Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours! The trade Rumours are swirling and the buzz is growing. Zach Parise is making his return to the league and will join the Avalanche. Daniel Briere has been busy keeping pieces locked up for the Flyers. Speaking of that, the rumours stay within the division and focus on the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals.
NHL Rumours
Philadelphia Flyers
Rumour: Elliote Friedman on The Jeff Marek Show mentions the Flyers and Travis Konecny
Analysis: Daniel Briere has been a busy man this week. The Philadelphia Flyers are the biggest surprise this season and currently sit in a playoff spot. There is a chance they sell off pieces for assets but Briere has done his part to keep core pieces intact for the foreseeable future. Forwards Owen Tippett and Ryan Poehling earned contract extensions with the club. The future is bright in Philadelphia and Briere is doing what he can to help keep it moving forward. However, one player to monitor is Travis Konecny. He is the teams best player and Friedman wonders if he is next on the extension list.
It would be a wise decision to lock up Konecny. He brings a bit of everything to the lineup. Konecny can score goals, finish his checks, and is a hard player to play against. He currently leads the Flyers in goals (22) and points (42). It has been fantastic having Sean Couturier return to the lineup but Konecny has become a game changer.
This Flyers roster does not have the flashiest stars but they are well coached and have impactful youth on the roster. Keeping Konecny around gives the Flyers are core building block for years to come. He has this season and next season before he becomes a UFA and has a salary cap hit of $5.5 million, so he will be due a hefty raise.
It will be interesting to see where things go but the Flyers being good is great to see.
Washington Capitals
Rumour: Frank Seravelli from Daily Faceoff discusses Nic Dowd being on the trade block
Analysis: The next set of NHL Rumours keeps us in the Metropolitan Division. One team to watch for is the Washington Capitals. What they’ve done is nothing short of amazing as they are hanging around the playoff picture. However, even with that being the case there are players that could be on the move. Seravelli brings up that centre Nic Dowd is a player that could be coveted at the trade deadline.
He is not the flashiest player on the roster but is a good depth centre. In 37 games, he has seven goals and 13 points. Dowd is primarily a shut down centre and spends 33.6% of his zone starts in the defensive zone. What he lacks in production he makes up for his defence and faceoffs. He has 23 takeaways for the Capitals and has won 50% of his faceoffs. The big key is that his salary cap hit is $1.3 million for this season and next, so he is not a rental piece.
If the Capitals fall out of the race, a deal could get done. Dowd would be a great depth piece for a contending team and be a huge boost in the lineup.
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