No, the Habs should not go after Cody Ceci’s contract (even for a top-64 pick)

For the past few days, Stan Bowman and Jeff Jackson must be having trouble sleeping in Edmonton. The Blues have put the Oilers in a precarious situation with two hostile offer sheets (Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway), and time is running out for the Oilers to make a decision.

I still think they’ll match the offer made to Holloway, but that Broberg will become a member of the Blues.

That said, there’s also a world in which the Oilers get rid of a bad contract in order to match both offers. And, of course, there’s a lot of talk about Cody Ceci ($3.25 million for one year) and Brett Kulak ($2.75 million per year for two years) being moved.

In the last few hours, Bruce Garrioch (Ottawa Citizen) reported that teams have shown interest in taking on the contracts of both defensemen… but it’s going to cost the Oilers.

We’re asking the Oilers to pay a first- or second-round pick, since we know they have no leverage.

Oilers on the phone for Ceci and Kulakhttps://t.co/6Py35RL3Ib

– RDS (@RDSca) August 16, 2024

In reality, for a rebuilding team with money to spend, this is an interesting idea. A bit like the Habs did with Sean Monahan back in the day, it’s a way to pick up a pick “for free”, and it can also offer a guy to help out on the blue line.

For a team like the Sharks, for example, it’s interesting. The club has nearly $14 million in cap space, and being in the early stages of its rebuild, another pick wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Of course, the Habs (who have money under the cap) are also a club that could stick their nose in. That said, even for a top-64 pick, going after a guy like Cody Ceci doesn’t really make sense in the city.

Kent Hughes already has nine picks in the first four rounds of the upcoming draft, and eventually, the club is going to be tight with its 50-contract limit. I’d be extremely surprised to see the Habs use those nine picks at the next amateur auction, and going after a 10th just doesn’t make sense.

And even if it is a pick for 2026, we’re talking about a prospect who will be much younger than the current core. That’s not what the organization is looking for, as it wants the future to become the present very soon.

Obviously, this pick here could be used to add another good youngster to the club’s bank, and dragging Ceci’s contract out for a year could happen. That said, the veteran could block a youngster’s spot. If Ceci comes to town, we can almost certainly forget about a scenario in which Logan Mailloux starts the year in the NHL.

The Sean Monahan trade was a good move for the Habs two years ago… but reality isn’t the same in Montreal these days, especially on the blue line. If the bad contract was for a forward, it might pass… but on the blue line, there are too many youngsters pushing for a pick (which the Habs already have enough of) to be worth it.

Unless this pick is an essential condition for completing another transaction (for example, sending Logan Mailloux to Anaheim for Trevor Zegras), it doesn’t make sense for the Habs to go after Ceci’s contract as things stand.

And don’t even get me started on Brett Kulak: if Ceci is a problem for one year, it would be even worse for Kulak, who would be a problem for two years (and left-handed, to boot).