Oilers, Canadiens, Coyotes, Hurricanes, Devils

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox offers up some speculation on a few key pending RFAs. Meanwhile, Arizona Coyotes’ GM Bill Armstrong provided some insight on how difficult it was to get good value for Jakob Chychrun at the trade deadline. Andrei Svechnikov suffered a serious injury and finally, what will it take to get a Timo Meier extension done in New Jersey?

Oilers Likely to Offer Bridge Deal to Bouchard

Evan Bouchard has made the most out of an increased role on the power play with the Oilers since the trade deadline and that could affect how much of a priority the team places on getting his extension done. His game had slipped some to start the season but the arrival of Mattias Ekholm has upped his confidence and he’s stepped up in a big way.

Still, Fox writes, “GM Ken Holland holds the hammer in this one. Dangling the performance incentive that comes with a bridge contract will be the safest route, considering the Oilers’ tight cap situation in 2023-24.”

Canadiens Likely to Long-Term With Caufield

Fox also writes, “The bet here is that Montreal will jump to go long-term with [Cole] Caufield, the way it did with [Nick] Suzuki and the way Buffalo is handing its emerging stars. He adds, that team president Jeff Gorton said in late November: “Don’t worry about it. Cole’s going to be here.”

Caufield made comments previously that the fact a contract hasn’t been finalized had crept into his head a little, but he loves it in Montreal and likes the group of guys he’s playing with.

Chychrun Trade Was More Difficult Than Expected

Andy Strickland had Coyotes’ GM Bill Armstrong on his Cam and Strick podcast and said the Coyotes didn’t drag out a Chychrun trade. He noted the team simply didn’t get value offers for the player based on his injury history and terrible plus/minus -20 rating from the season prior.