senators<\/a> have left the door open for Claude Giroux<\/a> to return. However, the 38-year-old forward could reunite with the Philadelphia Flyers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Giroux began his NHL career with the Flyers, spending 15 seasons with them before being traded to the Florida Panthers<\/a> in 2022. He spent the past four seasons with the Senators.<\/p>\n

Flyers GM Daniel Briere, a former teammate of Giroux\u2019s, confirmed there have been ongoing contract talks with the veteran forward. It\u2019s rumored he could sign a one-year contract with the Flyers as a right-shot center who could help them on the power play.<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: Giroux is coming off a one-year, $2 million contract. He remains a versatile, well-respected two-way forward. However, his production has steadily declined, from 79 points in 2022-23 to 49 points last season.<\/p>\n

ARE MORE MOVES COMING FOR THE BRUINS?<\/p>\n

THE ATHLETIC<\/a>: Fluto Shinzawa believes more moves could be coming for the Boston Bruins<\/a>. He observed that they have $4.5 million in salary-cap space, leaving GM Don Sweeney with flexibility to continue exploring trade options, especially if he moves the salaries of Mason Lohrei ($3.2 million AAV) or Henri Jokiharju<\/a> ($3 million).<\/p>\n

SPECTOR\u2019S NOTE: The Bruins won\u2019t have enough space or tradeable assets to make a big acquisition, but Sweeney might be able to add one or two affordable depth players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Check out the latest on Jason Robertson, Connor Hellebuyck, Claude Giroux, and more in today\u2019s NHL Rumor Mill.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777598,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-777597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777597","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=777597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}