Teams may be planning to offer sheet Auston Matthews, Pietrangelo rumours heat up and more in today's NHL Rumour Report update.
- Word broke this past weekend that the Blues were intently listening on Alex Pietrangelo, and the Maple Leafs are one of the teams that would look into trying to swing a deal. What would that deal look like? Rumours suggest the package would include Nikita Zaitsev, Andreas Johnsson and/or Kasperi Kapanen and potentially other pieces as well. You'd have to think the Blues would want more quality for the kind of player Alex Pietrangelo is - but after the modest return for Erik Karlsson this past summer, maybe it's not that far off.
- The Flyers are trying to find a taker for Michal Neuvirth. If they can't find a deal, they might be ready to waive the player. Between injuries and inconsistency, it's been a rough few years for the veteran puckstopper.
- The Habs are rumoured to have discussed a Karl Alzner trade with the Stars, Maple Leafs, Avalanche and the Islanders in recent days. The veteran defenseman signed a big contract with the Canadiens last summer, but hasn't justified the $3.5 million price tag thus far.
- Are teams plotting to pluck Auston Matthews out of Toronto? Rumblings around the league suggest teams may be preparing offer sheets for the franchise centerman this upcoming summer. The pending RFA is expected to cash in big on his next contract in a deal that will almost certainly top John Tavares' $11 million a season price tag. There are a lot of things that would have to happen before Matthews signed an offer sheet with another team - Matthews would have to fail to negotiate a deal with the Leafs, the Leafs would have to pass on matching the offer sheet, and he'd actually want to sign with that team. All of that seems doubtful right now...so why would a team even try it? One theory: to wreak havoc on the Leafs salary cap system and hope that another player of quality - say a Kasperi Kapanen type - becomes available.
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