NHL Trade Talk Weekend Rumors: Oilers, Flames, and Bruins

We’re adding a new weekend series called our NHL Trade Talk weekend rumors report. Each Saturday and Sunday, we’ll be looking at some of the biggest rumors in the NHL and updating our readers on the latest updates. In our first installment of NHL rumors, we’ll be looking at the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Boston Bruins. More specifically, Evander Kane‘s injury situation, Rasmus Andersson‘s comments about a trade out of Calgary, and the drama surrounding Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.

Evander Kane Injury Update Leads to Trade Deadline Rumors

Despite offering an update on his injury status and confirming he had an additional surgery this week that will delay his rehab, there are still serious question marks when it comes to Evander Kane’s return to the Edmonton Oilers. Kane said he didn’t think his timeline would be pushed back too dramatically after a knee scope, but he wasn’t prepared to give a date or timeline estimating when he’d get back on the ice. He said he hasn’t skated at all and that would be the real test.

Oilers’ GM Stan Bowman also spoke with the media and said things are “status quo” on Kane’s return, but that the Oilers are making plans to see players they’ve identified as possible deadline targets. As for if he’s leaning towards Kane going on LTIR and the Oilers using that cap space at the trade deadline, Bowman said, “I don’t know if it changes as much as people think it changes.” He added, “It’s not that dramatically different.”

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A few names have been linked to the Oilers, but David Staples of the Edmonton Journal liked Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Rasmus Andersson Says He Hates the Oilers and Canucks

After David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, claimed Rasmus Andersson “would be open to a move and would welcome one.” , Sportsnet’s Eric Francis asked the defenseman for his thoughts on leaving Calgary. Andersson said he wanted to stay and was hoping to re-sign, but admitted it’s not really in his control. He noted, “It’s not like I’m sitting on a full no-move.”

Andersson added, “I love playing here, and I’ve always loved playing here—that’s never going to change.” He then said, “I hate the Oilers, I hate the Canucks, and that’s just the way I am. Of course, I would love to stay here, but I’ve heard from everyone else who has been in my situation that it’s a business. So, we’ll see what happens.”

Was Andersson hinting that he’d try and block a trade to one of the Oilers or the Canucks? Ironically, those are two of the teams that might be the most interested in acquiring him if he shakes loose at the deadline.

Are the Rumors True? Is the Bruins Locker Room Split?

We covered the Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak rumors extensively on Friday, when a report from Rich Keefe, co-host of Jones & Keefe, went viral and got the attention of the Bruins players. Brad Marchand was particularly upset, calling the report total fabrication and calling for the reporter to be fired. Pastrnak also spoke out and refuted the report.

But, is this the players trying to get a handle on something? Or, was this reporter just making things up for clicks? Jimmy Murphy is a reporter out of Boston who isn’t so sure. He tweeted, “My take on the Marchand-Pastrnak report is that Marchand is telling the truth but that Keefe didn’t make this up out of thin air.” He added, “Someone with an agenda fed him that and that someone won’t face the heat that Keefe will. That being said, you need to triple check your sources.”

It will be intriguging to see how the Bruins respond. Will this unify the team and get them back on track? Or, will it do what a similar story in Vancouver did and create a bigger problem? The Canucks didn’t know how to handle reports of a rift between J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson and their season has taken a turn for the worse.

Next: Oilers Must Weigh Net Loss of Delaying Evander Kane’s Return