Report: Canucks Braden Holtby “drawing real interest” from other teams
2 years ago
Vancouver Canucks goaltender Braden Holtby is drawing interest on the trade market, according to Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic.
According to Dhaliwal, eight teams have made calls on Holtby, including the Seattle Kraken.
“League sources have suggested to The Athletic that Seattle has inquired about Vancouver’s willingness to retain money in a possible Holtby side deal in the expansion process. It’s possible that it’s a leverage play to try to net an additional draft pick while selecting a goaltender and person the Kraken value, but that remains to be seen.”
Holtby has one year left on a backloaded two-year deal that he signed last offseason. While carrying a cap hit of $4.3 million, Holtby is owed $5.7 million in real dollars, which means the contract is a bit tricky to move for the Canucks.
It’s no secret that Holtby’s days as a Vezina-calibre goaltender are likely behind him, but teams like Seattle clearly value him as a proven leader who can play at a respectable level.
Because the Canucks need to meet the minimum expansion requirements and don’t have another goalie who they can make available to Seattle, it’s unlikely any sort of trade occurs until after the expansion draft takes place.
We will keep you posted on this situation and everything else that transpires in the next two weeks.
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