In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Montreal Canadiens have extended goaltender Jake Allen. It’s a two-year deal, so does this make Allen a potential trade piece in the future?
The Ottawa Senators have commented on the status of talks with Alex DeBrincat, Torey Krug speaks up about rumors he could be on the trade block and one insider close to the Edmonton Oilers talks about why he doesn’t see Jakob Chychrun as a fit in Edmonton.
Canadiens Sign Allen to a 2-Year Extension
With rumors the Canadiens were looking to lock up Allen for a little while longer, the team was able to ink their netminder to an extension that will keep him with the organization through the end of the 2024-25 season. The Habs announced a two-year contract extension with an annual average salary of $3.85 million.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic broke down the two years: in 2023-24, Allen gets a $500K signing bonus, with a $3.8 million salary and a partial no-trade clause. In 2024-25, Allen gets a $1 million signing bonus, with a $2.3 million salary and a partial no-trade clause.
Related: Bruins News & Rumors: Stralman, Foligno Studnicka & More
These two years must represent the time frame that the Canadiens believe they need to usher in their goaltender of the future. Whether that’s Cayden Primeau or not s unclear, but this Allen deal is more of a bridge deal to the team’s next chapter than anything. It’s a short enough term that Allen becomes an attractive trade asset in a year’s time (maybe even this season), should the Canadiens decide to move on.
Canadiens Not Rushing on Cole Caufield
LeBrun also reports that the Canadiens organization is taking their time with Cole Caufield‘s extension. Canadiens’ GM Kent Hughes said, “…it also is helpful for us to continue to get a picture in terms of our cap situation before we embark on the negotiation.”
Caufield has looked good in pre-season thus far and is a pending RFA. Hughes says he doesn’t have a hard, fast rule about negotiating during the season so a deal is something that could get done.
Senators Letting DeBrincat Get Comfortable
It was reported a few days ago that Alex DeBrincat was not ready to commit to the Ottawa Senators on a long-term deal just yet. According to LeBrun, the Senators are alright with that and actually on the same page. They too want to wait and let DeBrincat feel comfortable in his surroundings.
LeBrun quotes GM Pierre Dorion in a recent article for The Athletic:
“We’re going to let him settle in and see where he’s at. You know, hopefully, he likes it here. Hopefully likes the city, his teammates, how he plays, and we’ll go from there.”
Krug Not Concerned About Connection to Chychrun Trade Talk
Jim Thomas of STLToday.com reports that Blues defenseman Torey Krug isn’t worried, even though his name has been out there in trade rumors over the summer. The speculation has intensified, especially with the Blues being loosely linked to the Arizona Coyotes and Jakob Chychrun. Thomas writes that it was never clear there was ever any substance to the rumors, but Krug shot things down fairly quickly.
When asked, Krug responded, “When you have a full no-trade clause, you don’t worry about it too much.” He adds:
“It’s a GM’s job to try to make his team better. So obviously, they always got to — every single day — try to push your team forward and make a move that makes your team better. If they feel a certain way, then they’ve got to do whatever they’ve got to do.”
source – ‘Blues’ Torey Krug didn’t let offseason trade rumors get to him’ – Jim Thomas – St. Louis Dispatch – 09/29/2022
Oilers Won’t Add Chychrun Because of Kulak?
While this wouldn’t be the only reason — the asking price and the pieces involved being a main factor — Bob Stauffer argues that one of the reasons Chychrun doesn’t really make sense for the Edmonton Oilers is because of the commitment the team made to Brett Kulak this offseason.
Kulak was signed to an extension and is pegged to play top-four minutes on the team’s blue line. He had other options and other offers but chose to return to Edmonton, in part because of the opportunity. If Chychrun were acquired, it would likely bump Kulak down to the bottom pair and that doesn’t make much sense immediately following the new deal.
