NHL Rumors: Canadiens, Oilers, and Mark Scheifele trade talk
Anthony Scultore
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The Montreal Canadiens have had a very difficult season after a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final last summer.
After relieving Marc Bergevin of his job, Montreal brought it Jeff Gorton to lead hockey operations and rebuild the Habs. Gorton went out and hired former player agent, Kent Hughes as his GM.
While there’s plenty of work to do, they did well by acquiring a plethora of future assets in deals at the deadline.
NHL Rumors: Canadiens and Martin St. Louis
When the Habs hired Martin St. Louis to replace Dominique Ducharme, they did so by giving him the interim tag. It was indicated then that both would see how it goes before finalizing a decision.
“I think at the end of the season,” St. Louis said about coaching beyond this year. “Right now, it wouldn’t be fair for the players, for anyone, for me to focus on that.”
Indeed, both sides will wait to discuss his likely return but there are other factors that may play in the decision.
“There’s no reason to question the reality of Marty St. Louis becoming the full-time head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. I believe that’s what Hughes and the Canadiens want,” Darren Dreger said on TSN Insider Trading. “We know St. Louis has done a terrific job on the bench of the Habs. We know that the coaching staff has helped refresh this group. But Marty St. Louis still has a young family. So the timing of it may not be perfect but there have been no further discussions at this point.”
NHL Rumors: Edmonton Oilers and Ville Husso
When Evander Kane signed with the Oilers this season many joked if he could play goal.
The NHL Trade Deadline came and went without the Oilers doing anything to upgrade at a position that’s been a known issue for some time.
According to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, he believes the Oilers could be in on Blues’ goalie Ville Husso if he decides to test the free agent market.
The Blues started their Stanley Cup hero, Binnington (13-13-4, .901 save percentage with five years left at a $6 million) against the Oilers but they’ve been going more with unrestricted free-agent goalie Ville Husso ($750,000, 18-6-4, .923 save percentage) down the stretch. Lots of teams are circling around Husso, 27, as teams once did when Talbot (New York Rangers) was available in 2015. Yes, you can probably include the Oilers
Edmonton Journal
This is an interesting idea and one the Oilers should explore. Another option is maybe a trade at the draft for pending RFA Alexandar Georgiev of the Rangers and giving him a qualifying offer.
Other UFA candidates include Columbus’ Joonas Korpisalo and Stars’ Braden Holtby.
Mark Scheifele trade talk
There’s a lot of talk surrounding changes in Winnipeg. The Jets are out of the playoff picture and there’s a real possibility that they will retool the lineup with some younger players.
One candidate that many believe will be the springboard for a rebuild is center Mark Scheifele, who had his name come up at the trade deadline.
Citing two separate sources, TFP’s David Pagnotta reported over the weekend that Scheifele‘s name crept up ahead of the trade deadline, but the belief is those discussions were merely preliminary and never truly gained any traction. Cheveldayoff does not often complete major blockbuster deals, but any move involving Scheifele would surely fall into that category.
The Fourth Period
The big and skilled 29 year-old center has two years of cost certainty at $6.125M AAV which many teams would jump at, including the New York Rangers. This season, he has registered 65 points in 64 games.
