NHL Trade Rumours – Habs & Bruins Trade? McDavid Future? & Marner Family Safety Key in Leaving Leafs

NHL Trade Rumours – Habs & Bruins Trade? McDavid Future? & Marner Family Safety Key in Leaving Leafs

We have lots to discuss here in today’s video, including some trade talk around the Montreal Canadians and her number two center hole that they’re looking to fill. Plus, we have a big update as well on Conor McDavid’s contract situation, Luke Hughes’s contract situation, uh injury updates on guys like uh Zack Heyman and Matthew Kachchuck. And a very interesting interview between TSN and Mitch Mner regarding what led to his departure, what involved his his decision to leave the Maple Leafs, and how did things unfold near the end of his time in Toronto. We’ll discuss all that and more coming up next. So, welcome back to another video here at TopShelf Hockey. As I mentioned, we have a lot to discuss here in today’s video. Before we jump into a lot of the news, just want to acknowledge that today, August the 29th, is the 1year anniversary of the very tragic and unfortunate events that took place this time last year, which unfortunately led to the tragedy involving Matthew and Johnny Gdro. So obviously it was an incredibly uh sad and shocking day this time last year. It’s hard to believe it’s already been one year since that uh unfortunate event took place and those two players were taken from us uh so early in their lives, but uh the year has certainly flown by. Uh I’m sure it’s a very tough day in the Gadro household. Um yeah, just a really really tough day. obviously thinking about um you know last year when this went down. Uh I remember how the rumors kind of started online about an accident and some speculation and you know obviously not until the next day that we finally got official confirmation around uh what actually happened and um you know all the the rumors ended up unfortunately being true. Um today, uh the NHL as a league and the Columbus Blue Jackets as a team each both made significant donations uh to the new John and Matthew Gajurro Foundation. Um they made donations in each their names with um an amount of money that signifies their their hockey jersey number. So 21,000 each from each entity to honor Matthew Gdro and 13,000 each to honor Johnny Gadro. So obviously that’s um you know significant amount of money to go to the new foundation and I’m sure they’ll do great things with that. But yeah, one year anniversary thinking of the Gadro brothers and the Gadro family again I’m sure what I’m sure is a very very tough day in their household. Uh onto some other updates around the NHL. We’ve got word today that connects forward Kefir Sherwood has changed agents. Uh he’s now going to be repped by Rich Evans and Jed Moldver was hockey. Um, so obviously she Sherwood’s going to be needing a new contract soon. Um, so that’ll determine uh usually why we see these things raised when their new contract typically is going to be coming up here. So we know that the Canucks and Sherwood I think are pretty good fit. We’ll see how things go and what kind of impact that’ll have on his next contract. Uh Matthew Kachchuck, according to Dave Pangyota, we’ve heard different reports, but he’s saying from what he’s told, um the timeline on him, barring no setbacks, would be January. Now, that doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room um to make sure that he’s good to go and healthy for the Olympics in February. Now, like I said, when he revealed what happened uh when he got hurt at the Four Nations, essentially the adductor muscle torn right off the bone. It’s a pretty significant surgery. I know he kind of downplayed it. Obviously, he wants to play through a lot of discomfort and pain, but obviously it’s a is a pretty significant injury. Um, you know, we had heard before January might be um the approximate timeline, but we never really heard that, you know, that that’s like a best case scenario. It kind of sound to me before I was under the impression it could be sooner that might be more like January if they, you know, take their time and make sure he’s good and healthy. But um if January is like the the best case scenario if there are any setbacks, you have to wonder if uh you know that’s going to impact his Olympic availability. I mean I’m sure that he’ll do everything in his power not to miss that tournament. I’m sure he will not want to for anything in the world. Um but obviously some things are beyond people’s control. But yeah, that’s the return on Matthew Kachchuck. So, fair to say, you know, October, November, December, uh, he’s going to miss three, you know, between three and four months of the regular season, which could be a big impact for the Florida Panthers to start the year. I mean, look at where they finished in the standings this past year. They were in third place, but they were only one point up in Ottawa, uh, who was a wild card team. You know, you got to wonder, I don’t think it really matters too much for the Panthers. They get into the playoffs, they’re going to be a dangerous team. We know that with what we’ve seen the past couple years. I don’t care if they squeak in on in the last days wild card number two, nobody’s going to want to play them first round ideally. So, um they’re still going to be a team to be reckoned with, but I do wonder if uh you know this significant injury of his if it could uh where they finish in the standings and maybe they’ll be a little bit lower this year. I can’t see them being out of the playoffs of course, but maybe will they not could they maybe not be a top three team and finish a little lower? Wonder how things will play out. Only time will tell. Now, on the Luke Hughes front, uh we’ve heard a variety of things over the course of the offseason, but for for the most part, there hasn’t been a ton of speculation around what’s going on between Luke Hughes and the New Jersey Devils. Uh now, the latest intel comes from Ryan Novazinski of NJ.com reporting that the Devils prefer a short bridge deal. So, probably in that three-year range or they want to go eight years. They don’t really want to go in between. They either want the max term or a shorter bridge. Whereas Lucio’s apparently prefers the in between so that his contract expiration can match that of his brother Jack and it can both be UFA at the same time which would be in 2030. So he’s obviously at this point uh you know we’re in 2025 you we’re looking at 5 years. So, we’ve heard lots about the the Hughes brothers wanting to play together. Uh I most people kind of speculated and assume that’s going to if it’s going to happen, it would happen in New Jersey, but you just never know, I guess, right? I mean, if Quinn does decide to stay in Vancouver. Um obviously Luke and uh Jack both in New Jersey, there doesn’t sound like they’re in any kind of hurry to get out of there. Now, I know they have a good relationship with GM Fitzgerald as