Methot on the Trade Block
– With the Ottawa Senators still far away from a playoff spot, general manager Bryan Murray must now ponder if he will be a buyer or a seller six weeks away where the NHL trade deadline will be happening. One of their moves may be trading rear guard Marc Methot who is set to become an unrestricted free agent come 1st of July 2015. Methot could bring a significant return as the date looms and for the Senators, they will be looking at draft picks or a top 6 scorer. The negotiations with Marc Methot have been at a stalemate pretty much all year with the economic conscious Senators.
A native of Ottawa, Methot has made it public, he wants to stay in Ottawa for the long term. Limited to only six games this season due to injury, the defenseman has only one assist. Last year He compiled 6 goals and 17 assists in 75 games played. A few teams looking for a hard impact defenseman are interested in Methot. Teams most likely to make a pitch for the 289 year olds defenseman are the Detroit Wings who don’t want to bite on the Tyler Myers proposal from the Sabres and the Anaheim Ducks. Methot is a 3.75 million dollar cap hit this season with Ottawa.
Big changes expected in Arizona
According to TSN NHL Insider Darren Dreger, the team to watch leading to the trade deadline are the Arizona Coyotes. He stated that the direction thee Coyotes want to go is with youth and to prepare by acquiring draft picks in the upcoming strong 2015 NHL Entry Draft. With the new ownership in place, initially they want to cut payroll so high salaried players are expected to be dealt. The ownership’s vision is to stabilize its foundation for long-term success
In Trade Rumors.ca, we already featured a post on Antoine Vermette being offered to other teams at the right price and that remains one of the top players on the current market. The Vermette’s asking price is apparently a prospect and a roster player. The price is high for a player set to become an unrestricted free agent.
Other players on the Coyotes roster who could leave are defencemen Zbynek Michalek and Keith Yandle. According to Dreger who spoke to other general managers it is not a matter of if they will be traded but when. Despite big changes coming to Arizona, captain Shane Doan is not being offered and should stay in Arizona. He is not interested in leaving the Coyotes and with another year remaining his plans are not to chase a Stanley Cup with a mid-season trade.
