Pierre LeBrun just made a major statement about a possible trade involving Kent Hughes and the CH: two names targeted

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MarcO
February 8, 2023 (10:26 PM)

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, the negotiations between GMs are certainly at a high level. Many teams will want to add the necessary tools to their roster to help them qualify for the playoffs or make a run at the spring tournament.

If the CH was, a few weeks ago, a good formation to sell and thus help the above formations, the situation is quite different today. The injuries of Sean Monahan and Joel Edmundson change the situation for Kent Hughes.

However, the CH defenseman would still be in demand. As reported by Pierre LeBrun, two teams, the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings, have called Kent Hughes regarding a possible trade involving the veteran.

"Pierre LeBrun on Insider Trading says the Kings and Oilers have similar goals for a left-handed defenseman, both have expressed interest in Jakob Chychrun, both teams have talked to Montreal about Joel Edmundson, both teams also have interest in Gavrikov."

"According to Pierre LeBrun, the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings have talked to Montreal about veteran defenseman Joel Edmundson.

The NHL trade deadline is Friday, March 3"

The connection between the Oilers and the CH is easy to make. On numerous occasions over the past few weeks, Montreal has been linked to Edmonton in the Jesse Puljujarvi file. The latter would be in his final moments with the organization, he was drafted fourth overall by the Oilers in 2016.

On the Kings' side, it's easy to imagine that GM Rob Blake's advisor, Marc Bergevin, would have had very good words for his former defenseman. It will be interesting to see, if Los Angeles eventually acquires Edmundson, who will make the reverse move. Will Hughes be tempted to bring back Cole Caufield's friend and former teammate, Alex Turcotte? The latter, who was selected 5th overall in the 2019 draft, does not seem to be developing as the California organization would have liked.

However, there is no rush from Kent Hughes to trade his veteran defenseman. While the upcoming draft will be very interesting and the addition of picks is tempting, it's a safe bet that Hughes will be patient if he doesn't get the expected value.

With one more year left on his contract for next season at $3.5M, a trade could also happen next year. This would allow the CH to take advantage of a good, healthy Edmundson season, not an early return by the trade deadline.