NHL Rumours: Buium’s Extension, Leafs’ Tanev Healthy & RFA Holdouts – The Hockey Writers – NHL Rumors

In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we start off by looking at the giant extension the Vancouver Canucks gave to Zeev Buium and the long-term bet they made. Next, veteran defenseman Chris Tanev is hoping to start training camp fully healthy, but the Toronto Maple Leafs’ medical staff still needs to sign off on it.

Finally, with seven remaining unrestricted free agents, will we see any holdouts through training camps and the start of the season?

Buium Gets Massive 8-Year Deal From Canucks

There was some talk that the Canucks were looking to get a deal done with Buium ahead of the Sept. 15 deadline for signing an eight-year contract. With defensemen like Cale Makar and Bowen Byram getting huge pay increases, the market for defensemen has continued to rise.

Buium will earn an average annual value of $9.38 million across the next eight years, and while it is bound to change soon, he is currently slotted as the 11th-highest-paid defenseman in the league for next season.

Is he worth that? Absolutely not. Not yet, at least. The new shape of the NHL’s salary cap, with the dramatic increases year-over-year, is putting teams in a position to lock young players into long-term deals that will look like an overpay at the start and will become a much more reasonable deal as the deal ages.

Buium, one of the primary pieces in the Quinn Hughes trade, was selected 12th overall in 2022 and just had his first professional season, scoring 26 points in 76 games.

There is a lot to believe in with Buium. He looks to be on a trajectory of becoming a top-pair offensive defenseman, and the Canucks were willing to make that bet.

Tanev, Leafs Hoping for Healthy Start to Season

After dealing with a number of significant injuries last season, Tanev is looking to start the year off on the right foot, stay healthy, and help the Maple Leafs get back to the playoffs.

After dealing with upper-body injuries, a groin injury, and a season-ending core muscle surgery, his 11 games mark the lowest total of his career.

Tanev plays a tough game and blocks lots of shots, which has resulted in a lot of missed time over his career, but nothing to this extent. As Tanev approaches his 37th birthday this winter, the questions regarding his durability and availability will come into play.

When he is at his best, Tanev is one of the league’s best shutdown players. He is signed for four more seasons at $4.5 million and could be a big piece of the Maple Leafs’ evolved defense group with the additions of Darren Raddysh and Emil Andrae.

Tanev spoke with the Toronto Star, stating, “We still have to check some boxes with the doctors…but the plan is for me to be out there day one of camp.” (from Maple Leafs defenceman Chris Tanev waiting for clearance from doctors, anxious to put ‘slow rehab’ behind him, Toronto Star, Sept. 4, 2026)

7 RFA’s Remain, Will Any Hold Out?

Restricted free agents have been the biggest story of this offseason, most notably the offer sheets and massive deals they have been signing.

Cutter Gauthier is looking for a huge deal and reportedly turned down a four-year deal with a $13 million salary. Where does that leave negotiations now? Well, Gauthier is still looking for more money, and with Leo Carlsson getting $18 million, his number is likely close to that.

The Athletic’s Eric Stephens wrote, “There’s motivation for both sides to get a deal done, and the fact that communication continues…is a positive sign.” (from Connor Hellebuyck, Quinn Hughes, Dylan Larkin anchor NHL’s 5 biggest unanswered questions, The Athletic, Sept. 3, 2026)

In the same article Stephens commented in, Aaron Portzline commented on Fantilli, another RFA, writing, “I suspect something gets done later this week or early next…My guess? Five years at $13.5 million a season.”

It doesn’t sound like either situation will end in a holdout, but anything is possible.

In terms of other RFA’s, Simon Edvinsson and the Detroit Red Wings are waiting for a new general manager to be hired to negotiate that deal, and it shouldn’t be too difficult to get done.

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin is also unsigned and reportedly looking for more than $8 million. The Hurricanes have the cap space to get him signed, but have also been dangling him in the trade market.

Some other RFA’s and Montreal Canadiens players Arber Xhekaj and Zachary Bolduc. Xhekaj has been in trade talks this summer, but if the Canadiens opt to keep him in the mix, a new deal shouldn’t be too difficult. For Bolduc, they could look to go short-term or try to find a mid- to long-term deal that makes sense for both sides.

Finally, Brennan Othmann remains unsigned with the Calgary Flames, and his deal will likely be a short-term, low-cost deal.