NHL Rumors

The rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks are still sitting on a number of tradable assets this season, including team captain Jonathan Toews and star winger Patrick Kane, though both need to waive their no-movement clauses in order to be dealt.

However, Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson told ESPN's Emily Kaplan that the team has had "zero" conversations with other teams on a deal for Kane, adding that he doesn't "foresee anything" happening soon.

Davidson didn't provide any clarity on where things stand with Toews, but Kaplan reports she's "heard that some teams are looking at" the veteran center given his respectable start to the 2022-23 campaign.

The Athletic's Mark Lazerus reported in July that the Blackhawks hadn't had any trade discussions involving Kane, so things appear to be status quo on that front.

Kane is in his 16th season in the NHL, all spent with the Blackhawks, and is in the final season of an eight-year, $84 million deal worth $10.5 million.

The 33-year-old has helped Chicago win three Stanley Cups, been named an All-Star four times and has won the Art Ross, Hart, Calder and Conn Smythe Trophies. He has tallied 432 goals and 758 assists in 1,119 regular-season games.

Through 12 games this season, the 2007 first overall pick has tallied two goals and eight assists.

Toews has also spent his entire 15-year career in Chicago and was a member of the team's three Stanley Cup victories from 2010-15. The 2013 second-team All-Star has won the Smythe and Selke Trophies as well as the Mark Messier Leadership Award.

The 34-year-old has notched 364 goals and 497 assists in 1,026 games. He has tallied seven goals and two assists in 12 games this season.

In an interview with Lazerus in July, Toews said that remaining with the team through a rebuild "doesn't sound appealing to me at all." However, he added that he wasn't sure what his future would look like:

"I can't speak for Kaner, but I definitely feel that the amount of turnover our team has gone through every single year these last three or four years, that's where it gets really, really draining. And exhausting. You have a guy like who was under Kaner's wing. And I like to think that Kirby [Dach] and I had that bond in some ways too. And out they go, out the door. Over and over, we've seen that turnover.

"I'm learning to be more patient, but there's no doubt that timeline is pretty daunting, and pretty exhausting to think about. So, I'm not going to sit here and say what I'm going to do or what the future holds for me, because I really don't know."

Like Kane, Toews is also in the last year of his contract, which is worth $10.5 million in 2022-23. It's unclear which teams might be interested in acquiring him.

Trade rumors surrounding Kane and Toews began around the 2022 NHL draft when the Blackhawks made a number of moves to signal they were entering a rebuild, including trading Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators and Dach to the Montreal Canadiens.

If Chicago (5-5-2) trades Kane or Toews ahead of the deadline in March, it will mark the end of an era.

Former Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg is signing a one-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks that is expected to be worth around $7 million, according to The Athletic's Eric Stephens and ESPN's Kevin Weekes.

The news comes after Klingberg parted ways with his longtime agent, Peter Wallen, earlier this week. He is now represented by Newport Sports Management.

Klingberg, arguably the top defenseman available this summer, had been testing the free agent market since it opened on July 13. The Athletic's Saad Yousuf suggested last week that the market wasn't what Klingberg and his camp were expecting.

That said, it's no surprise Klingberg agreed to a one-year contract with the Ducks. He'll now have the opportunity to re-enter free agency next summer in hopes of signing a larger, long-term deal.

Klingberg had spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Stars, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL draft. He burst onto the scene in 2014-15 and was named to the All-Rookie Team after notching 11 goals and 29 assists in 65 games.

In 552 games in Dallas, the 29-year-old tallied 71 goals and 303 assists. He also had a decent 2021-22 campaign, notching six goals and 41 assists in 74 games.

It's unclear how the Stars plan to replace Klingberg this summer.

Ryan Suter and Miro Heiskanen figure to be Dallas' top-pairing defensemen in 2022-23, but things get a little dicey beyond the duo with Esa Lindell, Jani Hakanpaa, Thomas Harley and Colin Miller expected to fill out the remainder of the defense.

The Stars are projected to have $11.5 million in cap space, per CapFriendly. Some defensemen still available include P.K. Subban, Calvin de Haan, Michal Kempny, Ryan Murray, Dean Kukan, Keith Yandle and Jack Johnson.

However, none of those players are likely to make up for the loss of Klingberg.

As for Anaheim, the Ducks will have an impressive defensive unit in 2022-23. In addition to Klingberg, the franchise also boasts a group of blue liners that includes Cam Fowler, Jamie Drysdale, Urho Vaakanainen, Kevin Shattenkirk, Simon Benoit and Josh Mahura.

