Trade Talks Are Starting to Begin Around the NHL
Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period joined Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Power Play segment with Steve Kouleas and Craig Button. There, he was asked about the trade talks that are starting to percolate and the teams to watch this offseason.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Steve Kouleas: “Craig brought something up as we talked about GMs this summer. You can’t restock your team at the free agent market, I mean, you never really can, because it costs too much anyway.
Yeah, we’ve chewed a little bit of the fat about RFAs, but then trades things like (JJ) Peterka, (Josh) Doan, (Michael) Kesselring last year, as we sit in early June with the final only one game in. What do you think about the trade market from now going into the draft, and then beyond, as it relates to certain teams?
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I mean, I just wonder what Detroit will do. We’ve heard about other things, and Montreal is taking it to another level, and they got prospects and picks today. Yeah, what about the trade market in your mind?”
Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, things are starting to pick. Conversations are starting to pick up, and usually that happens at the beginning of June. Everybody kind of turns around and realizes, uh, oh, we got a draft in 20-some odd days, we should probably get to work, and they’re doing all the internal work, all the scouting stuff in it, but now exceeding that, beyond that, nobody get mad.
Beyond that, but now they start to do their due diligence, and look around the league, and see who’s available, who’s who. What are the opportunity costs? Who might be available? Who would you be willing to listen on? This guy didn’t hang up on me today, so I might be able to call him back and get something kind of going again for player X and player Y.
But yeah, certainly. And teams are looking at others’ financial positions, where they’re at financially. A lot of people are looking in Buffalo’s direction right now with their limited cap space, and $12 million is still limited, whatever it is.”
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On the Buffalo Sabres:
Kouleas: “You can’t sign everybody to that money. (Alex) Tuch, and (Zach) Benson, (Michael) Kesselring, they got a few guys, (Peyton) Krebs even might be available.”
Pagnotta: “No and they might only be able to sign two of those guys with where they’re currently at. So it’s going to take, and who knows what Benson is going to look for if he wants long-term. If they’re talking long term after the playoffs he just had and the season, you’re talking bigger money.
It doesn’t sound like on Tuch’s side that Buffalo is overly interested in going above 10. Is it because we all know we’ve talked about this before, but the (Adrian) Kempe’s deal, 10.6 somewhere between $10.5 to $11 million per year, and it doesn’t sound like, or it hasn’t seemed like they would get there.
Now, as the playoffs moved on, there was this little narrative in Buffalo that they’ll figure it out, but it doesn’t seem like Buffalo is still interested in getting too much at or over the $10 million mark, which may lead Tuch to free agency. There’s still time, there’s just under a month now, there’s 28 days, but they’ve got to figure that out. So that’s one element.
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On Detroit Red Wings:
What we know teams that are aggressive, that are looking to be aggressive. You mentioned Detroit. Detroit wants to be aggressive in adding up front and stabilizing their blue line even more.
On New Jersey Devils:
New Jersey, we know their mandate right now with Sunny Meta as GM, we have to compete, we’re going to the playoffs, we’re going to be a contender, so they’ve got to make adjustments there. Can they find somebody on the wing to play with Jack Hughes?
On Vancouver Canucks:
Vancouver’s now got Ryan Johnson. Jake DeBrusk hasn’t changed his mind, as far as I know. He doesn’t want to be on a rebuild; he wants to go, and so on, and so on, and so on.
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On Montreal Canadiens:
So there’s a lot that being discussed. There’s a lot that’s been discussed. It’s picking up now, and now that the Canadiens are out, do they revisit? I mean, we know about Brendan Gallagher from the other day, but do they revisit this big trade that they had in the works that they weren’t able to do, that Kent Hughes admitted to?”
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