NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings

Some critics of this trade proposal mention that Marner is a close friend of Auston Matthews. Well, Keller also considers Matthews a friend, and the two played together in the USHL back in 2014-15. Marner earns $10.9M against the cap now and will likely earn north of $12M-$13M on his next deal, which he will become eligible to sign on July 1st. Needless to say, a trade involving Marner for Keller, who earns $7.15M against the cap through the 2027-28 season, would help the Leafs cap issues. $3.75M additional cap space can give the Toronto club some breathing to add other pieces.

For Utah, it will be a huge splash to add a player of Marner’s abilities to a new franchise trying to impress fans.

The catch? Marner has a no-movement clause in his $10.9M contract due to expire next season. Will he want to leave the limelight of Toronto to the serenity of the Utah mountains? It will be up to him, he controls his destiny.

Nashville Predators – What’s next?

Rumor: Per – Joe Rexrode – theathletic.com. The Preds fought hard but came up short. What does the future hold now?

In the end, the Preds fell short. So, do they entertain a deal for Juuse Saros? It may be an option with value to consider. He was 2-4, with a .900 SV% and a stellar 2.02 GAA in the 2023-24 playoffs. But the players who will push the Preds closer to the best in the league aren’t on the roster right now. And that’s why goaltender Juuse Saros’ days on it might be numbered. They have a talented goalie waiting in the lurks. Yaroslav Askarov can replace Saros at a cheaper price. His $925,000 cap hit through next season makes him much more reasonable than what Saros may demand in the $8M range.

Filip Forsberg had two goals and four assists in six games, plus a key role in the defensive-zone miscommunication that ended the Game 4 overtime early. Roman Josi collected a goal, two assists and a bloody ear in five games, and he was on the ice — all the way onto the ice — when the Canucks tied Game 4 with 6.2 seconds left. They are not the problem. Saros may be dealt to ensure some more offensive power the Preds lacked in the series loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Scoring 12 goals in six games against the Canucks will not get a team advanced to the next round.

GM Barry Trotz will make some decisions this summer. He has six UFAs and four RFAs to deal with. They include Jason Zucker ($5.3M), Anthony Beauvillier ($4.15M), Tyson Barrie ($4.15M) to name a few. With $18.5M in cap space, it reveals why Saros may not be wearing a Pred’s uniform next season.

Los Angeles Kings – Pierre-Luc Dubois

Rumor: Per – Eric Duhatschek – theathletic.com. Signing Dubois to an average of $8.5 million per season until the end of the 2030-31 season may have been a huge blunder.

The solution could very well be a buyout. Will it be costly? Yes. According to Duhatschek, “per CapFriendly’s buyout calculator, the seven remaining years on Dubois’s contract are divided between base salary owed ($47.5 million) plus $11.5 million in signing bonuses. But if the Kings can buy out Dubois before his 26th birthday — it will be close, because Dubois turns 26 on June 24, right around the time the buyout period will open — they can buy him out for one-third of the remaining value of his contract. In all, the cost to do that isn’t terrible. It would be $15.833 million, but spread out over 14 years, which would cost them $1.131 million per year until 2038-39 season in actual dollars. The cap charges over that span would vary, but would only exceed $3 million three times in those 14 years.”

It would seem a trade would be a much better solution, except how do you trade a player who has so vastly underperformed? Good luck with that. The Kings gave up three players in the Dubois trade. Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari, plus a second-rounder in 2024. So far, it is a one-sided trade that team president Luc Robitaille approved. He has a longstanding relationship with Dubois’s agent, Pat Brisson.

The buyout may be the best option here. The timeline will be critical to get it done before Dubois’s 26th birthday on June 24th. It would be interesting to see how many teams would go after him if he is bought out and how much he may be offered. Perhaps a new beginning elsewhere is exactly what Dubois needs to find his game again.

That concludes this edition of NHL rumors. Be sure to catch our next article, and thanks for reading!