Today’s NHL rumors roundup is that the New York Rangers are struggling and the blame has begun. Who are the players who will be held responsible for this? Meanwhile, are the Minnesota Wild taking a close look at Kaapo Kakko? During Jeff Marek’s podcast, a strange story was mentioned about a trade being worked on in 2019 between the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Finally, what’s the latest on John Tavares contract negotiations and a possible return for Matt Murray?

Rangers players want to see changes in management

According to SDPN’s Steve Dangel, while blame has led to speculation about trades from New York, players are not happy. Interestingly, the problems do not lie with the head coach – with the possible exception of Kaapo Kakko. Instead, the player’s frustration is reportedly focused on general manager Chris Drury.

Dangle stated: “As far as I can tell, her relationship with Laviolette is fine.” He added that the players are upset because they like being Rangers, but they either want Drury to change his behavior or they want them gone are. Dangle pointed to Jacob Trouba’s comments about being fired as a rite of passage, saying he was not only entitled to it, but probably spoke for the room.

For the latest on Kaapo Kakko, Johnny Lazarus of Daily Faceoff tweeted: “On ESPN+ @emilymkaplan mentioned that Kaapo Kakko is getting a lot of attention from teams in the West, especially the Wild. I honestly think he would fit in perfectly there.”

Oilers and Lightning almost traded Draisaitl for Kucherov?

According to Jeff Marek, the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning talked about a blockbuster trade this summer back in 2019. With Leon Draisaitl and Nikita Kucherov, two of the biggest names in ice hockey would have been there.

He explained:

“This year there were talks – and I have had this confirmed – there were talks between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Edmonton Oilers and the two primaries changed: Nikita Kucherov for Leon Draisatil. That was the conversation… I’m not sure how close they were. I think maybe Edmonton wanted Anthony Cirelli as well, and then things kind of went like, “Well, that’s not going to happen.” It’s not like they weren’t thinking about massive changes, because that was the conversation between those two teams.”

Looking back at this potential deal five years later is crazy. The structure of both teams would have changed dramatically if the trade had gone through.

Latest news on Tavares and Maple Leafs and contract comparisons

The Toronto Maple Leafs are actively in discussions with John Tavares regarding a contract extension as the veteran center nears the end of his seven-year, $77 million contract. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the discussion involved contracts such as Anze Kopitar’s two-year, $7 million AAV deal with the Los Angeles Kings and Claude Giroux’s three-year, $6.5 million AAV deal with the Los Angeles Kings Ottawa Senators.

Interestingly, Steven Stamkos’ four-year, $8 million AAV contract with the Nashville Predators was not brought up by the Tavares camp. Dreger suggests Tavares is likely looking for a lower number than Stamkos if he stays with Toronto.

For the Leafs, an extension closer to Giroux’s structure would be ideal, especially given the team’s strict salary cap constraints. However, the final number could be affected by the NHL’s planned cap increase for next season.

TSN’s Chris Johnston also provided an update on the Maple Leafs, noting: “Assuming everything goes well, I think everything is now in place for (Matt) Murray to get a chance to return to the NHL after more than a year .” away.”