Quick hits on Montreal Canadiens Brendan Gallagher, Jayden Struble, and Mike Matheson
Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette: (mailbag) 33-year-old Brendan Gallagher has a yr left on his deal at $6.5 million and sure won’t be traded before the tip of it. It allows the younger players more time to develop, and he was third in goals last season with 21 in slightly below 14 minutes a game.
It’s possible that the Montreal Canadiens use defenseman Jayden Struble as trade bait, but they’ve traded three young defensemen within the last 4 months – Jordan Harris, Justin Barron and Logan Mailloux.
It should be interesting to see if the Canadiens sign Mike Matheson to a contract extension or in the event that they’ll open the roster spot for a young defenseman.
The Edmonton Oilers have some needs, but have limited cap space and assets
David Staples of the Edmonton Journal: Will the Edmonton Oilers have interest in Buffalo Sabres pending UFA forward Alex Tuch if he becomes available? Given their salary cap situation, it’s hard to see the Oilers with the ability to add/slot in a No. 1 goalie or top-line forward.
The Oilers also don’t have a whole lot of top trade assets. They don’t have a 2026 first-round pick. Bob Stauffer said that the Oilers are open to moving their 2027 first-round pick, but will teams be fascinated with a possible late-round pick and waiting until 2027? To sweeten a deal and move out some salary, only Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak and Evan Bouchard make over $2 million and don’t have trade protection.
Bouchard isn’t going anywhere. In the event that they’re trading Skinner, his value likely isn’t much. Trading Kulak and his $2.75 million means they should be comfortable that they’ve a substitute, which seems unlikely.
Trading a prospect like Isaac Howard, Arto Leppanen, Roby Jarventie, Viljama Marjala, or Josh Samanski are possibilities.
A much bigger move can have to attend until the offseason, after they have more salary cap space to work with.
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