Oilers, Habs reportedly almost collaborated on the second sign-and-trade in NHL history this summer
Earlier this summer, we saw the Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames come together on the league's first ever official sign-and-trade, which sent superstar winger Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, a first round pick and a prospect. According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, we almost saw the second sign-and-trade in history take place this summer as well.
Per Friedman, the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens almost linked up on a deal where the Habs would have signed prized UFA defenseman John Klingberg and then retained a portion of his salary and shipped him off to the Edmonton Oilers for "a sweetener". Ultimately, the deal fell apart and Klingberg was left without a contract. A short time later, he signed a 1-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks worth $7M.
Friedman did not reveal any details as to what the sweetener would have been in the Oilers/Habs/Klingberg deal, nor did he reveal a potential term and AAV on the deal. One has to wonder if this deal falling apart had anything to do with why Klingberg fired his agent. It sure didn't take him long to line up a new deal once he switched representation.
