In today';s rumor rundown, the Golden Knights are trying to figure out what to
do with Erik Haula and his terribly horrid defensive season, the Minnesota Wild
 are trying to make changes with little success, rumors of Jonathan Drouin
being injured are way overblown and Jake Guentzel';s upcoming season could make
 all the difference in his next contract. Finally, the Anaheim Ducks are
looking at their salary cap situation and realizing they may have to move a
player like Jakob Silfverberg.Golden Knights Unsure of Plan for Erik Haula

Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal writes that the Vegas Golden Knights
 are at a bit of a crossroads with second-line center Erik Haula. The team
signed Paul Stastny in free agency and while Haula had a successful season
offensively - 29 goals and 55 points - his line of David Perron and James Neal
 was awful defensively. In fact, they were among the worst defensively in all
 fo the NHL.Vegas Golden Knights left wing Erik Haula (Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA
TODAY Sports)

Vegas general manager George McPhee said of that line, "It produced, but the
goals against per 60 minutes was not good enough." McPhee suggested that the
team is not willing to overlook that and is searching for a solution. Whether
that means adding better defensive players to Haula';s line or moving Haula
wasn';t clear. All McPhee would say was, "We're trying to address
it."Related: NHL Rumors: Seguin, Daley, Krug, MoreDruoin Not Injured

Allan Walsh addressed the rumors of Jonathan Drouin';s apparent injury in a
recent tweet where he said, "In the stupidity department, some rumor websites
are "reporting" that Jonathan Drouin injured a knee playing summer hockey.
Total BS. He's 100% healthy."

Where the rumor came from is uncertain but if even remotely true, it would have
 been a devastating blow to Montreal who has already had a rough few months.
The team is counting on Drouin getting more comfortable in his role as a
top-six center.Minnesota Has Tried, But Failed to Make Changes

Interesting to note from the mailbag column of The Athletic's Michael Russo, he
 writes that new Minnesota Wild GM Paul Fenton tried to work the phones this
summer and make a deal but has had little luck. The responses from opposing
GM';s seemed to be to try and low-ball the new guy in the hopes of catching a
steal when the new GM is desperate to make a deal.ST. PAUL, MN - SEPTEMBER 23:
Minnesota Wild left wing Nino Niederreiter (22) (L) and right wing Chris
Stewart (10) (R) (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Russo said:

To be fair, owner Craig Leipold - at least publicly - said he felt the roster
needed to be tweaked, but I think most of us felt for a core that had been
together for years, Leipold's words were code for a "core-altering" change
after Zucker, Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle combined for zero points in
five games versus Winnipeg in the playoffs. But, as I've said, there's no doubt
 Fenton talked to everybody about everybody, from the three I mentioned above
to Eric Staal, Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin and I'm sure others.

source - "Ask Russo, Part II: Why no trade to shake up the core? What's with
Coyle? Who should be the first retired number?" - Michael Russo - The Athletic
- 08/09/2018Jakob Silfverberg a Trade Piece for Anaheim?

Eric Stephens of The Athletic writes, Anaheim Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg
could be a trade candidate considering the potential complications of the Ducks
 future salary cap issues. Recent deals for John Gibson and Adam Henrique
chipped away at the cap and future contracts for Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie
could create more cap issues down the road.Ducks right wing Jakob Silfverberg
(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

Stephens said:

Say Silfverberg - who'll turn 28 in the season's opening week - and his camp
were to see the forward at around $5 million annually? My thinking is the Ducks
 will try to get him under that AAV over four years and the feeling is there's
a real aspiration to re-sign him. Either way, it'd be a decent pay bump from
the $3.75 million he's making entering the final year of the extension he
signed with Anaheim in 2015.source- "What does a potential Jakob Silfverberg
contract mean for the Ducks' salary cap?" - Eric Stephens - The Athletic,
08/07/2018

While the Ducks want to keep Silfverberg, if the money can';t be worked out,
Stephens noted Ducks GM Bob Murray raised the possibility of trading a player
like him rather than risk losing that player to free agency for
nothing.Related: Draisaitl';s Deal is Among the NHL';s BestJake Guentzel';s
Next Deal?

Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now speculated as to what Pittsburgh
Penguins 24-year old forward Jake Guentzel';s next contract might look like.
Guentzel is entering the final year of his entry-level deal and will be a
restricted free agent at the end of this next season.Pittsburgh Penguins
forward Jake Guentzel (Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports)

Kingerski says having recorded 42 points in 46 playoff games, what he does this
 season will play a huge factor in his new deal. A good season could mean
top-six money and a not-so-good season could mean a team friendly contract.
Comparisons to Jeff Skinner, Vladislav Namestnikov and Anthony Mantha were
made whereas anything but a strong season suggested Guentzel would likely get a
 bridge contract.Related: NHL Rumors: Zetterberg, Stone, Ellis, More

 

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