The Columbus Blue Jackets talking to teams but a short-term move doesn’t make sense
James Murphy of RG.org: The injuries mount for the Columbus Blue Jackets and they have plenty of salary cap space to work with if they want – $20.3 million. GM Don Waddell isn’t going to make any knee-jerk trades. He’s talked to every team but he’s not looking making a deal for just a short-term gain.
“One player isn’t going to make a huge difference here because we know where we’re at as an organization right now. I can’t go spend a second-round pick to get a player because I need that position filled for the rest of the year. It just doesn’t make sense for a young team. We gotta manage our assets well. Now, saying that if it’s a young player, we like that we can go for more than one year and build with, then that’s something different.”
Waddell notes that at the 15-20 game mark, the trade market heats up even more and you could expect some move then.
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Alexis Lafreniere talks are ongoing but no sense of urgency
TSN: Pierre LeBrun said that the New York Rangers and Alexis Lafreniere’s camp have held talks to see if they could get an extension done before the start of the season. Lafreniere is an RFA and not a UFA like Igor Shesterkin, so there isn’t as much urgency. Talks are ongoing but are not intense.
“And it speaks to sort of the juggling act that the New York Rangers, who are trying to win a Cup this year, have in terms of handling their salary cap. You know, Igor Shesterkin, as we know, is looking for a pretty big ticket, probably starting with $12 million as the AAV.
But in the meantime, Lafreniere is in for a pretty healthy raise from the $2.35 million he’s making on this bridge deal. So, not an easy thing to navigate, but certainly the Rangers hope to extend Lafreniere at some point.”
TSN: Pierre LeBrun said the door hasn’t been slammed shut on extension talks between Alexis Lafreniere and the New York Rangers after not being able to agree on a deal before the start of the season.
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“I think it will be ongoing but whether it gets done during the season remains to be seen but the Rangers obviously view Lafreniere, who’s coming off a two-year bridge deal, as a massively important core piece who they want to sign long-term.”