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Edmundson on his Way Out? |
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Joel Edmundson may be injured right now, but that hasn’t stopped the rumors mill. Two teams have been reported as interested by Pierre Lebrun in the left-shooting defenseman and both are out west: the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings.
The fact that the Oilers need to bolster their defense is far from being news, for years, Edmonton has gone all in on offense and neglected the defensive side of the game, but time is ticking for Ken Holland’s team, McDavid and Draisaitl are not getting any younger and if the team doesn’t make a real commitment to be contenders, one can wonder how long the two stars will be willing to stick around. McDavid is signed for 3 more years and Draisaitl for 2.
Could Joel Edmundson help them improve their blue line? Probably. While Edmundson is far from having a great season, he’s already made his name in the NHL and GMs are aware how useful he can be in a playoffs run. The veteran defenseman claimed the Cup with the Blues back in 2019 and he was an important piece in the Canadiens’ Cinderella run to the Cup final in 2021.
Edmundson isn’t a rental though, he’s got another year at 3.5 M to go and the Oilers have got precious little space under the cap. For a trade to be doable, chances are the Canadiens would have to retain some of “Steady Eddy”s salary, but like everything in life, cap space isn’t free and that would add a premium to Edmunson’s value.
It’s a well-known fact that Kent Hughes would like to add another 1st round pick at the upcoming draft to his cupboard and, as luck would have it, Edmonton does still have its first selection at the June draft.
Meanwhile, Marc Bergevin is now Rob Blake’s advisor in LA and it’s not hard to believe that he could be interested in acquiring the big defenseman again. Just like Edmonton, the Kings also still have their first-round pick for the next draft and could dangle it to Hughes in order to get their man.
You don’t think that Edmundson is worth a first-round pick? Well, never underestimate how desperate a GM can be when panic sets in and he’s seeing his competitors improve. At this stage though, all this is nothing more than speculation and a lot rides on Edmundson’s health status, if he cannot play, he’s not going anywhere. The Canadiens had promised a status update on Sean Monahan last week and haven’t given it and Edmundson is still listed as day-to-day.
The Canadiens will return to practice tomorrow afternoon and with a bit of luck, we may get some clarity on the injury status of the potential trade candidates...
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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