Before signing Klingberg, the Ducks were projected to have nearly $26 million in cap space, per CapFriendly. They'll still have plenty of room to take a shot at some of the other top free agents available if they wish, including Nazem Kadri.

If the Edmonton Oilers are unable to re-sign Evander Kane this summer, they have a pretty solid backup plan.

Edmonton is interested in free-agent forward Claude Giroux, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun, who wrote that the Oilers "have internally discussed the merits of trying to sign" him.

Giroux is coming off an eight-year, $66.2 million deal that had an annual cap hit of $8.275 million. It's unclear what type of deal he's looking for this summer, but the Oilers should be able to make him an intriguing offer with $7.1 million in cap space, per CapFriendly.

The 34-year-old began the 2021-22 campaign with the Philadelphia Flyers before being traded to the Florida Panthers at the March deadline in exchange for Owen Tippett, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2023 third-round pick.

In 75 regular-season games, Giroux tallied 21 goals and 44 assists for 65 points. Just three of those goals came in his 18-game stint in Florida, though he added three goals and five assists for eight points in 10 playoff games with the Panthers.

LeBrun reported that the Panthers and Giroux are interested in striking a deal for him to return to South Florida, but the team has just $3 million in cap space this summer, per CapFriendly, which likely isn't enough to retain the veteran forward.

In addition, the Panthers have a number of other free agents to sign this summer, including Ben Chiarot and Mason Marchment.

That said, Giroux can play both center and left wing, which makes him one of the more intriguing free agents on the market. The Oilers could opt to put him on the top line alongside Connor McDavid or the second line alongside Leon Draisaitl.

In addition, Edmonton could opt to use Giroux as its third-line center, which would give the team an incredible amount of depth down the middle of the ice.

Giroux spent the first 14 and a half seasons of his career in Philadelphia, which selected him in the first round of the 2006 NHL draft. He earned one All-Star selection and tallied 291 goals and 609 assists for 900 points in 1,000 games with the franchise.

The Flyers ultimately decided to trade Giroux because he wanted an opportunity to win a Stanley Cup, and that likely wasn't going to be possible in Philadelphia as the franchise is in a retooling period.

In addition to the Oilers, LeBrun listed the Senators as a "team to watch" for Giroux because he and his family spend their summers in Ottawa, However, he noted "the allure of wanting to win a Cup ASAP would be the sticking point on that one even though it’s a young and talented team that’s on the rise. But maybe the Sens' pitch, if Ottawa decides to dive in on Giroux, wins him over."

It appears the Boston Bruins have two front-runners for their vacant head coaching position.

Former New York Rangers head coach David Quinn and Seattle Kraken assistant Jay Leach are the two leading candidates to replace Bruce Cassidy as head coach of the Black and Gold, according to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa.

Quinn is set to interview with the Bruins next week, and Leach is expected to interview with the franchise "at some time," Shinzawa added.

"Quinn has the personality that general manager Don Sweeney would prefer in his next coach: positive, engaging and uplifting," Shinzawa wrote. "Cassidy’s demanding style with his players, especially his younger ones, prompted Sweeney to fire him at his house on June 6."

Quinn was hired as head coach of the Rangers in 2018, leading the team to a 96-87-25 mark in three seasons and only one playoff appearance in 2020. The Blueshirts fired him in May 2021, replacing him with Gerard Gallant.

Before coaching the Rangers, the 55-year-old served as head coach of the Boston University men's hockey team, his alma mater where he coached current Bruins defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk. The Rhode Island native also recently served as head coach of Team USA at the 2022 Olympics, coaching another current Bruin in Marc McLaughlin.

Leach had served as an assistant to Mike Sullivan for the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2015 before being promoted to interim head coach after Sullivan was promoted as the next head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 42-year-old left the Penguins organization after just one season and joined the Providence Bruins, Boston's AHL affiliate, as an assistant in July 2016. The Providence College product was eventually promoted to head coach of the P-Bruins before the 2017-18 season.

With their experience coaching younger players, it's no surprise general manager Don Sweeney prefers a coach like Quinn or Leach.

Boston shockingly fired Cassidy on June 6 after a first-round playoff loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The 57-year-old served as head coach of the Bruins for six seasons, compiling a 245-108-46 record.

Cassidy led the Bruins to the playoffs in each of his six seasons behind the bench, including a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2019.

"After taking some time to fully digest everything, I felt that the direction of our team for both this season and beyond would benefit from a new voice," Sweeney said in a statement at the time.

Cassidy, who made his NHL head coaching debut with the Washington Capitals in 2002, was hired Tuesday as head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights.