Welcome back to NHL Notebook — the series here at CanucksArmy where we deliver you news and notes from around the National Hockey League — oftentimes through a Vancouver Canucks-tinted lens!
Things are starting to kick back into high gear around the National Hockey League as the start of training camp draws ever closer.
As such, we&#8217;ve got no shortage of headlines to dig into today! Here goes it.
<blockquote>Habs nab Patrik Laine from Columbus</blockquote>
On Monday morning, the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets finally consummated a deal that seemingly every Québécois armchair GM had been trying to manifest since the offseason began.
The Blue Jackets traded winger Patrik Laine, who skated in just 18 games with the club last season, along with a 2026 second-round pick to the Canadiens in exchange for defenceman Jordan Harris. The 26-year-old Laine has two years remaining on his contract an $8.7 million cap hit.
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🚨 TRADE ALERT 🚨
Patrik Laine is headed to Montreal! 🔵⚪️🔴 <a href="https://t.co/iYHEg3bgdg">pic.twitter.com/iYHEg3bgdg</a>
&mdash; NHL (@NHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1825623298991903225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Laine spent parts of four seasons in Columbus after starting his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets, who originally selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. The 6&#8217;5&#8243; Finn scored a career-high 44 goals with the Jets in the 2017-18 season and racked up 64 goals and 138 points in 174 games over his tenure with the Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets had been searching for a trade partner for Laine for most of the offseason after he <a href="https://x.com/mark_scheig/status/1801004686360576266?s=46&amp;t=cPYhpSLqKLAxK72dD2p0_A">reportedly</a> asked for a change of scenery back in June. In Montreal, Laine will have the opportunity to join an impressive crop of wingers that also includes Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield, with top 2024 draft pick Ivan Demidov on his way.
In Harris, the Blue Jackets add a 24-year-old left-handed defender who showed reasonably well with the Canadiens in a depth role over the last two seasons. The Haverhill, Massachusetts product will join the likes of Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson, Erik Gudbranson, and David Jiricek in Columbus&#8217;s defensive group.
<blockquote>Oilers flip Cody Ceci as offer sheet decision looms</blockquote>
Late Sunday night, the Edmonton Oilers sent veteran defenceman Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks in a move designed to free up more cap space as they continue to debate whether to match the Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway offer sheets.
The deal saw Ceci and a 2025 third-round pick go to San Jose in exchange for young defenceman Ty Emberson, who previously played for Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch with the AHL&#8217;s Hartford Wolf Pack.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
🔁 TRADE 🔁
The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Oilers</a> have acquired defenceman Ty Emberson from San Jose in exchange for defenceman Cody Ceci &amp; a 2025 third-round draft pick.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LetsGoOilers</a>
&mdash; Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) <a href="https://twitter.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1825367131547996240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The Oilers have until Tuesday morning to make their decision on Broberg and Holloway, who both signed two-year offer sheets with the St. Louis Blues last week.
If Edmonton elects not to match Broberg&#8217;s $4.58 million AAV deal, they&#8217;ll receive the Blues&#8217; own 2025 second-round pick as compensation; if they let Holloway and his $2.29 million AAV contract go, they&#8217;ll get the Blues&#8217; 2025 third-rounder.
Both Ceci and Emberson are entering the final years of their respective contracts, with Emberson needing to play at least 50 games in 2024-25 to avoid becoming a Group 6 UFA at season&#8217;s end. The Oilers cleared $2.3 million in 2024-25 cap space with the trade.
<blockquote>Preds goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov requests trade</blockquote>
After blocking Yaroslav Askarov&#8217;s path to an NHL job by signing Scott Wedgewood earlier as their backup for Juuse Saros this summer, it appears as though the Nashville Predators might now have to trade their top goaltending prospect.
Askarov, 22, posted a 30-13-1 record and a .911 save percentage in 44 games with the AHL&#8217;s Milwaukee Admirals last season, but he only appeared in two NHL games with the Predators during the year.
Now, according to ESPN&#8217;s Kevin Weekes, the 2020 first-round pick has <a href="https://x.com/KevinWeekes/status/1825522460185198916">informed</a> the Predators he has no intention of returning to Milwaukee and spending another year as the organization&#8217;s No. 3 goaltender.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
**Breaking News** 🚨 📰 I’m told that Top Goalie Prospect Askarov has informed the <a href="https://twitter.com/PredsNHL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PredsNHL</a> that he will not report to their <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAHL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAHL</a> team, and has requested a trade. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HockeyX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HockeyX</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Preds?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Preds</a> <a href="https://t.co/EQFGs7FUJK">pic.twitter.com/EQFGs7FUJK</a>
&mdash; Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinWeekes/status/1825522460185198916?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Askarov first made a name for himself as a junior goalie in the SKA St. Petersburg system and with Team Russia at the 2020 and 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships before arriving in North America in 2022. The 6&#8217;4&#8243; goaltender has been named to the AHL All-Star Classic in each of the last two seasons and remains one of the NHL&#8217;s best goalie prospects.
It&#8217;s unclear which teams might have interest in trading for Askarov, although a number of Eastern Conference teams are still searching for their goaltender of the future. Don&#8217;t be surprised if the likes of Montreal, Ottawa, Detroit, and Carolina pop up in the rumour mill in relation to Askarov over the next few weeks.

