NHL Rumors: New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Vancouver Canucks

Injuries forcing the New York Islanders to look at the defenseman market

Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on Saturday Headline on the New York Islanders now looking for defensemen.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

“Ron, this time of year, there’s not usually a lot of moves, but there is a lot of talk, and we’ll see if it develops into anything.

Just a few things that we’re keeping an eye on right now. Recently, it was Utah looking for D with their injuries. They did find Olli Maatta.

Now we’re starting to wonder about the Islanders and their injuries. It is believed the Islands are at least looking around. They have three defensemen out Adam Pelech, unfortunately, for quite a bit of time, four to six weeks, they said. Still, also more day-to-day for Mike Reilly and Alexander Romanov.

But they are at least sniffing around to see what’s out there. All three of them are left-hand shots.

NHL Injuries: Red Wings, Islanders, Penguins, Blues, Canucks, and Capitals

The Toronto Maple Leafs have let teams know Matt Benning is available

Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on Saturday Headline on the Toronto Maple Leafs trying do right for defenseman Matt Benning and have let teams know he’s available.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

“In Toronto. Of course, the Maple Leafs have two players, Jani Hakanpaa and Connor Dewar, beginning conditioning stints . Dewar has scored, and the Marlies (AHL) don’t have a game for another week, so it does allow them a bit of time here.

But everybody knows they made one move this week. They have roster crunches they’re going to have to deal with when everybody gets healthy.

They acquired Matt Benning in the deal with San Jose, and they have let it be known that they want to do right by Benning. You know, he’s a guy who is an NHL player. He’s more than capable of playing on a roster. And you know, he just flew all the way across country to meet the team, and went with them to St Louis. And they are trying to do what’s best for him. Teams know he’s available out there, and we’ll see how that one plays out.

NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens, and the Boston Bruins

The Vancouver Canucks put Nils Aman on waivers opening up a roster spot for …

Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on Saturday Headline on the Toronto Maple Leafs trying do right for defenseman Matt Benning and have let teams know he’s available.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

“In Vancouver, the Canucks put Nils Aman on waivers today. I think everybody realizes here there is a possibility he gets claimed. Centers are hard to find.

Now we wonder if that means that Dakota Joshua is close to returning, which would be great news for Joshua and the Canucks.

But there also is a belief that Vancouver is prepared to give some looks to some of their younger players at AHL Abbottsford have been playing well. And if you watch them, you’ve seen guys like Atu Raty and their 2022 first-rounder, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, who (Kevin) Bieksa saw this week and liked, have played very well. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if either of those players are on the Canucks radar.