NHL Rumors: New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! The NHL Draft is history, and every team has high hopes for the prospects they added. Now, with free agency moves mostly done, rumors are still around. Clubs are always working to improve their rosters for next season. In this Sunday edition of NHL Rumors, we will take a look at the New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers, and the Dallas Stars.

New Jersey Devils – Jesper Bratt

Rumors: Per – Ethan  Hetu – prohockeyrumors.com. Bratt is without a contract yet, and it looks like it will go to his arbitration date of August 3rd. Contract talks have stalled, causing a tough negotiation process.

Bratt collected 73 points in 76 games in a breakout season and had some great chemistry with Jack Hughes. It would behoove the Devils to re-sign him, and having it go to arbitration may cause some hard feelings with Bratt. He just turned 24 years old and may be holding out for a longer-term deal than what the Devils have in mind. Being a restricted free agent has its challenges, but Bratt seems to be playing the waiting game. At his age, the team may desire to give him a shorter-term deal of two years to see how he progresses.

He has already proven to be an essential part of the New Jersey offense with three power play goals and 15 assists. The Devils have $8.7 million in cap space, so a long-term contract may not be feasible.

Florida Panthers – Times are changing for Panthers

Rumors: Per – Matt Ross – hockeybuzz.com. It wasn’t too long ago that Florida was considered a hockey purgatory. Even a hockey hell. It became a destination where guys went before hanging them up for good.

New management, better players, and no fear to change things up has changed that outlook. Take the Matthew Tkachuk trade. This move symbolizes a mindset – specifically a winning mindset. Certainly, the Panthers gave up three players and one who outscored Tkachuk in Jonathan Huberdeau. But, a trade like this was done in a rather fast fashion. Besides getting a tough, gritty player in Tkachuk, they got younger. Tkachuk is just 24 years old. Huberdeau is 29 and MacKenzie Weegar is 28. They also added a young prospect in Cole Schwindt who is 21.

It was Florida’s view that Huberdeau and Weegar didn’t advance them to the next level. They failed miserably by being swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of the playoffs. This after compiling the best record in the NHL. Then, others have mentioned that Huberdeau would have commanded a very similar contract that was awarded to Tkachuk. Bringing in Tkachuk at the cost of two fan favorites shows that complacency (to a certain extent) and zero results will no longer be tolerated.

Florida is going for it, as they should. They have Tkachuk now and we shall see if that helps them get further in the postseason going forward. Sometimes, change is good.

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Dallas Stars – Blackhawks and Stars Linked to Massive Trade

Rumor: Per – Shane Seney – nhltraderumors.me. The Chicago Blackhawks are a mess and Patrick Kane likely wants to have no part of it this season. 

While conflicting rumors are flying about Kane’s future, David Pagnotta of thefourthperiod.com insists that the Dallas Stars and Blackhawks have had discussions on Kane being moved.

It’s been known that the Stars are searching for a left-winger for Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn‘s line. While any deal concerning Kane will most certainly include salary retention of at least 50 percent, the Stars have $11.5 million in cap space and still need to sign restricted free agent Jason Robertson and goalie Jake Oettinger. Will that leave enough room to grab a star forward like Kane? Let’s just say it is possible.

A more reasonable timing for such a move may be before the trade deadline so both Kane and Jonathan Toews can assess things a bit more. It goes without saying, that they want no part of a rebuild that GM Kyle Davidson is initiating. Stay with Full Press Hockey to get the latest on all NHL rumors that are brewing.