In today's 'Rumour Roundup', what is happening in Pittsburgh between the Penguins and forward Jake Guentzel. In other news, do the Canucks have a plan to keep the newly acquired Elias Lindholm beyond this season? Additionally, what is the asking price for Predators star goaltender Juuse Saros if the team is open to trading him. Finally, the New York Rangers are fielding calls on forward Kaapo Kakko and which teams I believe could look at the former second overall pick.
What's happening between Jake Guentzel and the Penguins?
It was reportedly earlier today by Josh Yohe of The Athletic that the Pittsburgh Penguins could look at moving forward Jake Gutenzel if he is unwilling to take a team friendly deal. Additionally, Nick Kypreos reported that the Penguins offered Guentzel a six-year extension worth $8.5 million per season, a deal in which Guentzel declined. Guentzel's name has popped in trade rumours throughout the month of January, with the Vancouver Canucks being the main team looking at the forward. That rumour has been put to rest now though, as the Canucks brought in Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday. Guentzel, 29, has played in 46 contests for the Penguins this season, recording 22 goals and 49 points thus far. It'll be interesting to see how this situation pans out for both sides as we approach the trade deadline.
Are the Canucks going to make a push to extend Elias Lindholm?
Despite the need to extend pending RFA Elias Pettersson, the Vancouver Canucks have full interest in signing the newly acquired Elias Lindholm to an extension. It is unknown if the Canucks want term with Lindholm, but Elliotte Friedman on the Jeff Marek Show stated that the Canucks acquired him with the idea that they would be keeping him beyond this season.
Friedman mentioned it's going to be extremely difficult for the Canucks to extend the forward based on their cap situation, leading him to believe Nikita Zadorov could be on the way out to clear some room.
Predators asking price for Juuse Saros revealed
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Nashville Predators will likely seek two first round picks, a top prospect and a fourth asset in exchange for goaltender Juuse Saros. This makes it much more difficult for many teams who could have interest in the netminder. It definitely shows how serious the Predators are about keeping their star goaltender. The reports that state the Predators would prefer to sign Saros remain the same. Saros, 28, is definitely having an off year with the Predators this season. Thus far, he's posted a record of 19-19-2 with a .903 save percentage and a 2.94 goals against average.
Rangers fielding calls on Kaapo Kakko
According to multiple reports, the New York Rangers have begun fielding trade calls on former second overall pick Kaapo Kakko. The 22-year-old has played in just 28 games with the Rangers this season, recording 5 goals and 1 assist for 6 points. Other than the 2022-23 season, Kakko has never played a full season in the National Hockey League due to injuries and has found himself struggling to produce at times even when fully healthy. In 2022-23, he saw his best season thus far, recording 18 goals and 40 points in 82 games played. I've come up with a couple of teams that I think could be a good fit for the young forward who still has so much potential. The Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks are the teams I believe would be a good fit for Kakko. For Montreal, I see this is a potential destination due to the fact he would likely find more ice-time then we would in New York as the Canadiens are currently a young and developing team. As for the Chicago Blackhawks, he would one-hundred percent play top six minutes on that kind of team. It would also give him the opportunity to play alongside young prodigy Connor Bedard. Who knows what Kakko could achieve playing with the future face of the league?