Major changes coming to two Canadian teams?

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Ryan Hall
June 5, 2023 (11:25 PM)

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It appears, that two NHL franchises are having serious questions regarding the status of some of their key free agents and star players.

Both these teams depend on these two players as part of the main core of their team and both could be leaving for different reasons.

Since many of the Winnipeg Jets' core players have made waves over the past season, they consider looking elsewhere. The Jets goaltender Connor Hellebucyk has been mentioned in several trade rumours in recent weeks, and teams are lining up to ask general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff about his availability.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were rumoured recently to be looking at Hellebucyk. They are trying to figure out what their goaltending situation will look like next season.

Most Leafs fans figured that the Leafs would sign Ilya Samsonov to a new deal as he had played excellent all season last year and had a great first round until his injury cut him down in the second round.

Acquiring Hellebucyk who has one year left on his deal is a tempting idea however it will cost Toronto assets that they may not want to part especially when they can wait one more season and just pick him up for money.

The other team that's having trouble is the Ottawa Senators. Currently, in a mired sale for the team, it appears to be going nowhere and spinning out of control. This has caused issues for the general manager Pierre Dorion.

Alex Debrincat was moved from the Chicago Blackhawks last year and appears to be interested in leaving the team and going elsewhere. This has led Dorion to look at the possibility of trading Debrincat to recoup any assets he can.

Debrincat holds a $10 million qualifier to his name with new ownership still up in the air he may have to trade him at the draft to save some assets.

This will be one of the most interesting drafts in recent memory. Trades will be paramount with so many teams hemmed to the cap.