The whirlwind offseason is underway, with the first round of the draft complete and teams looking ahead to the admittedly uncertain 2020-21 campaign.
There is an unspoken pact among general managers not to target other teams’ players in free agency but this courtesy should go out the window. Last summer, despite Brayden Point, Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen all sitting vulnerable, the Canadiens were the only team to pull the trigger, submitting a five-year, $42-million offer for Sebastian Aho.
Carolina matched the offer in hilarious fashion, taunting Montreal for the audacity of the proposed deal. All banter aside, however, this is the year where teams ought to strike and capitalize upon a talented core of players, most of whom have yet to hit their peak.