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Jim Parsons
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Rumor Rundown: Oilers, Penguins, Plus Golden Knights Returning Calls
In today’s Rumor Rundown, the Edmonton Oilers are looking at locking in one of their more effective forwards, the Pittsburgh Penguins have realized they might not need to make a trade after all and the Vegas Golden Knights are actually returning other teams phone calls in respect to some of their defenders clogging up the Knights blue line.
Oilers Looking At Maroon Extension
Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal recently cited that the Edmonton Oilers and forward Patrick Maroon had begun preliminary discussions on a contract extension. Maroon is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season and he’s been nothing short of a home run trade for the team since they acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks. Last season he scored 27 goals with 42 points.
Photo: Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers
The good news for the Oilers is that Maroon has expressed significant interest in wanting to stay. That could mean a discount for a franchise who is now very cautious about their contract offers considering the size of some of the salaries on the roster starting next year.
Maroon has been a great fit with Connor McDavid and he’ll be able to use that in his favor when trying to negotiate a deal somewhere in the $4 million per season range. If Edmonton can get him locked in for under $4 million, that has to be considered a pretty large victory.
The question becomes whether or not to wait and sign him after the season gets going to see if he does or doesn’t continue his torrid pace or sign him now and hope he improves even more on his numbers from 2016-17.
Golden Knights Returning Phone Calls
Rory Boylen of Sporstnet is reporting Vegas Golden Knights GM George McPhee is finally pickup up his phone and having conversations with rival GM’s about his defensemen. Even better, he’s actually calling some back with the intention of trying to work out a deal.
The Golden Knights have 11 defenders on one-way contracts and everyone understood at some point, something had to give. Over the next couple days, expect a one or two possible moves as the Knights determine who is worth hanging onto and who is better to move on from. Boylen suggests veteran Jason Garrison, who’s eligible next July for unrestricted free agency, could make a decent trade candidate.
Unless the Knights retain some of Jason Garrison’s salary, it is more likely he becomes available later in the season and closer to the trade deadline.
Penguins Trading Or Not?
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey reports that Penguins prospect Greg McKegg may have increased his level of play enough to be considered a third-line center option for the team this season. If that’s the case, the Penguins are not in a rush to fill that spot, which prior to this news meant a possible trade for Red Wings’ forward Riley Sheahan.
(Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)
McKegg offers speed, poise and faceoff skills to a Penguins lineup that needed some depth help and it also allows the Penguins to wait for the right deal instead of rushing into a trade.
Sometimes things work out. The rumor was that Sheahan would have already been traded to the Penguins if not for the Red Wings’ contract dispute with winger Andreas Athanasiou. The Red Wings need to clear cap space and Sheahan was the guy rumored as the quick fix. This almost guarantees that Detroit doesn’t get fair value for Sheahan now.
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