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 one year left on his $6.5 million deal and likely won’t be traded before its end. It gives the younger players more time to develop, and last season he was third in goals with 21 in just under 14 minutes per game.
It’s possible the Montreal Canadiens use defenseman Jayden Struble as trade bait, but they have traded three young defensemen in the past four months: Jordan Harris, Justin Barron and Logan Mailloux.
It will be interesting to see if the Canadiens sign Mike Matheson to a contract extension or if they open up a roster spot for a young defenseman.
The Edmonton Oilers have some needs, but limited cap space and limited resources
David Staples of the Edmonton Journal: Will the Edmonton Oilers have interest in Buffalo Sabers pending UFA forward Alex Tuch if he becomes available? Given their salary cap situation, it’s hard to imagine the Oilers being able to add/sign a No. 1 goalie or top forward.
The Oilers also don’t have many top trade assets. They don’t have a first-round pick for 2026. Bob Stauffer said the Oilers are open to moving their first-round pick for 2027, but will teams be interested in a likely late-round pick and wait until 2027? To sweeten the deal and shave off some salary, only Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak and Evan Bouchard are making more than $2 million and have no trade protection.
Bouchard isn’t going anywhere. If they trade Skinner, his value probably isn’t much. Trading Kulak and his $2.75 million means they have to feel confident they have a replacement, which seems unlikely.
Trading a prospect like Isaac Howard, Arto Leppanen, Roby Jarventie, Viljama Marjala or Josh Samanski are possibilities.
A bigger move may have to wait until the offseason when they have more salary cap space to work with.
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