Rumor mill: Frank Seravalli wonders if the Blues will trade Kyrou

Dose
Crédit:

Back in March, I wrote an article in which I said… this:

If I were Kent Hughes, I’d be targeting Jordan Kyrou this summer.

I was very interested in the idea because Kyrou is an effective player in all three zones of the rink. He’s good offensively, he can hold his own defensively… and he’s got two-way qualities.

But getting him out of St. Louis wasn’t a guarantee at the time either.

That said, maybe Kent Hughes will get a chance to talk to Doug Armstrong about Kyrou.

In fact, I say this because Frank Seravalli wonders if the Blues will trade Kyrou this summer before his no-trade clause kicks in:

The clause in question will kick in on July 1.

So… to trade Kyrou, the Blues could use the next few weeks to do so before it gets more complicated.

The question is, why would they let him go? Kyrou (27) is relatively young and can be a long-term success in St. Louis… but, if the offer is good, perhaps Doug Armstrong would be tempted to trade him.

And if the Canadiens are looking for guys who can score goals…

Money first for Marchand?

Brad Marchand is 37 years old.

And this summer will be his last chance to sign a big contract before he hangs up his skates.

The result?

For the occasion… it wouldn’t be the team that matters to him.

According to Greg Wyshynski(The Sheet), it’s… the money:

Marchand wants to secure his financial future, and that’s okay too.

However, I would have thought that his primary goal would be to win one last Stanley Cup before the end of his career. Which would have been logical, given his character…

But nobody can be mad at a guy who wants to get his cash. So I can’t wait to see how it all turns out… because it seems to me that if I were him, I’d really like to stay in the hot Florida sun for the last few moments of my career.

Mitch Marner in the West?

There’s been a lot of talk about Mitch Marner lately.

And that’s understandable, because he’s one of the most popular players around at the moment due to his situation.

All indications are that he’ll decide to test the free agent market in a little over two weeks… and if he doesn’t stay in Toronto, Elliotte Friedman (32 Thoughts Podcast) sees him continuing his career out West.

Anaheim? Chicago? San Jose? Los Angeles?

If I had an old $2 to bet, I’d give the Kings a shot.

They’ve got the goods to lure him to LA because they’ve got a big club, the weather’s good year-round and the market isn’t necessarily media-heavy.

Mitch Marner with the Kings makes sense in my mind.

Aaron Ekblad may test the market

Aaron Ekblad may be the best defenseman available to any team on July 1 – if he doesn’t sign a new contract in Florida.

And there will be a lot of interest in his services because he’s already established himself as one of the league’s good players at his position.

But it’s also possible that he’ll decide to stay where he started his career.

The only problem?

The Panthers want to give him a contract worth around $6 million per season. And Ekblad will clearly be able to fetch more money on the open market…

The Panthers don’t want to spend too much, and that’s normal too.

They need to make room to sign Sam Bennett… and we know that’s going to be expensive.

That said, Ekblad may not continue his career in Florida because the Panthers probably won’t have enough money to pay him what he’s worth.

And any NHL club could benefit from a big, right-handed defenseman who can fill the #1 chair, night after night…

Ivan Provorov, a Rangers target

When Ivan Provorov was selected with the 7th pick in the 2015 draft, we thought he was going to be one of the NHL’s dominant defensemen.

And without criticizing him for it… that’s not what happened.

We’re talking about a reliable player who puts up some 30 points a season, and we’re talking about a player who will be as free as a bird as of July 1.

The Rangers are currently one of the clubs interested in his services, according to RG Media :

According to RG Media, Vladislav Gavrikov is also a target for the Blue Shirts.

Both pitch from the left… and with rumors surrounding K’Andre Miller, the Rangers may have to find a replacement for him this summer.

It remains to be seen whether they’ll be able to lure one of the two Russians to New York.

Overtime

– Still…

– Oh!

– Love this.