Stan Bowman drafted Kirby Dach third overall in Chicago. Now the Oilers GM wants him again, and the Canadiens aren't making it cheap.
Frank Seravalli reported that the Oilers and Flames have kept close tabs on the Montreal center this month, hoping to wait out an asking price that hasn't budged.
"The interest in Edmonton borders on drooling; the Oilers are intent on acquiring Dach at some point," Seravalli wrote.
Before the season, at the March 1 deadline or as a free agent next summer. Seravalli laid out all three paths.
The Canadiens have reportedly been offered a second-round pick and are holding out for more.
They can afford to be patient. The big center carries a $3,600,000 cap hit and becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season.
So why would the Oilers pay up now for a player they could chase next summer anyway?
“The truth is Dach's future in Montréal has been tenuous for months now. Sources indicate two teams in particular - the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames - have kept close tabs on Dach's status this month to see if they could wait out the Habs, who have held firm on a high asking price,” Seravalli wrote on Casino.org. …
“The interest in Edmonton borders on drooling; the Oilers are intent on acquiring Dach at some point. Whether that's before the season starts, at the March 1 trade deadline, or next summer as a free agent. The push isn't necessarily to reunite the Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, native with his younger brother, Colton, on their hometown team.
Dach was GM Stan Bowman's bet at No. 3 overall in 2019 in Chicago, and Bowman feels only a poor run of injury luck has kept Dach from reaching that potential.”
6-foot-4 forward linked to the Edmonton Oilers in intriguing move
The Alberta rivalry just picked up a subplot. The Oilers host the Flames on Saturday, three days before they open the regular season against Vancouver.
Seravalli wrote that Bowman believes only a poor run of injury luck has kept Dach from reaching his potential.
That's a generous read. He dressed for just 37 games last season.
He still found a way to matter in the spring, scoring four goals across 19 playoff games.
Career-wise, he has 136 points in 306 NHL games.
The Oilers should stop waiting. Losing a hometown kid to Calgary over the difference of one draft pick would sting for years.
It's like haggling over a used truck half the town wants. Every extra day you spend negotiating gives the guy across the street another chance to show up with cash.
At 6-foot-4 and 221 pounds, he'd hand Mike Babcock a big right-shot center.
Connor McDavid, for his part, likes where things stand. "I think we've had a good camp up to this point," he said Thursday.
Craig Conroy's Flames aren't going away either. They lost 4-3 in a shootout at Seattle on Thursday and sit at 1-1-1 this preseason.
The Canadiens visit Ottawa on Saturday, then open Tuesday in Toronto.
Kent Hughes has held firm so far. Every day he keeps holding gives Calgary another chance to change the math for Edmonton.
Source : Edmonton Oilers Reportedly Trying to Acquire $3.6M Forward to Bolster Lineup
Should the Oilers give the Canadiens more than a second-round pick for Kirby Dach?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
John Chayka's massive target revealed after Friedman report