well, but you know, there’s no guarantee he’s even going to be the GM at that point. So, they got to do what’s best for them obviously, but you know, interesting to see that intel on Luke Hughes. Uh, I do wonder if at at some point in time, you know, be curious to see cuz Quinn is a couple years away from his contract. Uh, so we this in another year we’ll be hearing about his future. You know, would they try to all line them up to become free agents at the same time? I kind of that would be a very big storyline. I’m not saying it’s going to happen. I have no intel or resources to say it’s something they want to make happen, but it’s just a very interesting thought that uh see what happens and see what happens here. If the Luke Hughes gets his way and gets the term he wants to line up with Jack, then we’ll see how things go with Quinn afterwards. Now, Zack Heyman, the Edmonton Oilers also speaking at the Team Canada Olympic camp. Uh we know he obviously had suffered an injury in the playoffs and was out for the rest of the of the playoff return there. obviously trying to get the Stanley Cup and you know the Himman injury certainly played another role in you know weakening the Oilers going into the Stanley Cup final there. Um but he did say that it’s not a guarantee that he’s ready to start the season. It is possible that he might not be quite ready to go on time. Um he did say that um that he was you know on the right track he said but he when they said if he was going to be ready to start the season he said I don’t know. So again, another question mark for the Oilers. Now the bigger and biggest question of all with Ebon, of course, is the contract and lack thereof of an extension right now around the best player in the world, Connor McDavid. Now, John Shannon on his new podcast today was saying there’s a good chance he feels that McDavid will go into the season without signing an extension. And at this point, because we had heard speculation before that once this uh Olympic camp was wrapped up that they were hoping to be able to have a deal in place and announce a McDavid extension and right now it sounds like they haven’t even began the negotiations at all. Like there’s been nothing. Uh McDavid doesn’t appear ready to even start things yet. And according to Shannon, there’s at least a few people in the Oilers front office that are holding their breath and definitely have concerns. So, that is a big deal. I mean, if McDavid does not sign before the season starts, I know he’s already said he doesn’t want it to be a distraction, but it’s going to it’s going to be uh it’s going to be talked about a lot and it’s going to be a story that a lot of people keep following. It makes you wonder. Um, you know, we don’t really have any intel to suggest that McDavid will walk himself to free agency. I’d be shocked to be completely honest if that happened. But at the same time, you know, people are starting to wonder and be concerned the longer this drags out and it’s going to be an interesting story to follow for sure. Now, another interesting story, which even though he’s technically not a leaf anymore, Mitch Marner is still going about his business the same way he did during his entire Maple Leaf career, conducting an interview at the Olympic camp with TSN’s Mark Masters. um talking about kind of what led to his decision to uh to leave Toronto and to sign in Vegas. Uh obviously, you know, through the the sign-in trade and uh just kind of talking about how things ended there. Uh some of the interesting comments they one of the first things the interview kicks off with was, you know, what was the toughest phone call or the toughest, you know, conversations you had to have around letting people know that what was going to happen and that you were leaving? He said the toughest one was probably Austin Matthews. He said uh he was hoping to have a sit down with Austin after the season ended, but Austin had to get back to Arizona pretty quickly after they were done. So like, okay, well that kind of again another piece of information to suggest your mind was already made up in my opinion. Like you know, think about when they ended their season and when the trade and when the decisions were officially made. there’s some time there. So, if you’re looking to talk to Awesome when the season’s over, yeah, I think you already got your mind made up. Um, you know, obviously he also mentions, you know, talking to some of his other teammates like, uh, Morgan Riley, John Tiveres, um, does mention Willie Nelander at the end of it and how they all kind of, you know, most of those guys kind of grew up together and came into the league together, especially him, Austin, and Willie. And, you know, it was tough. um it’s part of the business that sucks but it’s you know it’s just that’s just that it’s the business side of sports. Um talks again about when he’s asked about his decision he said that you know it was a tough decision ultimately had to do what’s best for family. Um, and then he goes on to talk about how after the uh the loss to the Florida Panthers, he said when they, you know, they lost and, you know, the most um unenjoyable way possible, he says, you know, not long after getting home, he gets a call from his father-in-law advising there’s there people are sending him screenshots of what’s being sent there on social media that some people are sharing Mitch’s address online as a screenshot and saying if you want to go say your goodbyes to Mitch because it’s likely his last game in Toronto here’s where he lives. So obviously people legit knew where he lived. Obviously if the address wasn’t accurate they wouldn’t have been concerned but clearly you know that was something that was quite concerning to him. Um he says they had to have you know security um you know for a couple of weeks after the playoffs ended. didn’t feel comfortable walking his dog, didn’t feel comfortable taking his kid for a walk in the stroller, you know, never know if anybody was ever going to randomly show up at the house. Like, it just kind of sounds like from a security standpoint that he was extremely stressed and uncomfortable. Uh mentions they did mention as well that there was some death threats as well. And he says, you know, at the end of the day, he understands Leaf Nation. He’s been a big part of it. Has grew up there his whole life. So, you know, obviously been through it as a as a kid, as a fan, as a player, but you know, those types of things are not acceptable. And I totally agree. They are not acceptable and they shouldn’t be happening there. Unfortunately, I think probably fair to say that every fan base has their lunatics. Every fan base has their idiots that’ll go too far and track people down, players down on social media, send hateful messages, um, you know, send death threats, send stupid stuff that should never happen. um when you know they don’t they’re going way too far and and not really