It’s time for another edition of our NHL rumours. We are nearing the NHL trade deadline on March 3 and teams are going to make lineup tweaks. Some teams are playing catch-up and need to make a splash. However, teams like the Colorado Avalanche may not have assets and cap space to make a big splash. Despite this, the defending Stanley Cup champions might try to swing a Sean Monahan trade. Today’s NHL rumours takes a look at that possibility.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Avalanche May Seek Sean Monahan Trade
Rumour: TSN’s Pierre LeBurn talked about the Avalanche looking into the Montreal Canadiens forward in Thursday’s edition of Insider Trading. Monahan is in the last year of a $6.373 million contract. His deal does have a modified no-movement clause with 10 teams. The former Calgary Flames forward played well with six goals in 25 games before getting injured.
INSIDER TRADING: #TSNHockey Insiders discuss…
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— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) January 26, 2023
Colorado has nearly $6.3 million in cap space, but captain Gabriel Landeskog is on long-term injured reserve. LeBrun pointed out that the Avalanche captain is hoping to be back sometime in March. Colorado will likely avoid a Nikita Kucherov type situation where Landeskog was activated for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Activating Landeskog would mean that the Avalanche would have to clear out salary cap space before he could return to the lineup. Making any further additions would require more moves from general manager Chris MacFarland.
What a Sean Monahan Trade Would Mean
LeBrun added that Colorado will keep an eye on other rumoured forwards like Bo Horvat and Ryan O’Reilly. However, Monahan may be a more fiscally-responsible option. Montreal could also retain a portion of Monahan’s salary to make the deal possible.
The Canadiens could also get something like a Samuel Girard that is a $5 million cap hit until the end of 2026-27. Colorado doesn’t have much in terms of future assets because of going all in the last couple of seasons. The Habs could walk away with something beneficial from whoever they deal Monahan to.
