NHL Roundup: Devils acquire Ryan Graves; Panthers buyout Keith Yandle; latest transactions and rumors
The New Jersey Devils acquired defenseman Ryan Graves from the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday in exchange for forward Mikhail Maltsev and their second-round pick in this month’s NHL draft.
Graves, 26, has two years left on his current contract with an average annual value of $3,166,667. He was originally a draft pick of the New York Rangers.
Devils acquire Ryan Graves from Avalanche
Colorado had a glut of left-shot defensemen, so amid a flat salary cap situation across the NHL and just ahead of next week’s Seattle Kraken expansion draft, the team moved Graves for a less expensive player. The Avalanche also recouped a pick after dealing their original second-rounder to the New York Islanders for Devon Toews last October.
“Ryan brings physicality, size, an ability to defend in tough situations and a fearless compete level that makes him tough to play against,” said New Jersey Devils Executive Vice President/General Manager Tom Fitzgerald. “His assertive style of play and ability to play with young defensemen are characteristics that fit into what we are building with our group.”
NHL
Panthers buyout Keith Yandle
There seemed to be a growing divided between the Florida Panthers and Keith Yandle last season. Today, that divide has led to a buyout of the veteran defenseman.
Yandle turns 35 in September and had two seasons remaining on a seven-year, $44.45 million deal he signed in June 2016. That contract also had a no-movement clause. That meant Florida would have been forced to protect him in the upcoming expansion draft, and forced to expose a younger asset on defense.
The Panthers in turn used the savings on Yandle’s contract to sign Gustav Forsling and Anthony Duclair to three-year deals. Some early rumored landing spots are the Bruins, Flyers, Canadiens, and Kraken.
Latest Transactions and Rumors
Here’s the remaining transactions from yesterday:
- Devils signed Michael McLeod to a 2-year deal
- Flames signed Brett Ritchie to a 1-year deal
- Sharks signed Dylan Gambrell to a 1-year deal
- Predators signed Cole Smith to a 1-year deal
- Canadiens signed Alex Belzile to 1-year deal
- Blue Jackets signed Cameron Johnson to a 1-year deal
Here are the top rumors from yesterday:
- Zach Hyman has permission to talk with other teams
- Gabriel Landeskog upset with Avs, offers revealed
- Philip Danault likely heading to free agency
- Ben Bishop waives NMC
Read all the latest Rumors at The Daily Goal Horn.
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