being appropriate at all. So, if any of that stuff is true, then yeah, I I can understand how it would be stressful and I can understand why he may think about getting out of dodge. But at the same time, you know, you have to wonder at the same time, he’s already gone from the Leafs, right? Like, you know, it’s it’s been a while since July has come and gone since the trade went down. He signed the contract, went to Vegas, uh he’s already been introduced there. Like, you know, like he’s been out of Toronto as a leaf for a couple months now. Why even do this interview? You know, just to me, it’s him taking one last shot at the fan base and basically blaming them and kind of driving him out of town, so to speak. Like ultimately Mitch Barner is um never taking accountability which is a to me the one thing that drove me crazy about Mitch’s time in Toronto was that you never heard him really say I need to be better. I didn’t play good enough. I let the team down. I I I there was never anything about I and being better and taking accountability. That was the biggest thing I’ve ever always noticed with him. It’s always somebody else, you know, and I I think that’s a big part of the reason why the fans got on them the way they did. Like I said, going too far is never acceptable. I don’t care what a player does, how they play, what they say. None of those things are ever acceptable to cross the line and and want to threaten somebody. But ultimately, like if I’m Mner, I, you know, I just don’t understand why you would even do this interview. Now, his his agent when I was on was on a podcast recently and making some of the comments as well about some of the stuff and some of the questions were kind of following up on what Darren Ferris had to say. But still, like I don’t know, he just kind of cemented his legacy and made I think made the fans kind of hate him even more to be completely honest. Like I just I just thought this interview was completely a waste of time. It was one more opportunity for the Mner group to be and I say group because there’s a lot of people in his ear from what we’ve heard from his family and uh it’s just like you couldn’t take accountability. You couldn’t just say never, you know, I love playing here, never got the job done. No, no, it’s somebody else. It’s the fans fault. The fans are why I’m not here anymore. It’s just another lack of accountability by Mitch Mner. And uh he’s he’s going to have a lot less pressure in that sense in Vegas. Uh it probably is a better fit. He can’t take the heat. Get out of the kitchen. He get out of the kitchen and we’ll see how things go and and maybe he’ll play better. Who knows? Maybe the pressure won’t get to him the playoffs like it did in Toronto given the you know how everything is is runs different market. But I don’t know can just I just thought that interview was a complete waste and completely unnecessary and just kind of ruined his image even more than what he had already had by how he acted throughout his time as a leaf. But that that’s me. Let me know what you think in the comments. Now, the other topic I want to touch on here as well is some uh some according to Travis Yoast, uh who was on the podcast talking to Tony Marinero on the Montreal Canadiens, looking at some more options for the Montreal Canadians number two center spot. And he made some interesting um observations for some names he thought would be good fit. some of which doesn’t think will be super expensive kind of under the radar type of guys that they could probably get for a cheaper price tag and probably be a really good fit and make the team better. Does mention one name who we think is the best option and that he still thinks that you know would have been the best move but ultimately didn’t happen but he mentions Pavle Zaka and the Boston Bruins organization. Uh we’ve we’ve mentioned before about Montreal Boston, whether it be Zach or Middlestat might be good options for that spot. Uh obviously Zaka is a player that’s I think the Bruins have a variety of players available. We know they’re likely a lot of people are writing them off to not be very good this year and that they could continue kind of selling some veterans off and kind of retooling that team. Uh you don’t often see trades amongst those two teams, but they’re kind of trending in different directions right now, so maybe it makes sense. He also mentions Charlie Coyle, a former Bruin now in Columbus. Um, you know, he’s bounced around a little bit here lately, but somebody who can um, you know, play in the middle part of your lineup, good veteran guy, somebody they would have seen a lot, played against a lot over the years as well. Um, me is Jason Dickinson out of Chicago, which I’m not really sure, but he mentioned him more as a um, as a third line center. So, like, you know, still another veteran who could probably had to make the center depth better, but not necessarily filling the number two spot. Um, but he also says the best option he thinks would have been Marco Rossi out of Minnesota. He thought Rossi would have been a great fit for Montreal. And obviously, um, you know, he ended up signing in Minnesota, but still, just because he signed, a lot of people are still not convinced that he’s going to finish that contract in Minnesota and be a long-term member of the Wild. uh would not be shocking at all if he is moved sometime either be this year or next year like sometime before the three years are up. Um but it’s going to boil down to what the offers are too. Uh the Minnesota Wild we know with Rossi wanted a more of a hockey trade and wanted something back. They didn’t really want futures. Montreal has all kinds of interesting futures but you know I’m not sure what they would give them as a you know immediate asset to complaint help them right away. So, we’ll see. Maybe they had a hard time. I’m not sure how much they looked into it, but Rossi would be in many ways a good fit. I said before, I like the player. I just don’t know that you might want a center with a little bit more size given like, you know, Suzuki is not overly big. You got Jake Evans who’s not overly big. Like, you could use a little bit more beef, if you will, down the middle. And Doc is the right size. Like, you know, if if Doc worked out, he’d be perfect to be honest. And maybe that’ll still happen. We’ll have to wait and see. But Rossy’s smaller stature certainly, you know, could be problematic come playoff time. That would be my concern. But he’s a heck of a player, very talented, and for the short-term at least could make them better. But again, whether it be Zaka, Coyle, Rossy, let me know what you think for some of these options in the comments. We’ll discuss further. If you’re new to the channel, make sure you subscribe and stick around. We’ll keep you up to date with the latest news, rumors, and analysis of all 32 NHL teams. Thanks for watching. I’ll catch you next time. [Music]

