Jared Cowen is reportedly still a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he appears to be involved in an arbitration dispute.
The defenseman wasn't bought out before the end of the first window Thursday, TSN's Bob McKenzie reports.
Cowen's medical status is believed to be in question, according to McKenzie, who added that both the team's and Cowen's representatives refused to comment.
The players' union is reportedly taking action.
It's believed NHLPA is now involved. This may well be subject of grievance arbitration but details scarce as both sides refuse to comment.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports the NHL and NHLPA did in fact begin an arbitration case Wednesday to determine whether the Leafs can buy Cowen out.
A decision isn't expected in the immediate future, according to Friedman, but the reported dispute apparently concerns whether Cowen was healthy when he was shut down after Toronto acquired him from the Ottawa Senators in February.
3) but, word is Cowen had surgery after he left TOR on a doctor's recommendation. Prior to that, he had been cleared to play in AHL...
The 25-year-old was traded to the Leafs in the deal that sent former captain Dion Phaneuf to the Senators. Cowen didn't play a game for Toronto due to hip problems.
Weber spent 11 seasons with the Predators after being selected in the second round of the 2003 draft.
He's the franchise leader in power-play goals and shots on goal, and he ranks second in games played, second in goals, third in assists, and third in points all time among Predators skaters.
Weber served as Nashville's captain for the last six seasons.
The Buffalo Sabres locked up one of their restricted free agents Thursday, signing defenseman Jake McCabe to a three-year contract extension, the team announced.
The 22-year-old recently completed his first full NHL season, recording four goals and ten assists in 77 games while leading the Sabres with a plus-6 rating.
McCabe spent most of last season playing alongside Zach Bogosian, and is expected to be a top-four blue-liner for years to come. He was a second-round draft pick of the Sabres in 2012.
That's pretty significant, considering the Canadiens have been in the NHL since 1917.
Over that near-century, more than a handful of deals have reshaped the franchise and altered the direction of the club for years afterward.
Here are the five biggest trades in the history of the Canadiens.
Patrick Roy to the Avalanche
If there's one deal that stirred as much controversy as Wednesday's one-for-one swap, it was Patrick Roy's exit in 1995.
The three-time Vezina Trophy winner won two Stanley Cup championships with the Canadiens before his infamous falling-out with head coach Mario Tremblay during an embarrassing 11-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Four days later, the star goaltender was shipped to the Colorado Avalanche along with captain Mike Keane for forwards Andrei Kovalenko and Martin Rucinsky, as well as netminder Jocelyn Thibault.
Roy won the Cup with the Avalanche in 1996 and cemented his Hall of Fame legacy. The Canadiens haven't returned to the final since he was dealt.
Subban for Weber
There's no way to sugarcoat it: The Canadiens got significantly worse by dealing away a 27-year-old franchise defenseman in the prime of his career for a declining 31-year-old with an atrocious contract.
What made it most confounding is that Canadiens management gave no specific reason for making the deal, and it's a trade the club and its fan base won't soon forget.
Sealing California's fate
Guy Lafleur could have been a California Golden Seal if not for a major trade.
The Canadiens acquired the first overall pick in the 1971 draft from California along with Francois Lacombe for 1970 first-rounder Chris Oddleifson and veteran forward Ernie Hicke.
Montreal selected Lafleur with the top pick in '71, and it was a brilliant choice.
He won the Cup five times with Montreal, finishing his Hall of Fame career as the franchise's all-time assists and points leader. He ranks second in Canadiens history in goals (518) behind Maurice "Rocket" Richard (544).
Five years after the trade, the Golden Seals relocated to Cleveland and became the Barons before merging with the Minnesota North Stars in 1978.
Toe Blake goes across town
After playing eight games for the Montreal Maroons and winning the Stanley Cup in 1935, left winger Hector "Toe" Blake was traded to the Canadiens for goaltender Lorne Chabot in 1936.
