mouser
Business of Hockey
He can't be offer-sheeted either, right?
Correct.
He can't be offer-sheeted either, right?
He will not be had for cheap. I suspect he will get a deal in the Tuch neighborhood. As for unloading Patches, that would make sense, as he still has some prime years left, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
It wouldn't make sense for either party. He's a RFA in the offseason if he signs for this year, so they couldn't afford him next season. He won't have a NTC so he'll have no say where he would get traded to.
If he comes over in September, he'll be on a 1 year ELC. That works with the tight cap space, then they can re-sign him to whatever contract he wants in December complete with a partial NTC.
I say explore the trade market and/or let someone offer sheet him and take the draft picks. The guy was a throw in to a deal that could yield some real good futures without being a cap problem now. His trade value probably will never be greater than it is right now. Keep him around a year on an RFA and you lose that theoretical excess value. Plus if he does decently well you risk the wrath of the fan base complaining about not keeping him even though his cost goes way up.