TRADE IN THE WORKS?
Elliotte Friedman revealed on his 32 Thoughts podcast earlier this week that two Canadian teams (Canucks and the Senators) were actively working the phones and that he expected movement from those two.
The Sens are currently negotiating with their top remaining Restricted Free Agent, Shane Pinto. At the same time, some reports suggest that they want to make room for him after inking Jake Sanderson for over $60M. Others suggested that the Sens may have been considering shipping the former 2nd rounder to another team.
Eklund, a known name in the business, reported that the Canucks had looked into potentially adding the young Pinto to their core:
Second Round Pick from 2019, Shane Pinto is a 6'02'' and 192 pounds right-handed centerman. He graduated to the NHL from the University of North Dakota in 2020-2021 and then collected an impressive 7 points in 12 NHL games. Pinto collected 20 goals and 35 points through 82 games in his first full NHL season.
Early reports have Pinto asking for a bridge deal with a cap hit of around $2M. Pinto is definitely a 2nd-Line centerman in the making, and he'll be celebrating his 23rd birthday in October. If the Canucks were to acquire him, he'd be a perfect candidate to slot between J.T. Miller and perhaps Brock Boeser.
At the moment, there is nothing stating what the Sens' ask may be, but there certainly is something to be intrigued about.
POLL | ||
He does fit the bill for the Canucks, should they go after him with intent? | ||
Yes | 842 | 79 % |
No need | 224 | 21 % |
List of polls |