In today’s NHL rumors rundown, there is news on the Edmonton Oilers having a potential logjam at right wing and there could be a potential trade in the works. Could the St. Louis Blues do a sign-and-trade deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs or another team for Alex Pietrangelo? Did the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins proposed trade from Wednesday fall apart and will Craig Anderson land another job after leaving Ottawa?
Oilers Could Move a Right Wing
As per Oilers Now host Bob Stauffer, he notes there is a distinct possibility the Oilers sign forward Jesse Puljujarvi on a short-term deal. He cites as reasons the new GM and head coach combination makes a difference and also notes that Puljujarvi’s agency has merged with the same agency that reps Connor McDavid.
If the Oilers sign him, they would have six RW’s which could result in a right-winger being traded for a left-winger.
In other Oilers news, forward Joakim Nygård out 4-6 weeks after he reinjured the same finger that kept him out most of last season. He injured it in his first game with Farjestad in the SHL and will require surgery.
Sign and Trade Deal for Pietrangelo?
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic writes that it appears one of the ways teams might be looking to acquire Alex Pietrangelo is through a sign-and-trade scenario. This would give them the ability to offer an eight-year contract instead of seven if he hit the open market.
He notes that the benefits for all parties are significant. The team that acquires Pientragelo can tack on an eighth year at a lower AAV and bring down the overall AAV over the length of the contract. The team trading the player gets an asset in return and the player gets an extra year and more money in the long run.
But, as LeBrun writes there’s still a slight issue. He explains::
I do believe St. Louis would be open to doing a sign and trade. But not for a pittance.
In other words, a third-round pick isn’t going to cut it.
If I had to guess, the Blues would ask for a first-round pick. I’m not sure there’s a team out there willing to pay that price. Would a second-round pick cut it? Or, given the salary cap constraints some clubs have, is there a roster player who could entice the Blues?
source – ‘LeBrun: Exploring the possibility of an Alex Pietrangelo sign and trade’ – Pierre LeBrun – The Atheletic – 09/24/2020
The Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, and Calgary Flames are all speculated to be interested with the Maple Leafs being the team Pietrangelo would choose. He does have a no-trade clause and this all has to be done before Oct. 9, 2020.
Related: Golden Knights’ Top 3 Playoff Storylines
Senators Will Not Bring Back Anderson
The Ottawa Senators and general manager Pierre Dorion have confirmed the team will not be offering an extension to goaltender Craig Anderson. As per Dorion’s comments on Wednesday, “He’s the best goalie we’ve ever had. It’s time for us to take another direction and we thank him for everything he did.”
Where Anderson will wind up is unclear. He might be in tough to land another goaltending job in a flooded market unless he’s willing to take a fairly large pay cut and work for just over $1 million with performance bonuses.
Penguins and Panthers Deal Falling Apart
News broke Wednesday that the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers were trying to make a trade that would send forward Patric Hornqvist to Florida for defenseman Mike Matheseon. The deal never materialized.
Dan Kingerski writes that two sources think that the trade is off. No one knows why for sure and things could change but some reports suggested a possible insurance issue or being unable to reach Hornqvist to approve the deal. It could be that he declined it.
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