That turned out to be a steal for the Habs. Blake won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 1939, authored six 20-goal seasons, and won two more championships with the Canadiens in 1944 and 1946.
Blake's biggest contributions with the Canadiens came behind the bench. After eight years coaching the club's affiliates, he was named head coach of the NHL club in 1955.
He won the Stanley Cup in each of his first five seasons in the role, and guided the team to eight championships between 1956 and 1968.
Canadiens land 'The Big M'
Frank Mahovlich was a 16-year NHL veteran at the time of his trade from the Detroit Red Wings, but he turned out to be a major addition for the Canadiens.
Mahovlich was traded along with defenseman Bart Crashley for center Garry Monahan and minor-league blue-liner Doug Piper. Mahovlich played his final four NHL seasons with the Canadiens, notching a 43-goal season and three campaigns with at least 30. He won two championships with Montreal, giving him six in his career.
Monahan, Montreal's first overall pick in 1963, was the only other player to suit up for an NHL team after the deal. He collected seven points in 51 games with the Red Wings before moving on to the Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping to bolster their blue line when free agency begins July 1.
The team is looking to add a top-four defenseman, TSN's Darren Dreger reported during Thursday's "Insider Trading," adding that the team has "shown interest" in pending unrestricted free agent Kris Russell.
The 29-year-old started last season with the Calgary Flames, and was traded to the Dallas Stars at the trade deadline. It appears unlikely Russell will re-sign in Texas, and Dreger notes a long list of teams are interested in his services.
With Stamkos sticking with the Tampa Bay Lightning instead of hitting the free-agent market Friday at noon ET, Lucic is the big-ticket unrestricted free-agent forward. And the power forward is about to become unimaginably wealthy.
Lucic has narrowed his choices to two teams, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun. It seems a decision will be made Friday, when the market opens.
LeBrun reported earlier Thursday that demand for Lucic's services is "sky high," adding there's "no shortage of interest" and identifying the Montreal Canadiens as one of the teams looking at the 28-year-old.
The defender, who will turn 26 in September, finds himself a free agent after not being tendered a qualifying offer by the Ottawa Senators earlier this week. And his agent's phone is reportedly ringing.
Several teams calling on Patrick Wiercioch, who may provide value on July 1. Could be worth a shot on guy trying re-establish himself.
A second-round pick of the Senators in 2008, Wiercioch spent parts of five seasons with Ottawa. He had five assists in 52 games last season, and has 12 goals and 50 assists in 211 career regular-season games.
Wiercioch has been a positive possession player throughout his career, with a 52.98 Corsi For rating, according to Corsica Hockey. His 48.3 mark last season was by far the lowest he's posted.
A left-handed shooter, Wiercioch just wrapped up a three-year, $6-million contract.
The 32-year-old was owed $3 million for the 2016-17 season, but he will now be paid $2 million over the next two seasons, according to CapFriendly. The buyout will save the Hurricanes $2 million in cap space next season.
After being acquired in a trade last offseason, Wisniewski played just one game for the Hurricanes - tearing his ACL during the first period of the team's season opener in October.
The right-handed blue-liner is just two years removed from setting a career-high 51 points during the 2013-14 season as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Wilson, a 2012 first-round draft pick, was headed for restricted free agency. The 22-year-old recorded at least 150 penalty minutes in each of his three NHL seasons, while his offensive totals have increased each year.
Last season, he set career highs with seven goals and 16 assists.
After the team's disappointing playoff exit, general manager Brian MacLellan stated his hope that Wilson could grow into a player like former Capital Joel Ward, who he said the team lacked during their postseason run.
The only thing more interesting than the three transactions that rocked the NHL within a 15-minute span Wednesday were some of the comments made by the players involved.
It's not every day you see a first overall draft pick get traded. But given how loaded the Edmonton Oilers were up front, something had to give. With all the talk focused on players like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov, Taylor Hall probably felt safe in Edmonton.
