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Joel Quenneville head coach of the Florida Panthers (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

NHL Rumors: Ducks, Bruins, Devils, Canadiens

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Jim Parsons | Last updated May 8, 2025 3:53 PM ET

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Boston Bruins are reportedly pursuing Rick Tocchet for their head coaching position, while it appears the Anaheim Ducks have decided to hire Joel Quenneville. The New Jersey Devils have vowed to make changes and say they won’t be coming back next season with the same roster. Finally, could the Montreal Canadiens move Carey Price’s contract around to free up the money needed to add to their roster?

Bruins Make Tocchet Top Coaching Target

Rick Dhaliwal and Jimmy Murphy of RG.org are both reporting that the Boston Bruins appear to be making a serious push towards hiring Rick Tocchet as the Boston Bruins’ next head coach. The team reportedly sees him as a top target to fill their head coaching vacancy, and an interview might be on the docket shortly.

“He’s a really Boston-type guy,” said Dhaliwal on Wednesday. And, while it is still expected that the Philadelphia Flyers will reach out to Tocchet, reports are that they have yet to do so.

An interesting storyline is surfacing out of Vancouver, where it is being reported that Tocchet might have decided months ago that he wasn’t staying with the Canucks. While moving out east has been cited as the main reason he’s leaving, speculation is that a lack of desire to work with Elias Pettersson might also have been a factor. The fact that Tocchet is reportedly open to taking interviews with teams like the Seattle Kraken suggests there is more to the story than just being closer to family.

Ducks Hiring Joel Quenneville

Darren Dreger reported on Thursday morning that the Anaheim Ducks are set to announce Joel Quenneville is their next head coach. Noting that there might be a couple of hurdles to overcome before things are official, he added:

“Announcement coming shortly. Sources say the Ducks did an extensive background check specific to the Kyle Beach case, including the work Quenneville has done to reform from mistakes made during that time. He was the first candidate Anaheim spoke with after firing Cronin.”

It remains to be seen how much pushback there is on this hire. The Ducks took the steps they believe they needed to, and the NHL is not standing in the way of Quenneville’s return to the league.

Devils Set to Make Changes

As per a report by Amanda Stein, Drvils’ GM Tom Fitzgerald said, “We won’t be coming back with the same group. Because it was just not good enough.” He added, “I like our group, my job is to continue to better the group. And we’ve got a lot of decision to make on certain players, bringing guys back, trade players…”

What that means in terms of players not returning, the Devils have pending UFAs in Jake Allen, Nathan Bastian, Dennis Cholowski, Justin Dowling, Brian Dumoulin, Curtis Lazar, Daniel Sprong, and Tomas Tatar. They also have RFAs in Luke Hughes, Cody Glass, and Nolan Foote.

Will the Canadiens Move Carey Price’s Contract This Summer?

The Montreal Canadiens are expected to be active on the trade market this summer as they look to build on the steps they took in the 2024-25 season. Their key needs include a second-line center and a right-shot defenseman.

The team has just $8.7 million in projected cap space, partly due to a $1.75 million bonus overage penalty. While placing Carey Price’s $10.5 million contract on LTIR could increase flexibility to around $19.2 million, the Canadiens might also try to trade the contract.

The hope is that the Canadiens can add another significant piece, but find the funds to re-sign RFAs Emil Heineman and Jayden Struble, which could cost up to $3 million.