In today’s roundup of NHL rumors, are the Montreal Canadiens actively acquiring players who have underperformed in other cities? Meanwhile, did the Philadelphia Flyers try to get James van Riemsdyk into the Johnny Gaudreau conversation?
The New York Rangers are making a plan for this year’s trade deadline, and the Edmonton Oilers have some interesting arbitration news.
Canadians believe they can change careers
Apron Basu takes an interesting look at the Canadiens’ offseason strategy and seems to think the Canadiens are open to adding players from other teams that have underperformed with the expectation that they can help them get back on track. He tweeted: “It’s kind of wild watching the Canadiens continue to acquire players with the belief that they can get more out of them than other teams. First it was Kirby Dach, now it’s Mike Matheson. And at the heart of it all is Martin St. Louis.”
Mike Mathison, Pittsburgh Penguins (Amy Irwin / The Hockey Writers)
Basu adds:
Five months ago this would have been unthinkable, the Canadiens made two trades that relied on their ability to properly develop players. But today they are doing just that, and we saw another example in the acquisition of Matheson, even though he is 28 years old. St. Louis is a firm believer that a player can never stop learning, never stop improving, and Matheson will provide an excellent test of that theory.
source – “Canadiens double down on development model, trade for Mike Matheson” – Apron Basu – The Athletic – 07/16/2022
Could this mean there are more deals like this to come for the Canadiens? Basu also noted that “Kent Hughes says the Canadiens are pushing for Mike Matheson to be included in the deal, that Pittsburgh doesn’t want to include him,” and that Hughes spoke at length with Kris Letang about Matheson before making the trade.
The Flyers tried to trade Van Riemsdyk
According to Frank Serravalli of the Daily Faceoff (cited by WGR 550 ), the Flyers tried to shed salary last week by shopping James van Riemsdyk. The 33-year-old winger has a year remaining on his contract with an annual cap hit of $7 million. The Flyers have been widely rumored to be interested in Johnny Gaudreau, but only if the move makes sense from a salary cap perspective.
James van Riemsdyk, Philadelphia Flyers (Amy Irwin / The Hockey Writers)
Elliott Friedman noted during this 32 Thoughts podcast that he thinks the Flyers thought about Gaudreau — he adds that Gaudreau would like to be a Flyer now if Philadelphia showed more urgency to make the deal — but the Flyers knew they were 40 points away out of a playoff spot and have far bigger concerns than a Gaudreau signing could solve. They didn’t believe it was wise to commit so much cap space to one player in a year when the team needed a fix. Trading van Riemsdyk would make that possible. Without the trade, the Flyers withdrew from Gaudreau discussions.
The Rangers’ big play could come at the trade deadline
Larry Brooks of the New York Post believes the Rangers haven’t gone all in this free agency period because GM Chris Drury wants to ensure he has enough cap space in 2022-23 to enter the playoff rental market in 2023 trade deadline.
Related: Oilers asked about blockbuster deal with Blackhawks [Report]
While the Rangers are projected to have just over $2 million in cap space when the season opens, Brooks projects they will have around $9 million in cap space by February’s trade deadline. That would allow the team to pursue a high-ticket player like Patrick Kane from the Chicago Blackhawks organization or perhaps enter discussions to acquire JT Miller.
The Oilers will lose one of Puljujarvi or Yamamoto
Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now suggests the Oilers can’t keep Jesse Puljujarvi and Kyler Yamamoto based on their arbitration cases and the reality that Puljujarvi has a pretty good one. Stauffer doesn’t believe the Oilers will have a problem locking up Ryan McLeod, but it could come down to picking one of Yamamoto or Puljujarvi, and that could be what puts the emphasis on trading Puljujarvi.
Today is the deadline for both players to file for arbitration, and if that doesn’t happen, that means either an extension is near or a deal is. Part of the reason a Puljujarvi deal hasn’t materialized is because teams are worried about the cost of his arbitration case and insist the Oilers get their cap space back in any deal.
Jim Parsons is a THW senior freelance writer, part-time journalist and audio/video anchor who lives, eats, sleeps and breathes NHL news and rumors while also writing articles about the Edmonton Oilers. He’s been a trusted source for five-plus years at The Hockey Writers, but more than that, he’s on a mission to keep readers abreast of the latest NHL rumors and talk. Jim is a daily necessity for readers who want to be “in the know.”
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