Montreal Canadiens Trade Target: Kailer Yamamoto

The Montreal Canadiens, like every team in the NHL at this time of year, have a lot of moving parts up in that air and a plethora of plans and ideas that they are trying to execute.

Trying to fit everything together and put the pieces in place can be difficult. Especially with the salary cap now, teams can’t just do everything they want, they need to consider how much money it will cost and if there is another trade or signing out there that would make more financial sense.

One thing the Canadiens did last season was take on salary from a team nearing the cap ceiling and they were awarded with a future first round pick. That was of course the Sean Monahan trade with the Calgary Flames that cost the Canadiens nothing, but will grant them a first round pick in 2024, or 2025, or maybe even in 2026 possibly.

If the Canadiens decide to do that once again this season, the Flames would not be a great target but their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Oilers sure would be. The Oilers are looking to put a good team over the top and into Stanley Cup contender status but will need every free penny they can find to make it all work.

Ryan Rishaug of TSN reports the Oilers will likely be looking to move Kailer Yamamoto out. This would help them save some cap space as they try to add another top four defender or a top six winger.

The Canadiens definitely have the cap space. They will be putting Carey Price back on long-term injured reserve and have about $8 million in space to use this offseason. They could try to acquire and sign a player like Pierre-Luc Dubois with that money, or they could continue on the conservative path and acquire players who are not living up to their cap hit and also charge a premium to take on that money.

The desperate Oilers appear ready to move on from Yamamoto’s cap hit by any means necessary this offseason. He has one year left on his contract with a cap hit of $3.1 million. If he is bought out by the Oilers, his cap hit would be just $433,333 next season and $533,333 the following year. Since Yamamoto is only 24 years old, his cap penalty is only one-third of his original cap hit stretched out over two seasons.

It really isn’t a horrible situation for the Oilers. Still, they would probably rather move out his entire salary, but they aren’t attaching a first round pick to save a combined total of $966,666 on the cap over the next two seasons.

If the Canadiens wanted to roll the dice on a young player who had 20 goals and 41 points in 2021-22, it would cost them nothing and they may even get a middle round pick attached to take on the salary.

When they acquired Monahan, his cap hit was $6.375 million and he would have cost them two-thirds over that over two seasons, or about $2.1 million per season as a buyout penalty. That cost them a first round pick, so avoiding a quarter of that buyout penalty would only cost the Oilers a future 4th round pick or something like that.

Even though a grand prize isn’t attached, acquiring Yamamoto is still an option that would make sense for the Canadiens. He is 24, scored at a decent rate a year ago, and is a skilled winger who could fit in with the Canadiens younger group.

It would be much like acquiring Gurianov last season. If he clicks and finds his game he is a free asset, if he does not he can walk away as a free agent at the end of next season. It is a no-lose situation that the Canadiens should be considering before the buyout window closes on June 30th.

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