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Columbus Blue Jackets GM won’t make trades to try and help save their season
TSN: Things are not going well in Columbus these days, and don’t expect Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen to make a bunch of moves to try and salvage the season.
“But the reality is, this isn’t going to fuel GM Jarmo Kekalainen to go out and make a bunch of trades to try and get the team out of the bottom of the standings to salvage the year.
The reality is they’ve had massive injuries, they’re too far down, they’ve dug too much of a hole (in the standings). They are going to take their lumps.
Now they’re not going to come out and say that publicly, but the reality is this is a special draft, as we know, at the top in June, and that’s really the focus now for Columbus aside from the development of their young players.”
Will the Edmonton Oilers address their bottom-six?
David Staples of the Edmonton Journal: Bob Stauffer on his Oilers Now radio show on the Edmonton Oilers bottom-six forward group.
“I can 100 per cent guarantee you that as the season goes along the Oilers are going to address their Bottom Six (forwards). That is a given. People know that is going to happen. I don’t think that is going to cost you first round draft choices to do it.”
If the cap is to only increase by a $1 million, the NHLPA has a plan to possibly increase that
TSN: The NHL Board of Governors will have their meeting next week where the salary cap for next season will be talked about. Pierre LeBrun said that the NHL’s revenue projects will be similar to what was brought up in their October meetings. If the players can pay back the debt, the cap could go up to $86+ million, but if not, only up a $1 million.
“However, there is a third option that’s being talked around the NHL. Not so much by the League and the NHLPA (National Hockey League Players’ Association) – the people that have to talk about it – but by player agents and GMs. And, Dregs, what I think it comes down to here is that the NHL is waiting for the NHLPA to have that conversation. Which is do they agree to massage the cap in a sort of a smoother way here over the next few years? ”
Darren Dreger said that is what the NHLPA is planning.
“They’re asking their players as part of their annual tour as to whether or not the players do want the salary cap for next season to be increased by as much as $3 million – likely between $2 million and $3 million. Now it won’t impact escrow. So that’s a must from a player’s perspective and from the National Hockey League, and it could go even higher than that in ’23-’24. But as Pierre says, the PA has not engaged yet with the National Hockey League. They don’t have to. They’re first gauging the voice of the player, but they will have to decide before early summer.”