Montreal Could Remain on the Trade Market Sidelines
Arpon Basu of The Athletic: Basu writes that, unlike last year when the Montreal Canadiens were in the Pierre-Luc Dubois saga, this year, the Canadiens are not tied to anyone, but are looking into some big names on the trade market.
Though they did their due diligence on Martin Necas of the Carolina Hurricanes and Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks, the cost was as high as last year with Dubois. The Hurricanes are asking for star-level talent in return, and Anaheim will be asking for something similar for a player with a term left on his deal.
NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens Prioritizing the Draft to Make Moves
The Canadiens don’t want to move Mike Matheson as they have many young defensemen coming up next season. So there are not many options. However, if history indicates anything, the Canadiens will look to make moves at the NHL Draft as they did the past two years.
Could the Canadiens Already Have An Internal Salary Cap In Place
Arpon Basu of The Athletic: Staying with Basu for a second, he writes that Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle are eligible for new deals this summer. A rising salary cap could affect how the Canadiens these negotiations.
Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield took up about 9.5 percent of a flat cap. Suzuki’s $7.875 million served as the ceiling for the Canadiens’ internal salary cap. Caufield fell under him. Based on that percentage, Slafkovsky could get $8.65 million, but the Canadians would want him under Suzuki’s number if they could.
The same could be said for Guhle. We saw defenseman Alex Vlasic sign a six-year contract with an AAV of $4.6 million. That could be the benchmark as both players play in difficult situations for their respective. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
NHL Rumors: Colorado Avalanche, and the Nashville Predators
Could the Avalanche Target Patrick Kane or Kaapo Kakko?
Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now: Rawal has a recent mailbag and was asked what the Colorado Avalanche will do this offseason, including if they are interested in Patrick Kane and Kaapo Kakko.
He writes that the Avalanche could be interested in Kane if it is on a one-year deal, but not a multi-year contract. Kane put up excellent numbers with the Red Wings last season. Not to mention, there are other priorities the Avalanche needs.
As far as Kakko is concerned, he does not think the Avalanche should trade for him. He has good numbers and is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He could only see the Avalanche doing this if the New York Rangers did not qualify him.