Montreal Canadiens could rescue the Edmonton Oilers from the offer sheets

Roughly two years ago, the Calgary Flames were in desperate need of some saving, and GM of the Habs Kent Hughes came to the rescue by initiating in a trade, where Sean Monahan and a first-round pick were traded to Montreal in exchange for future considerations. Could Hughes possibly help rescue a second Alberta team after two of their top young players were offer sheeted by the St. Louis Blues earlier?

The Oilers are cap strapped and it will be very difficult for them to match these two offers, as combined they would be a total cap hit of $6,871,374 per season. The Oilers are already $400,000 over the salary cap and can't afford anything more. Kent Hughes could come to the rescue here as the Habs have over $5 million in salary cap space and possibly more space to come.

Rumors circulating are linking Cody Ceci to the Montreal Canadiens. Ceci is 30-years-old and is a defenseman who will make $3.25 million this upcoming season, and who will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) next summer. Ceci had a nice season for the Oilers, playing in 79 games and scoring five goals and 25 points. He was also very responsible defensively, with a plus/minus of +12. The Habs might be willing to trade for him, and then either keep him, or trade him closer to the deadline for prospects and picks should the team not be in a playoff position.

If the Oilers are able to clear Ceci's salary off the books, it could possibly allow them to sign at least one of the two players who were offer sheeted, or possibly both if they have another plan in the works too.

It wouldn't hurt Kent Hughes to pick up the phone and have a quick chat with Stan Bowman to see if there's any possibility of this trade being done, but one thing's for sure, everything comes with a price, and the Canadiens are likely going to expect something extra on top of Ceci if they are to take on all that salary to help out the Oilers.

Source: Habs Fanatics
The Canadiens could help the Oilers out of their offer sheet disaster via trade

Source: HockeyDB
Cody Ceci Stats