Welcome back to NHL Notebook — the series here at CanucksArmy where we deliver you news and notes from around the National Hockey League — oftentimes through a Vancouver Canucks-tinted lens!

Things are starting to kick back into high gear around the National Hockey League as the start of training camp draws ever closer.

As such, we've got no shortage of headlines to dig into today! Here goes it.
<blockquote>Habs nab Patrik Laine from Columbus</blockquote>
On Monday morning, the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets finally consummated a deal that seemingly every Québécois armchair GM had been trying to manifest since the offseason began.

The Blue Jackets traded winger Patrik Laine, who skated in just 18 games with the club last season, along with a 2026 second-round pick to the Canadiens in exchange for defenceman Jordan Harris. The 26-year-old Laine has two years remaining on his contract an $8.7 million cap hit.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1825623298991903225

Laine spent parts of four seasons in Columbus after starting his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets, who originally selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. The 6'5" Finn scored a career-high 44 goals with the Jets in the 2017-18 season and racked up 64 goals and 138 points in 174 games over his tenure with the Blue Jackets.

The Blue Jackets had been searching for a trade partner for Laine for most of the offseason after he <a href="https://x.com/mark_scheig/status/1801004686360576266?s=46&amp;t=cPYhpSLqKLAxK72dD2p0_A">reportedly</a> asked for a change of scenery back in June. In Montreal, Laine will have the opportunity to join an impressive crop of wingers that also includes Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield, with top 2024 draft pick Ivan Demidov on his way.

In Harris, the Blue Jackets add a 24-year-old left-handed defender who showed reasonably well with the Canadiens in a depth role over the last two seasons. The Haverhill, Massachusetts product will join the likes of Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson, Erik Gudbranson, and David Jiricek in Columbus's defensive group.
<blockquote>Oilers flip Cody Ceci as offer sheet decision looms</blockquote>
Late Sunday night, the Edmonton Oilers sent veteran defenceman Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks in a move designed to free up more cap space as they continue to debate whether to match the Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway offer sheets.

The deal saw Ceci and a 2025 third-round pick go to San Jose in exchange for young defenceman Ty Emberson, who previously played for Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch with the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack.

https://twitter.com/EdmontonOilers/status/1825367131547996240

The Oilers have until Tuesday morning to make their decision on Broberg and Holloway, who both signed two-year offer sheets with the St. Louis Blues last week.

If Edmonton elects not to match Broberg's $4.58 million AAV deal, they'll receive the Blues' own 2025 second-round pick as compensation; if they let Holloway and his $2.29 million AAV contract go, they'll get the Blues' 2025 third-rounder.

Both Ceci and Emberson are entering the final years of their respective contracts, with Emberson needing to play at least 50 games in 2024-25 to avoid becoming a Group 6 UFA at season's end. The Oilers cleared $2.3 million in 2024-25 cap space with the trade.
<blockquote>Preds goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov requests trade</blockquote>
After blocking Yaroslav Askarov's path to an NHL job by signing Scott Wedgewood earlier as their backup for Juuse Saros this summer, it appears as though the Nashville Predators might now have to trade their top goaltending prospect.

Askarov, 22, posted a 30-13-1 record and a .911 save percentage in 44 games with the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals last season, but he only appeared in two NHL games with the Predators during the year.

Now, according to ESPN's Kevin Weekes, the 2020 first-round pick has <a href="https://x.com/KevinWeekes/status/1825522460185198916">informed</a> the Predators he has no intention of returning to Milwaukee and spending another year as the organization's No. 3 goaltender.

https://twitter.com/KevinWeekes/status/1825522460185198916

Askarov first made a name for himself as a junior goalie in the SKA St. Petersburg system and with Team Russia at the 2020 and 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships before arriving in North America in 2022. The 6'4" goaltender has been named to the AHL All-Star Classic in each of the last two seasons and remains one of the NHL's best goalie prospects.

It's unclear which teams might have interest in trading for Askarov, although a number of Eastern Conference teams are still searching for their goaltender of the future. Don't be surprised if the likes of Montreal, Ottawa, Detroit, and Carolina pop up in the rumour mill in relation to Askarov over the next few weeks.

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