Could Methot be Coming Back?
A new clarification opens the possibility of a quick return
A clarification of the Expansion Draft rules came to light today, via Pierre LeBrun:
The Jan. 1 rule is for players traded to other teams before the expansion draft; they can't be re-acquired prior to Jan. 1
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 26, 2017
What does this mean? It means that, in theory, the Vegas Golden Knights could trade Marc Methot back to the Ottawa Senators right now if a deal could be made.
Let’s be clear - this is purely about such a deal being possible. At the moment there is absolutely nothing to indicate if it’s something that has actually been discussed between Vegas and Ottawa or not.
The question on such a possible deal is how much the price may have changed from the cost of s side deal to keep Methot in the first place. The reported price to keep Methot before the expansion draft was Ottawa’s 2018 1st round pick, plus the Sens would still be losing a player. At the very least, any deal now would come with more flexibility and allow a deal that only involves Ottawa losing picks or prospects - not a roster player. The combined price of the 2018 1st rounder and still losing a player may have gone down as well, if Vegas picked Methot with the intent to flip him and haven’t found as much of a market as they were expecting.
Again - there’s no indication that there is actually a deal in the works yet, but it’s an interesting possibility to consider.
