NHL Rumors: Blues trade ask too high on Tarasenko; Rangers were in on Danault; and Wild out on Eichel
Anthony Scultore
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They action was almost non-stop on Day 1 of Free Agency. While everyone is expecting a “calmer” Day 2, there still remains a handful of very good players left unsigned and two big names on the trade market.
According to Cap Friendly, there were 163 signings in Day 1 that totaled to $785,100,000.
Flat cap my eye!
NHL Rumors: Blues want too much for Tarasenko
Vladimir Tarasenko wants out of St. Louis and the Blues are still trying to accommodate his request. The 29 year-old has two years left on a deal that comes with a $7.5 million AAV and the ability to control his fate. Thanks to his contract which includes a 10 team trade list protection.
Heading into the expansion draft, it was reported up to 4 teams were in on him but the Blues could not get a deal done. One needs to ask why?
According to Jeremy Rutherford who covers the Blues at The Athletic, the ask is too high.
The source said Armstrong has miscalculated the situation, asking for “too much” in return. There were once four teams interested in Tarasenko, and there are still at least two, but the options are dwindling after Wednesday’s signings around the league.
The Athletic
Is it time for the Blues to cut bait and run? They have his replacement Pavel Buchnevich. If they are willing to eat some of his cap hit, a team will give them something. If not, then I’m not sure what St. Louis can expect in return for a guy trending in the wrong direction after three shoulder surgeries.
New York Rangers were in on Phillip Danault
Heading into free agent frenzy, several teams were rumored to be hot for Phillip Danault. Ultimately, it was the L.A. Kings who locked him up for six years and $5.5 million AAV.
Danault, 28, is fresh off leading the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final. He led all forwards in shorthanded time on ice and faceoff wins during the playoffs. He finished sixth in Selke Trophy voting this past season. It’s no wonder he was in high demand.
One team that was apparently in it until the end were the New York Rangers.
So we have it on good authority that the Rangers were indeed in on the bidding for Montreal shutdown center Phillip Danault when the free-agent market opened at noon on Wednesday, but dropped out when the bidding yielded a six-year offer of an average annual value of $5.5 million per season from the Kings.
NY Post
So where will GM Chris Drury spend his $17 million in cap space on? I wonder.
Wild drop out on Jack Eichel
Dear Diary,
Jack Eichel is still a member of the Buffalo Sabres. I feel like my sanity is slipping away.
Signed,
Hockey Fans
Does anyone else feel like that? This is really unbelievable at this point. The Minnesota Wild are the latest on a list of teams that are out of the Jack Eichel running. Why you ask? I could point to Tarasenko above, but you can guess it just as easily.
And, there’s still that never-ending issue of potentially finding a No. 1 or 2 center, although at least temporarily the Wild have backed out of Jack Eichel trade talks, sources say, because they’re fed up with the asking price from the Buffalo Sabres for the $10 million star with a neck injury.
The Athletic
The Rangers appear to be bidding against themselves, if they are still in it which many think they are. I can only imagine what the conversations are like right now between Jack Eichel’s agents and Sabres GM, Kevyn Adams.
