Bruins Plotting, Maple Leafs Next Move, & More NHL Rumors

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Toronto Maple Leafs were able to trade Ryan Reaves successfully. Why was he traded, and does this open up cap space for them to make another move? Are the Boston Bruins planning something big? Are the Edmonton Oilers officially done with Jeff Skinner? Finally, how much interest are the Pittsburgh Penguins getting in Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust?

Reaves Traded, What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?

The Maple Leafs moved Ryan Reaves to the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night, trading the veteran enforcer for promising young defenseman Henry Thrun. With the deal, Toronto moves Reaves’ $1.3 million salary off the books, giving them $5.3 million in cap space. The team has been linked to various defensemen in trades, as well as free agent forward Jack Roslovic.

The timing of the Reaves trade is also interesting. His recent comments about Mitch Marner and how unfairly the fans and media in Toronto treated the former Leafs’ star made headlines. So too, reports that he was selling Marner on the benefits of playing and living in Vegas, it’s fascinating that the trade came just days later.

Bruins Gearing Up for Big Swing

Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Boston Bruins are planning to take a swing on a potential blockbuster in 2026, potentially signing one of the bigger names in a stacked free agency class. Speaking on the 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman hinted that the Bruins and GM Don Sweeney could take a proactive approach during the upcoming season by trading for a player they plan to sign ahead of the July 1 free agency market.

The upcoming free agent market is stacked with elite talent, including names like Connor McDavid, Kyle Connor, Jack Eichel, Kirill Kaprizov, Martin Necas, Alex Tuch, and Artemi Panarin. Sweeney wants to be in a position to add a big name, which could explain why they didn’t take any massive swings this summer.

Friedman also said he believes the Bruins and Edmonton Oilers were in on Matias Maccelli before Utah traded the forward to Toronto.

Jeff Skinner Done with the Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers announced jersey numbers for four players on Thursday, one of which was newly-acquired forward Isaac Howard. One of the intriguing aspects of that reveal is that he’s taking No. 53. That was the number that belonged to Jeff Skinner, who appears to be officially done with Edmonton.