Trade market could be better than free agency
The Fourth period’s Dave Pagnotta joined Montreal’s TSN Radio and was asked about the upcoming free agency market this summer. He said all eyes will be on the trade market because that’s how the team progresses.
Transcribed by NHLRumors.com
Host: “I’m just, you know, I’m looking at the free-agent class this summer and everybody’s signing in the free-agent class. Now it’s starting to suck, Dave.”
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Dave Pannotta: “Yeah, it’s going to be interesting to see how things unfold. Right now, what it tells me is, things are shifting or changing a little bit. If you want your team to get better, you’re going to have to be more proactive on the trade market. You’re going to start to see teams recognize the fact that they’re not going to be able to fill certain holes via free agency in the summer like they used to.
So you’re going to have to explore the trade market and likely start to see more activity in June, around the draft and into July. But you might be looking at a scenario where we’re going to start to see an uptick in the trade market compared to summers past.
Host: So, with the high trade market, can you tell us which teams are you paying most attention to right now, both on the buyer and seller side?
Pagnotta: “Well, it’s still pretty clear on the seller’s side. There’s still some hope in Nashville, Vancouver, St. Louis, Calgary, Buffalo. Calgary is to some extent, but they’re still waiting to see how they’re going to make things work here. For some teams that really want to buy or sell, that’s going to be decided later. Now it’s the sellers.
But you want to see some teams that are hopeful and they want to know how hopeful they should be. Another month? Will we see where we are in a month? Does this give us a better idea of what kind of team we’re going to be, or do we just suck it up right now and say, “Okay, let’s at least start fielding some calls.”
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buyer. I mean, you’re looking at all the top teams right now. We would be happy to further improve their chances. Then you have teams trying to fill specific holes. We know the Canadiens clearly want a player in the top six, preferably at center in the 2c, and that’s no secret.
But you’ll see other teams looking to trade more talent instead of going out and potentially looking for rentals. These are the Oilers. These are the maple leaves on our side of the border. I think this is actually the case in Ottawa as well. Then you see Utah and Seattle looking to make impactful moves that will impact not only this season, but the future.
So the buyer’s market isn’t entirely settled yet on who just wants to focus on this season, except for the current top two teams in Colorado and Dallas, but everyone else is looking to add. Regardless, a large portion of them are looking to do something that impacts not only this season, but also some seasons to come. “
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