{"id":430227,"date":"2026-01-27T06:45:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T06:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/430227\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T06:45:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T06:45:23","slug":"nhl-rumors-malkin-injury-maple-leafs-selling-panarin-price-wallstedt-trade-the-hockey-writers-nhl-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/430227\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumors: Malkin Injury, Maple Leafs Selling, Panarin Price, Wallstedt Trade – The Hockey Writers – NHL Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

In today\u2019s NHL rumors rundown, the Pittsburgh Penguins breathed a sigh of relief after a scary Evgeni Malkin moment, the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to flirt with seller territory, the Minnesota Wild may be dangling a prized young goalie, and the New York Rangers have set a clear \u2014 and expensive \u2014 asking price for Artemi Panarin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Penguins Relieved After Scary Malkin Moment<\/p>\n

Evgeni Malkin caused a brief scare<\/a> on the Penguins bench after an odd-looking sequence where he appeared to injure his shoulder, immediately clutching it and collapsing in visible pain. Given Malkin\u2019s long history of shoulder issues, concern was understandable. However, Penguins head coach Dan Muse downplayed the situation after the game, stating there was \u201cnothing there,\u201d and the team later indicated Malkin was fine.<\/p>\n

Josh Yohe of The Athletic<\/a> also reports that Malkin appears to be OK, noting Pittsburgh believes Malkin avoided injury. That\u2019s significant for a Penguins team sitting near the top of the Eastern Conference standings and 8th in the NHL standings. Elliotte Friedman noted on Monday\u2019s 32 Thoughts podcast<\/a> that he doesn\u2019t see the Penguins selling with the way things are going this season. <\/p>\n

\"EvgeniPittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin celebrates a goal against the Nashville Predators in a Global Series ice hockey game at Avicii Arena (Per Haljestam-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Malkin has been outstanding this season, posting 40 points in 36 games while positioning himself for another contract discussion over the Olympic break. Any lingering injury could complicate both Pittsburgh\u2019s plans and potential trade interest, should conversations shift in that direction.<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs\u2019 Seller Talk Continues to Grow<\/p>\n

With Toronto\u2019s playoff picture becoming increasingly cloudy, league chatter suggests the Maple Leafs could approach the trade deadline as sellers \u2014 and not just with fringe pieces. Jonas Siegel of The Athletic reported:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 there seems to be growing momentum in the market to sell. Presumably, that would include some or all of the four pending free agents on the roster: Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, Calle J\u00e4rnkrok and Troy Stecher.\u201d<\/p>\n

source \u2013 \u2018Monday Morning Leafs Report: Is this season beyond salvaging?\u2019 \u2013 Jonas Siegel \u2013 The Athletic \u2013 01\/26\/2026<\/p>\n

McMann would likely draw the most interest, while Laughton still carries value despite Toronto unlikely recouping what it paid. Beyond that, names like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Simon Benoit, Brandon Carlo, and RFAs Nick Robertson and Matias Maccelli could be considered. <\/p>\n

Siegel even floated the idea that only Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Matthew Knies may be truly untouchable \u2014 and even that isn\u2019t guaranteed. <\/p>\n

Related: 2 Takeaways From the Maple Leafs\u2019 4-1 Loss to the Avalanche<\/a><\/p>\n

Speaking of Nylander, Chris Johnston reports<\/a> that the NHL is reviewing his recent on-camera gesture<\/a>, though he has since apologized, calling it a \u201cmoment of frustration.\u201d Whether discipline follows remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

Wild Could Dangle Jesper Wallstedt in Big Swing<\/p>\n

Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin has never shied away from bold moves, and according to Elliotte Friedman, the Wild may be willing to sacrifice one of their most valuable assets to land a true No. 1 center. <\/p>\n

On 32 Thoughts, Friedman suggested that highly touted goaltender Jesper Wallstedt<\/a> could be the piece Minnesota uses if the right opportunity presents itself.<\/p>\n

Wallstedt, 23, has posted strong numbers this season, including a .914 save percentage and four shutouts, and is under contract through next year. Trading him would signal a massive swing by the Wild, and it wouldn\u2019t be for a marginal upgrade. Names like Nazem Kadri or Brayden Schenn likely wouldn\u2019t justify that cost. Instead, a deal would need to involve a legitimate star center \u2014 the kind of move that may be more realistic in the offseason. <\/p>\n

The idea that the Wild would even consider trading a goalie with such a high ceiling suggests they want that superstar center badly. <\/p>\n

Panarin Price Set as NHL Reviews Nylander Incident<\/p>\n

The New York Rangers have reportedly set the Brock Nelson return as the baseline for any Artemi Panarin trade, per Friedman. That means teams would need to come close to a package including a first-round pick, a quality prospect, and additional assets. Panarin, a pending UFA, has been informed he won\u2019t receive an extension from the Rangers, though the team is willing to work with him on a destination.<\/p>\n

Panarin is believed to be seeking a long-term deal, potentially five years, with an AAV in the $10\u201312 million range. Teams like Anaheim, Washington, and Los Angeles have been linked as potential fits. Reports today are that he\u2019d prefer to be traded with an extension in place or immediately to follow versus being dealt as a rental and then testing free agency. <\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In today\u2019s NHL rumors rundown, the Pittsburgh Penguins breathed a sigh of relief after a scary Evgeni Malkin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430228,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[3039,3819,1495,5,795,20,5172,4,53158,66,31,5171],"class_list":{"0":"post-430227","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-artemi-panarin","9":"tag-bobby-mcmann","10":"tag-evgeni-malkin","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-jesper-wallstedt","13":"tag-maple-leafs","14":"tag-mapleleafs","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-scott-laughtom","17":"tag-toronto","18":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","19":"tag-torontomapleleafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115965718361105876","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}