NHL Trade Rumours – Habs & Bruins Trade? McDavid Future? & Marner Family Safety Key in Leaving Leafs
Montreal Canadiens Trade Rumours
Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro
0:30 1 year Anniversary
2:30 Sherwood Agent Change
3:00 Matthew Tkachuk Recovery
5:00 Luke Hughes Contract Update
7:10 Hyman Injury Updates
7:50 McDavid Future Uncertain
9:20 Marner Family Safety Part of Reason he Left
16:15 Habs Trade Targets

Stay tuned to Top Shelf Hockey for all the latest NHL Trade Rumours 2024, NHL Trade Rumors, NHL Trade Talk, NHL Rumours, NHL Free Agents 2024 and NHL News.

Top Shelf Hockey Sponsors and Affiliate Links:
Ekster Smart Wallets: https://ekster.com?sca_ref=843305.Mq1aDswV54

TSH YouTube Membership Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJC4kuBvrghSABumDSwl80A/join

TSH Merch Store: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/top-shelf-hockey
Join TSH on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/topshelfhockey
TSH Amazon Influencer Page: https://www.amazon.ca/shop/topshelfhockey?isVisitor=true

Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/topshelfhkyvids
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/topshelfhockeyvideos
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/topshelfhockeyvideos

Thanks to the following Channel Members or Super Thanks Donations for their support:
Robert Dufour
Teddy Robinson
Jerard Fagerberg
Jesse Arnold
SJSTerritory🦈
Harris Skelliter
Mark Allred
Alex
Paul Auger
Andy H
Ryan B
Dan Ortiz
Kevin Shea
Subscribe here:
https://www.youtube.com/topshelfhockey

Music used in this video:
“Echoes” Available in YouTube Audio Library
“Muriel” by Bobby Richards Available in YouTube Audio Library
Video Thumbnail created with https://www.canva.com