Pietrangelo wanting to go ‘home’?
Sportsnet 590: Renaud Lavoie on the Fan 590 on Alex Pietrangelo: “If they can get a defenceman like him, I think it’s going to change the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
Account4Hockey: Lavoie on Sportsnet 590 in Pietrangelo: “I’m pretty sure he wanted to stay with the Blues but it didn’t happen. And it’s ok. I mean, it’s not easy, but I believe that he wants to go home. And home is Toronto”
Is a sign-and-trade in Pietrangelo’s future? There is benefit for all sides
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: Will there be teams trying to acquire pending UFA Alex Pietrangelo through a sign-and-trade, giving them the ability to offer an eight-year contract instead of seven if he hit the open market?
Pietrangelo does have a no-trade clause so the he’d have to give approval for that team. The Blues could get something in return as opposed to losing for nothing.
Before John Tavares signed with the Maple Leafs when free agency opened, the Islanders and Leafs talked about a sign-and-trade according to a source, but ran out of time. If the Leafs were able to add an eight year and say at $4 million, that would have take his contract to $81 million and not $77 million, and would have brought the cap number down to $10.125 million and not $11 million.
If the Blues decide they won’t be re-signing Pietrangelo and they appear to open to a sign-and-trade, it may not come cheap. Would guess tha they will be asking for a first-round pick, and that a third round pick wouldn’t be enough. A team may not give up a first, but would someone be okay with a second?
Reason for all sides wanting a sign-and-trade and not hitting free agency.
- “Pietrangelo gets more cash in the total tally by having an eighth year in his deal;
- Potential suitors such as Vegas or Toronto could bring down the AAV of his deal, which is no small thing given where each of those teams is with the salary cap;
- The Blues get a tangible asset for losing their top blueliner instead of absolutely nothing.”
A potential acquiring team would at least what to have some initial talks with Pietrangelo’s camp to see if they’d even be in the same ballpark before giving up the asset. Would Blues GM Doug Armstrong be okay with that and grant permission?
The Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames have internally discussed the idea of bringing in Pietrangelo.
Bonus structure on a deal could be important, something the Maple Leafs wouldn’t have an issue with. Teams can go over the salary cap by 10 percent during the offseason, so they have to time to clear out salary if need be.