Devils options in net
Dan Rosen of NHL.com: (mailbag) Not sure if the New Jersey Devils will find a replacement for Corey Crawford after he retired last Saturday. They have Scott Wedgewood and claimed Eric Comrie off waivers from the Jets.
Potential options for the Devils if they look elsewhere include Jimmy Howard (UFA), Aaron Dell (Toronto Maple Leafs), and Antti Raanta or Adin Hill (Arizona Coyotes).
If the Coyotes are looking to make the playoffs this year they may not want to move Raanta. Depth in net will be important this year, so the Coyotes may not be interested in moving either.
Canadiens GM on the salary cap and making trades in-season
Eric Engels of Sportsnet: Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin when asked about how they will manage their salary cap situation to hopefully not lose certain players.
“There’s a price to pay when you go to the cap, and that’s the price you pay is you might have make moves and you might have to trade or lose players. That’s just the reality. You can’t be close to the cap without any management or running into some issues sometimes.
Right now, knock on wood, we don’t have any injuries. But if that happens, you have to manage it. It’s always easier when you have more cap space, and that’s why teams usually don’t go to the cap. But sometimes, like I said, we have an opportunity (like) this (past off-season) to be able to get some players. And I knew we were going to be tight, but that’s a price we were willing to pay and hopefully we’ll make it work.”
Bergevin when asked if they have a window during the season that might allow them to bring in a player or two. Making trades won’t be easy this season, and Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford said there may not be any. Bergevin adds:
“In our schedule, there’s a gap where we don’t have games. But it doesn’t mean the team you’re dealing with doesn’t have the same gap.
So, if you get a player, most likely you don’t have him for seven days, and if you play every other night, that could be four games. In a 56-game schedule, it’s pretty big.
That’s why Jimmy said it’s going to be pretty hard to make trades, and I believe that.”