Turns out, he wasn't. He found that out Wednesday, and he wasn't happy about it.
"I certainly do feel slighted about the whole thing," Hall said. "I feel like I've been a good soldier for six years and I felt like I prepared the best I could. I did as much as I felt I could on the ice and at the end of the day, I guess they felt they wanted to go in a different direction, which is fine."
Sometimes the measure of a player's worth is what he fetches in return for his services. The Oilers swapped Hall for New Jersey Devils defenseman Adam Larsson. That's it. One for one. No salary retained. No draft picks. No prospects or minor leaguers.
"It's tough, I felt like I had a pretty deep connection with the city of Edmonton" Hall added. "I'm going to do everything I can do to make the Devils proud that they made this deal."
The Oilers lack depth on defense and while acquiring someone like Larsson makes sense, the return for Hall - one of hockey's premier five-on-five players and left wingers - was shocking. Edmonton, which hosted Milan Lucic earlier in the week during the free-agent negotiating period, must have some assurance that it will be able to fill the hole Hall leaves up front on July 1.
But feelings were definitely hurt, and not only in Edmonton.
Au revoir, P.K.
Minutes after the Hall-Larsson deal, P.K. Subban, the defenseman with the highest salary cap hit ($9 million) in the league, was traded to the Nashville Predators for the guy who carries the second-largest cap hit, Shea Weber.
Subban was measured in his comments about the trade, acknowledging he wasn't blind to how the situation developed.
"Not really surprised. I think with a lot of the chatter that kind of happened over the little while, I'm a firm believer that when there's smoke there's fire," he said. "At no point did I ever want to leave Montreal or (was) given a notion from anybody that I would be traded. But the way the business works, as hockey players, we don't often believe the stuff that we want to see or read things in the media. But when stuff is buzzing around that long, you have to think that there's some stuff going on."
More hurt feelings. For Hall, his frustration seems to begin and end with his trade. For Subban, the deal ends an eventful, polarizing tenure in Montreal. He endured an acrimonious contract negotiation that went through the early stages of arbitration before a deal was struck, and his salary made him a lightning rod for any and all criticism aimed the Habs' way.
Financially, the Canadiens save approximately $1.15 million annually on Weber's contract. There are 10 years remaining on his deal, though, and if Weber retires before the end of the contract, it will be Nashville, not Montreal, in charge of cap recapture penalties.
The new normal
So why are these trades happening?
Since June 25, teams have been able to negotiate with prospective free agents. Since it's been a few days, each team has a clear idea ahead of who it can or can't acquire on July 1.
In Edmonton's case, it's quite clear Peter Chiarelli feels he has an edge on potential free agents who can fill Hall's spot in the top six. In Montreal's case, the window to move Subban before his no-movement clause kicked in on July 1 was integral to the trade being made. Montreal gets an All-Star defenseman it hopes will perform even better in the Eastern Conference.
Another factor is a trend we saw in February. Teams don't want to be pressured into making a trade at the final hour, as the clock runs out. The Toronto Maple Leafs traded Dion Phaneuf weeks before the deadline. Andrew Ladd was dealt four days before Feb. 29, while James Reimer was moved on the 27th. Eric Staal left Carolina on the 28th.
Stanley over money
Topping off a crazy Wednesday in late June was Steven Stamkos, who ultimately decided he wouldn't test the market. He's staying in Tampa Bay, re-upping with the Lightning on an eight-year, $68-million deal.
There's little doubt Stamkos could have left for more money, but given how far Tampa went in the playoffs while he was injured, it's easy to wonder what might have happened had No. 91 been healthy. You can bet that was on his mind during the negotiating window, when he surely talked with the many teams in hot pursuit.
There will be more fireworks on July 1 at noon ET, when the free-agent market officially opens. It's usually a day when most general managers are judged for overspending. But the tide's turning. The trends appear to tell us the fireworks won't be as extravagant as they were before.
