Two teams inquired about Alex Turcotte
David Pagnotta: Believe that the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks checked in with the Los Angeles about forward Alex Turcotte.
The Leafs have the cap room to activate Matt Murray and sign Matthew Knies
Chris Johnston: The Maple Leafs didn’t make any additions yesterday and still have enough cap space needed to activate Murray from the LTIR and sign Matthew Knies to an entry-level contract when his college season is over.
NHL Rumors: The Impact the salary cap had on the Jakob Chychrun situation and return
To retain Tyson Barrie, the Oilers would have had to trade an expensive forward
TSN: Given their salary cap situation, the Edmonton Oilers had to include Tyson Barrie and his contract to acquire Mattias Ekholm earlier in the week. Some teams were able to add players for just picks and prospects, not the Oilers. Oilers GM Ken Holland:
“The reality was that we were not adding, we had to either upgrade, and if it wasn’t an upgrade, it was a change. Tyson Barrie’s an offensive defenceman. He runs the power play,” said Holland. “Mattias Ekholm is a different player than him. He’s not running the power play, he’s not an offensive defenceman, I’d say he’s a defensive defenceman.”
The Oilers had been running a 20-man roster before the deadline, trying to accrue as much cap space as possible.
“We were running a 20-man roster, and I wanted to get to a 21- or 22-man roster,” said Holland. “Each player (to fill in those spots) is $750,000 to $850,000, and we’re bring in a defenceman (Ekholm). If we would have hung onto Tyson, we would have had to move out expensive forwards.”
NHL Trades: The Edmonton Oilers acquire Mattias Ekholm
The Oilers have some pending RFAs that will need new contracts – Evan Bouchard, Klim Kostin, and Ryan McLeod – and already have $73 million committed.
“It’s part of it. When you make decisions, you have to be aware of what’s going on in the summertime.”
