Saturday, June 30, 2018

Fringe Trades (Jun 30)

If this was any other season, this may have been a headlining kind of move, but the Winnipeg Jets have been able to shift some salary out of their keep, in order to be a big player in the free agent market or open up some space to re-sign Paul Stastny.

As the deal goes, the Jets moved goaltender Steve Mason, forward Joel Armia and two draft picks for defenseman Simon Bourque.  The Canadiens eat a great deal of space, but there is word that they are going to try and flip some of these assets for something more in the next day or two.

Mason is set to make $4.1 million in 2019, only appearing in 13 games and picking up 13 points for the pool in those games.  Armia is a restricted free agent this summer, after 29 points in 79 games, much more of a fringe forward.  In return, the Jets get a 21-year old defensive prospect in Bourque, who will likely start the year in the AHL.

The Jets are in need of signing a goalie, like RFA Connor Hellebuyck, not to mention Stastny up front, and I currently project them to have $21.9 million in cap space, which should be good enough to do just that.  The Canadiens, on the other hand, will either trade or buyout Mason, by the sound of things, using their cap space to sign Armia to a new deal.  Very interesting move, indeed.

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