Why didn't the Habs acquire Cody Ceci?
In the past week, the St. Louis Blues put the Edmonton Oilers in a tough spot by making two offer sheets to young players Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg.
They had 7 days to match the two offers, but more importantly, to free up the necessary salary cap space to do so.
Logically, teams with plenty of cap space were linked to the Oilers for acquiring high-salaried players like Cody Ceci or Brett Kulak. The Canadiens, having cap space, were one of the teams the Oilers were linked to. However, we now know that Cody Ceci has become a member of the San Jose Sharks, not the Canadiens.
Did Kent Hughes make the right decision not to acquire Cody Ceci?
Kent Hughes made the right decision by not acquiring the 30-year-old defenseman due to the price offered for him.
Rumors suggested that the Oilers were willing to give up a 1st or 2nd round pick to offload Ceci's contract. However, the Oilers only gave up a 3rd round pick along with the Ottawan defender in exchange for a 3rd-pair defenseman, Ty Emberson.
The Oilers acquired a defenseman and freed up a total of $2.3 million for a 3rd-round pick. The Alberta team didn't pay much to rid themselves of Ceci's contract, considering the predicament he was in. The Oilers certainly made a good deal; they didn't pay much, solved their salary cap issue, and acquired a good defenseman to replace Cody Ceci.
The Canadiens could have offered a defenseman like Jordan Harris for a 3rd-round pick and Cody Ceci. Sometimes, the best transaction is the one you don't make, more given the fact that this defenseman was used to make the acquisition of Patrik Laine and a 2nd round pick.
| POLL | ||
Is Cody Ceci a top 4 defenseman? | ||
| Yes | 25 | 12.2 % |
| No | 180 | 87.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
