[sureLoss]

Report: Sens, Blue Jackets, Red Wings, Habs, and Bruins have all looked into Andersson

https://rg.org/news/hockey/jackets-s...eing-andersson

“The Flames are definitely listening and exploring their options,” the source said. “I’m hearing the Blue Jackets, Red Wings, Canadiens, and Bruins have all looked into Andersson.”

Another NHL source told RG that the Ottawa Senators were also pursuing Andersson.

Neither source knew for sure what the Andersson camp is asking for on a new contract, but with the NHL salary cap expected to rise and plenty of teams needing a top-four right-shot defenseman, there will be teams willing to meet his salary demands. Out of the teams listed above, the Columbus Blue Jackets have the most cap space to spend. According to PuckPedia, the Blue Jackets currently have $40.4 million in projected cap space. The Bruins are at $23 million, the Red Wings at $21.3 million, the Senators at $10.7 million, and the Canadiens at $6.1 million.

“The Blue Jackets make a ton of sense,” the first source said. “They have all that space, they have two first-round picks this year, prospects, and some are NHL-ready. The Bruins—I can see that too, after they lost [Brandon] Carlo on the right. But are they trying to get younger? That would be a heck of a top four for them with a healthy Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy alongside Andersson. As for the Canadiens, you know they have draft collateral and some blue-chip prospects, but they would need to move NHL roster players to take the cap hit.”

As for the Senators, RG has previously reported that they have been coveting a right-shot defenseman since last offseason. Their second-pairing right-side defenseman this past season was Nick Jensen, but he is now a 35-year-old unrestricted free agent. It makes sense that the Senators would want to upgrade that spot with someone like Andersson.
Source: https://rg.org/news/hockey/jackets-s...eing-andersson