NHL Rumors: Nathan MacKinnon, P.K. Subban, and Devils went hard for Matthew Tkachuk

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Nathan MacKinnon is entering the final year of his contract with the Colorado Avalanche. After leading them to the Stanley Cup with 13 goals and 24 points in 20 playoff games, he’s going to break the proverbial bank soon.

The 27 year-old recorded 88 points in 65 regular season games and has a career total of 648 points since being drafted by the Avs first overall in 2013.

NHL Rumors: Nathan MacKinnon and Avs close

MacKinnon is currenlty in Vegas with some other players doing media for the upcoming season. That’s where he provided an update on his contract talks.

“We’re pretty close,” MacKinnon said Thursday at the NHL/NHLPA player media tour outside Las Vegas. “I’d prefer it to be done. … It gets emotional. You feel like it’s personal sometimes. I’d like to get it done just so it’s not a distraction at all.”

NBC Sports

So what will MacKinnon get paid? You can start somewhere along the lines of in between Connor McDavid ($12.5M) and Auston Matthews ($11.6).

P.K. Subban still looking

nhl rumors p.k. subban
Oct 1, 2021; Newark, New Jersey, USA; New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban (76) celebrates his goal during the first period of their game against the New York Rangers at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Not too long ago, the name P.K. Subban was involved with Norris Trophy talk before the start of every season. At this point, he’s the last high-profile free agent without a home.

Subban, 22, notched 22 points in 77 games last season and no longer has the skating legs he used to have. However, he can still shoot the puck with the best of them and run a power play.

Back in July, his agent said that teams were interested but struggling to make cap room to fit him in. With training camps set to open, most remaining free agents are signing PTO’s hoping to earn a contract in training camp.

The latest on Subban appears to have him weighing his options. Could a PTO be one of them? We should find out over the next week.

Devils went hard for Matthew Tkachuk

matthew tkachuk
Apr 21, 2022; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) shows his puck from his 100th point and 40th goal of the season after the game against the Dallas Stars at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

What a tough summer it was for the New Jersey Devils who missed out on free agent Johnny Gaudreau to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

According to Pierre LeBrun’s latest, they went hard after Matthew Tkachuk. Unfortunately for them, Tkachuk did not have them on his list of teams he would sign with. Burned again!

The Devils had a number of discussions with the Flames about it. But in the end, as I reported in my Flames offseason piece this past week, Calgary was given a specific list of teams by Newport Sports to which Tkachuk would agree to a sign-and-trade.

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