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While the Canadiens are carrying three goalies following Friday’s recall of Jakub Dobes, that won’t be the case long. Following practice Friday, head coach Martin St. Louis told reporters, including Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, that Montreal will place goaltender Cayden Primeau on waivers on Saturday. The roster freeze doesn’t end until Saturday, so this move isn’t being made Friday.
Things were looking up for Primeau heading into the season. After playing in a three-goalie rotation for most of last season, Primeau secured the full-time second spot after Jake Allen was moved to New Jersey at the trade deadline. He finished up the season strong, putting up a .919 SV% in March and April, providing some optimism that he’d be ready for a full season of being a second-string option.
However, that hasn’t been the case, as Primeau has struggled mightily thus far in 2024-25. The 25-year-old has been limited to 11 appearances (four of which have come in relief), and he has posted a 4.70 GAA with a .836 SV%, ranking him last league-wide in both categories among netminders with more than one appearance this season. That resulted in the team being hesitant to play him as his last start came back on Dec. 1. With Samuel Montembeault only 13 games away from matching his career-high in appearances in a single season, carrying a backup they’re not comfortable using was unsustainable.
While Montreal was hesitant to waive him last season for fear he’d be claimed, they’re more confident he’ll pass through now, given his struggles so far.
The timing for those struggles is far from ideal for Primeau. He’s in the final season of a three-year deal with a $890K cap charge while also receiving a $1.1M one-way salary. As things stand, it’s hard to see the Canadiens (or another team if he’s claimed) offer him a seven-figure qualifying offer with arbitration rights this summer unless he can vastly turn things around in the second half of the season.
Since Primeau will not officially become available until Saturday, teams will have until 1 p.m. CT on Sunday to submit a claim for his services.
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Cowboys make questionable move amid Micah Parsons stalemate
The Dallas Cowboys extended one of their stars Sunday, just not the one fans wanted them to pay. At Cowboys training camp Saturday, Dallas fans serenaded owner Jerry Jones with "Pay Micah [Parsons]" chants. The EDGE, of course, is set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract this season. Jones must not have been listening. He gave tight end Jake Ferguson a new contract instead. Dallas and the 26-year-old pass-catcher agreed to a four-year, $52M contract extension, via NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. This move seems head-scratching. Parsons has won the 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year and earned two first-team All-Pro nods since the Cowboys took him with pick No. 12 in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 26-year-old EDGE also finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Ferguson, meanwhile, is solid but not elite. In three seasons with the Cowboys, the 2022 fourth-round pick has made one Pro Bowl and has never finished with more than 761 receiving yards in a season. An extension for Parsons will devour future cap space. The Cowboys may be worried about that after giving quarterback Dak Prescott (four years, $240M) and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (four years, $136M) long-term deals in 2024. Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt signed a lucrative three-year, $123M extension on July 17, making him the league's highest-paid non-QB. Parsons could command a similar contract. If cap space is Dallas' primary concern, however, why would it extend Ferguson? He's now set to be the NFL's seventh-highest-paid TE. The Cowboys waited to extend Lamb and Prescott just before the start of the 2024 season. They may be doing the same with Parsons. The star defender has said, "Ownership is always gonna make [contract negotiations] drag out." Regardless, the Cowboys should've paid Parsons before Ferguson. That's a much bigger priority for the team.
Cleveland Guardians Slapped With Bad News Before Trade Deadline
The Cleveland Guardians are quite a mystery heading into the MLB trade deadline, as no one seems to know whether they will buy, sell or possibly even do nothing before July 31. The Guardians are hovering around .500, but they are still smack dab in the middle of the American League Wild Card race. That's in spite of losing 10 straight just before the All-Star break. Even with Cleveland remaining in contention, there are some who believe the Guardians might sell given their conservative nature, but talk show host Bruce Drennan has provided some rather bad news for the team in that regard: the players they might want to move don't have much value. “No top prospects for a big bat, and I don’t necessarily see us selling players, like Carlos Santana or Lane Thomas. What can you get in return?” Drennan said. Drennan has a point. Santana and Thomas are both impending free agents, and neither has been all that good this season. Santana owns a .665 OPS, and Thomas has been on and off the injured list while hitting just .160 on the year. Of course, the Guardians would surely be able to land a hefty return for players like Steven Kwan and Emmanuel Clase, but it does not seem like Cleveland is going to move either of those two stars. Perhaps the Guardians will surprise some people and go all in by adding pieces at the deadline, but that isn't exactly in their nature. We'll see what happens before the end of the months, but it stands to reason that Cleveland might just stand pat, as Drennan anticipates. Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage
White Sox asking Mets for promising slugger in potential Luis Robert trade
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