NHL Rumors: Hellebuyck Trade Stalls, Plus Gauthier, Fantilli, & Ohgren Contract News – The Hockey Writers – Vancouver Canucks

In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Minnesota Wild have locked up head coach John Hynes with a contract extension, while the Detroit Red Wings officially named Shawn Horcoff interim GM. Is there any more executive or front-office news coming? Meanwhile, Anaheim Ducks and RFA Cutter Gauthier are working against a CBA-related deadline to get a deal done. The Vancouver Canucks also appear to be running out of time to sign Liam Ohgren, and the Columbus Blue Jackets are trying to sign Adam Fantilli. Finally, the Winnipeg Jets continue to struggle to find a suitable trade partner for Connor Hellebuyck.

John Hynes Gets Extension, Who Is Next?

John Hynes is no longer entering the season on the final year of his contract. The Minnesota Wild have extended their head coach. Like Hynes, Martin St. Louis was another recent example of a coach entering the final year of his deal before securing an extension. But who is next?

Pierre LeBrun reports that several other NHL head coaches remain in similar situations, including Joel Quenneville, Jared Bednar, Scott Arniel, Ryan Warsofsky and Rick Bowness. Andrew Brunette is another interesting case, with one season remaining and a team option for 2027-28.

Ducks and Cutter Gauthier Facing Contract Deadline

The Anaheim Ducks and restricted free agent Cutter Gauthier continue to work on a contract extension, and it sounds like progress is being made.

Pierre LeBrun reported that Tuesday is a critical day in the negotiations, with the Ducks having made a new offer Sunday. The two sides still had more work to do and were expected to meet again. LeBrun notes, “But if a deal doesn’t get done before the old CBA expires tonight, then there’s an issue because of how the front-loaded rules change in the new CBA. And the front-loaded money is an important part of the current discussion.”

In other words, Gauthier not only wants a high AAV, but he also wants much of the contract to come in signing bonuses and front-loaded money.

Canucks and Liam Ohgren Running Out of Time

The Vancouver Canucks also have a deadline approaching with RFA Liam Ohgren. According to Rick Dhaliwal, “Things can change with 1 phone call, but I was told this morning, very quiet between the Canucks and free agent Liam Ohgren in contract talks.”

That leaves the Canucks and Ohgren with a decision to make as the deadline approaches. If the two sides can’t find common ground, Vancouver could lose the opportunity to lock the young forward into a maximum-length eight-year deal. The silver lining here is that Ohgren is still seen as a bit of a wildcard and the Canucks might not want to lock into an eight-year deal.

Blue Jackets Working to Get Fantilli Signed?

Aaron Portzline of The Athletic writes, “Deals are getting done. Have to believe Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell and Adam Fantilli’s agent, Pat Brisson, will be hard at work today.” He notes that players report for physicals on Wednesday and take the ice on Thursday. “Nobody wants the 21-year-old No. 1 center to miss the start of camp.”

Hellebuyck Trade Talks Getting Ugly for Jets

The Winnipeg Jets continue to face a difficult situation with Connor Hellebuyck, and the market for the star goaltender doesn’t appear to be developing the way the team hoped.

TSN insider Darren Dreger reported that teams have been calling about the three-time Vezina Trophy winner, but the offers coming back to Winnipeg have been “terrible.” Dreger also believes Hellebuyck is unlikely to waive his no-trade clause for a destination that would keep him in Canada, further limiting Winnipeg’s options.

The Athletic’s Murat Ates suggested the lack of a strong market could be a reality check for Hellebuyck’s trade value, while also pointing out that the Jets may have hurt their own leverage by waiting beyond the draft and July 1.

Elliotte Friedman added that things have been very quiet, with Winnipeg unwilling to trade Hellebuyck for futures. The Jets still want to compete and don’t want to make their roster significantly worse. That could leave the situation unresolved into training camp — and potentially make an already complicated situation even more uncomfortable.

“Winnipeg has made it very clear that they are also not doing it for futures. They don’t want to make their team worse. Any trade they make for Hellebuyck or other trades around it, Winnipeg wants to compete.”