It has been reported throughout the offseason that the New York Islanders are shopping forward Anthony Beauvillier, and one team who has expressed interest is the Montreal Canadiens.
Related: Islanders to Announce Signing of Nazem Kadri This Week [Report]
According to Jimmy Murphy of Montreal Hockey Now, a trusted source indicated the Habs are one of several teams who have inquired about the 25-year-old. The interest certainly makes sense, as the 25-year-old can provide solid secondary scoring and is on a reasonable contract that has two seasons remaining at a cap hit of $4.15 million.
The issue for the Canadiens, and reportedly many other interested teams, is the Islanders reported refusal to back off their stance which includes no salary coming back their way in the trade. This would presumably be in order to fit in Nazem Kadri’s contract, as most are in the belief that he and the Isles have a deal worked out that has yet to be officially announced.
“The problem is Lou wanting this or any trade right now to be a pure cap dump by him,” the source told Montreal Hockey Now earlier this week.
A look at Capfriendly suggests they have over $11 million in cap space to work with, but that isn’t including Noah Dobson, who also has reportedly signed an extension that has not been made official just yet. This is a tactic that Lamoriello has become known for over the past few years, much to the chagrin of hockey media and likely several front offices around the league.
From the sounds of things, the Habs have since backed off in their interest, at least for the time being. If they do choose to revisit it, Beauvillier does appear to be a pretty solid fit. Not only is he from Quebec, but Kent Hughes, now the Canadiens general manager, is his former agent.
Next: Vancouver Canucks Reportedly Interested in Signing Calvin de Haan
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