Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens

Did the Edmonton Oilers Have a Defenseman in Play?

Dave Pagnotta on the Saturday of TFP Hotsove on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio stated that the Edmonton Oilers had Darnell Nurse‘s name out there at the trade deadline, and this could be revisited in the summer.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

NHL Trade Deadline Fallout: Islanders, Blues, No-Movement and No-Trade Clauses

Peter Berce: “Let’s do a couple of quick hits here on the Oilers and Habs. Dave, you mentioned you had something about the Oilers you wanted to mention.”

Dave Pagnotta: “Yes, this is something we will hear more of in the summer. I’m sure. I’ll just say it. Try to cushion it, but let’s just rip the band-aid off.”

Berce: “Go for it.”

Pagnotta: “There was talk this week, throughout the week, that they were looking to move Darnell Nurse and the cap hit at $9.25 million. There’s term there. It’s not an easy contract to move. And he will need to sign off on it because of his no-movement clause.

But Darnell Nurse, his name was out there all week, and I didn’t believe it at first. I thought it was okay, probably there’s people talking. But no, yeah, it seems like Stan Bowman did engage in some conversations out there involving Darnell Nurse, and I think that’s something we’ve got to keep tabs on this summer.”

NHL Trade Deadline Fallout: Trade Clauses Big Factor in Minimal Player Movement

Berce: “The price tag is high, and if they have any for me, any modicum of success, he needs to be better. Simple as that.”

NHLRumors.com Note: With the additions on defense, the Edmonton Oilers know that they need to change their mix back there now with the addition of Connor Murphy. Can’t have two defensemen in Nurse ($9.25 million AAV) and Evan Bouchard ($10.5 million AAV) on the backend. The Oilers want a steadier defenseman. Does Edmonton want to play Nurse on the third pairing at that price? Even back last summer, people wondered if Nurse would be in play at some point?

Montreal Canadiens Failed Deals at the Deadline

Dave Pagnotta on TFP Hotsove on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio said the Montreal Canadiens were looking to add a first-line calibre forward and a right-shot defenseman. Whether they were the same deal GM Kent Hughes talked about remains to be seen.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

Trade Deadline Fallout: Montreal Canadiens, Florida Panthers, and the New Jersey Devils

Peter Berce: “What are the Habs looking to do or didn’t do?”

Dave Pagnotta: “Yeah, so Kent Hughes said yesterday (Friday) that they were moving forward, they were focused on adding an impact, making a significant impact, addition. I think it was for a forward, I think it was for a first-line calibre player, and he says that he hopes to reconvene those discussions in the summer, so we’ll see kind of where that goes.

They were also very close. And maybe I don’t think it’s the same, but I know they were very, very close to adding a defenseman, to adding a right shot defenseman, like very, very close. And it kind of fell through right at the end. Whether that’s, I don’t get the sense that it’s the player that he’s talking about, or Kent Hughes talked about, I think it’s a first-line calibre player, because that’s what they were looking for.

NHL Trade Deadline Fallout: Montreal Canadiens, and the Florida Panthers

We know they poked around on Nazem Kadri, and then things didn’t work out there, and he ends up back in Colorado. But the Canadiens had two things on the go from all accounts, a top-line player and a right-shot D, and they were very, very, very close on the right-shot D. And it didn’t happen.”

NHLRumors.com Note: The Montreal Canadiens were sticking to their plan after their early additions of Phil Danault and Alexandre Texier. The sense was they wanted a top-line forward to play with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, but also wanted help on the backend on the right side. We know Kent Hughes said he was working on a deal that couldn’t cross the finish line regarding a player that wasn’t in the rumour mill. You know Montreal will make a move at the NHL Draft like always.

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