In today’s NHL rumors rundown, a couple of veteran forwards are calling it a career after this season. One retired on Wednesday night. The other is shutting it down whenever the Avalanche’s playoff run ends. Meanwhile, not retiring is Steven Stamkos. But, will he play his final seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning? Finally, Marc-Andre Fleury re-signed with the Minnesota Wild but also confirmed the 2024-25 season will be his last.
Jeff Carter Retiring
Jeff Carter has decided to call it a career and retire from the NHL. Carter, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, cited family reasons for his decision, thanking his family for letting him live out a dream. When asked what his plans are now, he responded, “I’m going to be home and be a dad and then figure it out from there.”
Carter does intend to keep his family in the Pittsburgh area.
Zach Parise to Retire Following Season
He doesn’t want to make a big deal of it, but Colorado Avalanche forward Zach Parise confirmed that tonight’s game with the Avs will be the last regular-season game of his career. Corey Masisak of the Denver Post was covering the story and wrote:
Parise didn’t come back to play with the Avs to pad his regular-season resume. He’s here because there’s one big thing missing: a Stanley Cup championship. He got close with the Devils in 2012, losing to the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final. The Avs have a lot of players who won the Cup in 2022. Colton won with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021. Jared Bednar said recently that helping Parise get his first is one of the reasons he wants to win again this season.
source – ‘As the Stanley Cup Playoffs beckon, Zach Parise is ready for his last dance’ – Corey Masisak – Denver Post – 04/17/2024
Is Stamkos Staying in Tampa?
During a spot on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Morning, Elliotte Friedman was asked what he’s heard about the situation in Tampa Bay as it pertains to Steven Stamkos. He noted, “Well, I always assume that he wants to stay, and I think they’re under the assumption that Steven Stamkos’s choice is to stay a member of the Lightning.” He added that he doesn’t have any reason to believe that that has changed.
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Friedman believes the Lightning have been leveraging Stamkos’ loyalty and will continue to do so. He noted:
And I don’t remember last time, you know, Stamkos still got a big deal. But it wasn’t as big as he could have got on the open market. And the Lightning knew that he wanted to be there and they can say look, this is our number. If you want to be here, this is our number, and he took it, and unntil again, I’m told differently, things are indicated differently then I’m under the impression that that’s going to be the case here in Tampa too.
source: transcript nhlrumors.com
The Lightning know he wants to stay and they’re gambling he’ll take an offer below market value.
Marc-Andre Fleury Likely to Be Trade Candidate Next Season
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury signed a one-year extension with the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday and said in his address to the fans that the 2024-25 campaign will be his last in the NHL. The deal is a one-year contract worth $2.5 million. He’ll share duties in net with Filip Gustavsson and it’s unknown if he’ll be open to a trade at the deadline next season, should there be an opportunity to go to a contender.
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He signed a deal with a full no-move clause, but the expectation is that there will be a ton of chatter about trade possibilities at next season’s trade deadline.
