NHL Rumors: Kane’s Two Teams, Savoie Talk, Root of Larkin’s Rift – Hockey Writers – NHL Rumors

In today’s NHL rumor game, the Detroit Red Wings are dealing with a front office shakeup and captain Dylan Larkin wants out. Others try to guess where things have gone off the rails and whether the situation can be fixed. Meanwhile, Patrick Kane’s free agency has descended on two cities. The Edmonton Oilers may want to look at Matt Savoie’s contract following the Perfetti deal, and the Philadelphia Flyers have made a big deal.

Red Wings’ Yzerman-Larkin Fallout Is Deeper Than It Looks

Steve Yzerman has stepped down from his GM role to become a senior advisor, but the big story is what it means for captain Dylan Larkin’s request.

According to Helene St. James, he does not believe that the two sides can go back. Also, team writer Ansar Khan reports that the rift didn’t start with Larkin’s frustration in public at the appointed time – it started in 2018, when the captain remained vacant for two years after the retirement of Henrik Zetterberg. Everyone, including Larkin, thinks he’s the pick. Yzerman abandoned him for two years.

If this is about Larkin not liking Yzerman, that would be hard enough to come back from, as long as he’s still on the team. There is a sense, however, that Larkin has a certain animosity toward the organization as a whole. Elliotte Friedman says time will tell if the two sides can work things out. At least, is there a world where someone comes in and takes this job and wants to see if he can change his mind?

Patrick Kane Decision Comes Down to Two Cities – With Buffalo Adding Firepower

Kane’s free agency options have reportedly reached Buffalo and Chicago, according to Chris Chelios, who says he spoke directly with Kane.

Buffalo remains the overwhelming favorite, and the pursuit of the Sabers has become more interesting: they are also working on Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck’s trade market, with reports indicating that Hellebuyck is willing to waive his no-movement clause to come to Buffalo. If both move the world, the Buffalo becomes the talk of the Eastern Conference.

The idea of ​​Kane returning to Chicago carries an emotional weight.

Detroit’s front office shakeup adds a bit of a wild card, given the Red Wings’ cap space, though it’s unlikely to be a serious option.

The Oilers Three-Goalie System and the Matt Savoie Extension

Edmonton opens the season with three NHL-caliber forwards — Tristan Jarry, Devon Levi, and Frederik Andersen — and no clear-cut starter. Early workload projections suggest the team might try to give each the same number of starts, but none of the three goaltenders are proven workhorses. Andersen is 36 years old with a recent injury history, Jarry is coming off some of the worst scoring metrics in the league, and Levi remains unproven at the NHL level. It is believed that a clear striker will emerge soon.

Meanwhile, Cole Perfetti signed a five-year, five-year AAV extension after an injury-shortened year, raising questions about what a player like Matt Savoie might command in his next contract. The Jets shut down Perfetti to get to this point, but it’s believed the Oilers don’t want to do the same and would like a long-term deal right away.

Did the Flyers pay Trevor Zegras?

The Flyers inked Trevor Zegras to a four-year, $9.125M AAV extension after his breakout season in Philadelphia. Some wonder if the deal came about because the Flyers really trusted the player, or because of the paper he gave Leo Carlsson.

It sounds like the Flyers paid for the entire asset and then some, but this may be the way contracts are going – not that they’re going down the drain by forcing the Ducks to pay $18 million for their senior center.

Meanwhile, the Devils added scoring depth by signing Anthony Mantha to a two-year, $4.75M deal with no trade protection. The belief is that several teams were interested, but none wanted to leave for more than one or two years.

Josh Yohe wrote, “Mantha informed the Penguins during the regular season that a three-year deal was his starting point for extension negotiations. The Penguins didn’t want to give him three years or more. And neither did anyone else, apparently.”