With the 2024
Stanley Cup Final underway, the focus of the hockey world is on the
outcome of this series between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida
Panthers.

However, that
hasn’t stopped the NHL media rumor mill from churning. As the Oilers
and Panthers grapple for hockey’s holy grail, the league’s 30 other
teams are preparing to make their offseason moves through the draft,
free agency, and the trade market to better their rosters for next
season.

Some of the
speculation concerns what the Panthers might do with defenseman Aaron
Ekblad this summer. Meanwhile, some observers wonder if winger Kaapo
Kakko still has a future with the New York Rangers.

We’re dusting off
our trust B/R BS Meter to examine the latest notable NHL draft, trade, and free-agency rumors. Let us know if you agree or disagree with our
analysis in the app comments below.

This was a
difficult season for Kaapo Kakko. The 23-year-old New York Rangers
winger missed 21 games with a lower-body injury, limiting him to 13
goals and 19 points in 61 games. He struggled in the postseason with
just points in 15 games and was a healthy scratch from Game 2 of the
Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers.

The second-overall
pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Kakko was projected to become a scoring
right winger. He showed signs of a breakout performance in 2022-23
with 18 goals and 40 points in 82 games. However, the young Finn failed to move up on the Rangers’ depth chart.

Speculation
emerged about Kakko’s future even before the Rangers’ elimination by the Panthers. He’s a restricted free agent with arbitration rights
this summer. That prompted Sportsnet’s Luke Fox on May 28 to suggest
contact negotiations could become tense. He believes rival general
managers should look into Kakko’s availability.

The New York
Post‘s Ethan Sears felt Kakko still has top-six winger potential
but moving him could be an obvious fix if they need to save
salary-cap money. The Athletic’s Peter Baugh believes the winger
would have value in the trade market but suggested he might fetch a
second or third-round pick.

BS Meter: Not BS

Rangers general
manager Chris Drury said his club would do all it could to help Kakko
improve. However, Sears’ colleague Larry Brooks believes it might be
best for the player and team if the Rangers traded Kakko this summer, but
only for the right price. He rejected the notion of getting a second
or third-rounder in return.

Following the March 8 trade deadline, New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald indicated his intent to go “big-game hunting” to improve his goaltending and other roster issues. On June 4, he stated his willingness to trade his 2024 first-round pick (10th overall) for a return that helps his team now and in the immediate future.

Fitzgerald acknowledged he’s in the market for a goalie but also wants to improve his forward lines and defense corps. “We’d like to add up front, we’d like to add on the back end, so what are those pieces going to cost us? With the goaltending, what’s that going to cost us?”

The Devils GM admitted he’s focused on finding a goalie but wouldn’t say which one. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun cited league sources linking the Devils to the Calgary Flames’ Jacob Markström, the Boston Bruins’ Linus Ullmark, and the Anaheim Ducks’ John Gibson.

LeBrun followed up on June 6 by reporting the Devils and Flames renewed their trade discussions about Markström. The two sides were close to a deal in February but it fell through in part over the Flames’ unwillingness to retain part of Markström’s $6 million annual cap hit through 2025-26.

BS Meter: Not BS

Fitzgerald sounds like he’s keeping his trade options open with this first-rounder. However, that could be the key trade chip in a package offer that lands a reliable starter like Markstrom or Ullmark. Gibson has struggled behind a rebuilding Ducks blue line but could rebound on a deeper club.

The Florida
Panthers are in the midst of their Stanley Cup Final series with the
Edmonton Oilers. However, management could face some difficult roster
decisions during the offseason with 14 active roster players under
contract for 2024-25 and a projected cap space of $19.7 million.

Eleven players will become unrestricted free agents on July 1, including
57-goal winger Sam Reinhart and puck-moving defenseman Brandon
Montour. Both will seek hefty raises that could eat up most of the Panthers’ cap room. Meanwhile, two-way center Anton Lundell is a restricted
free agent in line for a pay bump this summer.

On June 2, the
Toronto Sun‘s Steve Simmons claimed the Panthers wanted to re-sign
Reinhart and Montour. To do so, he believes they’ll trade defenseman
Aaron Ekblad and use the salary cap savings to keep Montour in the fold. He also thinks Reinhart will accept less than
market value because of Florida’s lack of a state tax.

Ekblad, 28, was
the first-overall pick by the Panthers in the 2014 NHL Draft. The
following season, he took home the Calder Memorial Trophy, becoming the linchpin of the Panthers’ defense corps. He has a year
left on his contract with a cap hit of $7.5 million and a no-movement
clause that becomes a 12-team no-trade list on July 1.

BS Meter: It’s BS

Ekblad is the
heart and soul of the Panthers’ blue line so he’s going anywhere. On May 31, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox observed the Panthers
prioritized re-signing defenseman Gustav Forsling rather than
Montour, suggesting the latter could be playing his final games in
Florida.

Expectations were
high for the Ottawa Senators entering this season. Under new
ownership and led by young captain Brady Tkachuk, the Senators hoped
to emerge from their long rebuilding process to become a playoff
contender this season.

Instead, the
Senators missed the postseason cut for the seventh straight year. On
Feb. 28, general manager Steve Staios told The Athletic’s Pierre
LeBrun there was no truth to a rumor suggesting the club might be
willing to trade Tkachuk.

Staios recently had
to shoot down similar conjecture. On May 27, The Hockey News‘ Steve
Warne cited a report out of St. Louis speculating whether Tkachuk was available, why such a big move wouldn’t be out of
the question, and what kind of haul the Senators could get in return.

“Complete BS,” Staios told LeBrun the same day. “We are building this team around Brady. His leadership and unique skill set are rare.” He concluded by stating there was “no validity” to the speculation.

BS Meter: It’s BS…for now.

Tkachuk has four
years left on his contract. Warne believes any trade discussion only becomes valid if the Senators haven’t improved before the
final year of his deal. The Toronto Star‘s Nick Kypreos and
Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan share that view. If the Senators keep missing
the playoffs, there will be more speculation about Tkachuk’s future
in Ottawa.

Carolina
Hurricanes winger Jake Guentzel will become an unrestricted free
agent on July 1. A two-time 40-goal scorer and winner of the Stanley
Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016-17, the 29-year-old is
completing a five-year contract with an average annual value of $6
million.

A reliable scoring
winger, Guentzel was acquired from the
Penguins by the Hurricanes before the March trade deadline. He played
well for his new club with 25 points in 17 regular-season games and
nine points in 11 playoff contests. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun
reported on June 3 that he could test the market while keeping the Hurricanes as an
option.

Guentzel will draw considerable attention if he hits the open market on July 1. On June 6,
San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng cited Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek making
an admittedly wild prediction that the San Jose Sharks could sign the
veteran winger. Marek believes the rebuilding Sharks must surround
their promising young players with veteran talent.

Peng admitted
stranger things have happened. He noted the Sharks have plenty of
salary-cap space for next season and are motivated to shore up their
roster depth. However, he doesn’t see Guentzel signing with a
rebuilding club, suggesting he could prefer spending his 30s playing
with a contending club.

BS Meter: It’s BS

Marek’s colleague
Elliotte Friedman subsequently reported the Hurricanes were shopping
Guentzel’s rights. However, it’s doubtful the Sharks will attempt to
acquire him. The veteran winger will likely entertain contract
offers from contenders (including the Hurricanes) and sign with one
of them soon after free agency begins on July 1.