NHL Rumors: Sharks, Flames, Oilers

Couture seemed to suggest that there will be questions about his ability to play a good chunk of next season. Friedman and Marek talked about how players on the team are watching their friends leave and the feeling is San Jose is not positive. Friedman noted, “Well, look, you know, you could tell how rueful he was and how tough it was, but he sure made it sound like he might not be ready to start next year. Number one, you just want him to be able to play.”

The offseason should be fascinating when it comes to Couture and the Sharks. Who else might be leaving that roster and will Couture be returning to the NHL at 100 percent?

Hanfin Denies Being Difficult During Negotiations and Trade Talks

After hearing rumors that he was making it nearly impossible for the Calgary Flames to make a reasonable trade or get Hanifin locked into a fair long-term deal, the defenseman has commented on rumors he was “holding the team hostage” before finally being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights.

In a recent article by Eric Francis of Sportsnet, he cites Hanfin who said, “I was never holding the Flames hostage.” He added,” That was one of the more difficult things to hear towards the end because I personally felt I was never doing that. Talking to Connie (Flames GM Craig Conroy) I don’t think either side felt that.”

Hanifin added that he had an eight-team no-trade list, so there was only so much leverage he could use. He said he felt he should give Calgary a list of teams he would sign with, and that was perceived to be him holding the organization when it that decision was made public. He made it known he wanted to sign on the east coast and closer to home and it’s a given that most players aren’t just going to sign anywhere. He did acknowledge that he told the Flames he didn’t see himself signing there long-term because he wanted to raise his family closer to home.

Oilers Didn’t Want to Mess With Team Chemistry

There was some chatter the Edmonton Oilers were trying to make other moves at the deadline this season. Among them, they were reportedly after Chris Tanev and kicked tires on Tyler Toffoli. Ultimately, GM Ken Holland chose not to trade a bunch of players off of the roster, including Cody Ceci who was rumored to be offered up in another trade.

“I’m always worried about the chemistry. I think we’re bringing in three people into the locker room that will fit in, be competitive, and understand where they fit, Holland said. Elliotte Friedman noted in his latest 32 Thoughts podcast that there was talk about moving some players out, but it is believed Holland decided to pull back on that because he’s seen other teams make too many moves and it backfires in the playoffs. So too, speculation is that there was a push by some roster players not to trade Ceci.