NHL Rumors: St. Louis Blues, and the Chicago Blackhawks
11/15/2024 11:15 AM
Will Jordan Binnington eventually be interested in playing elsewhere?
James Murphy of RG.org: The St. Louis Blues are going through a roster reset this year. They are hovering below the playoff line, and if they continue to fall further behind heading into the American Thanksgiving, trade chatter could pick up, especially around goaltender Jordon Binnington.
One scout wondered if Binnington would eventually as for a trade, and a former Blues executive thinks he may want another run at the Cup and there are contending teams that could use him.
Binnington has two years left at a $6 million cap hit.
The Carolina Hurricanes currently have two injured goalies, Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov, and could be one of teams that might show some interest.
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The Chicago Blackhawks need to minimize contract mistakes and could look to spend on a top winger in free agency
Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times: The Chicago Blackhawks lowered Andreas Athanasiou‘s cap hit to $3.1 million from $4.25. With $5.8 million in cap space right now, it doesn’t make much of difference for the Blackhawks. He’s a pending UFA.
Defenseman T.J. Brodie has two years left at $3.75 million and has fallen out of favor.
Sure, GM Kyle Davidson will likely make some other ill-advised signings in the future, but they need to be minimized.
As they build to be Stanley Cup contenders, they need the cap flexibility and not overpay players who are not producing.
Scott Powers of The Athletic: Looking ahead to next season, the Chicago Blackhawks will have some salary cap space and a potential opening on the left side of Connor Bedard (with Lukas Reichel penciled in on the right side). They do have to keep in mind that Bedard and a few others will need extensions for 2026-27, but they could spend on a winger.
Three big named pending UFAs that might be available include Mikko Rantanen, Mitch Marner and Nikolaj Ehlers.
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Ehlers wouldn’t cost close to what Rantanen and Marner would be after, and he can play on the left side. Rantanen and Marner play on the right side.
