Will it be a quiet offseason, or could teams actually make moves?
Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period joined Steve Kouleas and Anthony Stewart on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Power Play segment and was asked about if there will be more trades this offseason, given the thin free agent market.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Anthony Stwewart: “What are your thoughts on the upcoming free agent frenzy? Right, obviously, the cap is going up significantly. UFA is a little bit thin compared to big names, and other years, there’s a lot of RFAs that are going to be potential. So we’re going to see more trades at the draft leading up to free agent frenzy. And so, is that, July 1st, going to be grab your popcorn day or take a nap and wake me up when it’s over?”
Dave Pagnotta: “Stewie. I hope it’s the grab your popcorn one, because last year was, we thought. We were getting all excited when that Noah Dobson trade happened, and then that was it. We had nothing until the start of the season. I think it’ll be different.
There’s different senses of urgency from a variety of different teams. Some that want to compete right away, that are willing to make bold moves, don’t have options in free agency. They have to go the trade route, and others that you know are willing to move out pieces, gain some young assets, and take advantage of the fact that it is this is going to be a very shallow pool.
We know Charlie Coyle stayed in Columbus on a six-year deal. There is chatter. I did the whole Buffalo-Montreal series. There’s chatter that maybe there’s a pathway to a deal there with Alex Tuch and the Sabres to stick around. He’s the number one, as of now, prize free agent, ready for July 1, but some people would be a little bit surprised right now if he leaves.
There goes your prize piece, and you’re looking at other potential assets, and that may force some teams that may want to pursue a guy like Alex Tuch in July, that may have forced them to revert to the trade market. And that’s where we may hear more names like the (Jordan) Kyrou’s and (Alexis) Lafreniere’s and others that may pop up.
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Like, there was a lot of people that thought that Owen Tippett would be in play this summer. Well, based on his injury in the playoffs, how long is that recovery time? And does that affect trade discussions with Philadelphia? Do they veer in a different direction for that club? What happens with goaltending?
Teams are curious about Connor Hellebuyck. Like, things are starting to start to percolate a little bit more, guys. The silly season, Kooli, might get a bit of a head start because of where things are at with the free agent market. But it’s still, still early, but things are starting to slowly kind of gain a little bit of steam.”
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