Guys,

There's a lot of news being almost revealed by the minute about Petey. Now the question is, why is there this extreme sudden urgency to get him re-signed and why are they adamant about doing it right now when realistically, he's a controlled asset that doesn't need to be dealt with this until the offseason?

I think the plan was originally to acquire Lindholm and see where things would go on from there, which would allow them to defer the Petey contract. But it's become somewhat evident that Lindholm hasn't been that piece to elevate us into irrefutable favourites territory, and in my opinion, I think management see that too.

With that in mind, my guess is that they have a trade on paper. And not only that - I think they have a trade in place for a player that is going to sign a long-term deal. That's why they have to know whether Petey is in-or-out in the next couple days, because of the impending TDL and to see whether we can slot in this new player while also retaining Petey (because it wouldn't make sense to lock up any long-term asset before signing Petey of course).

Rutherford and co. already revealed that they weren't willing to trade futures / significant pieces for pure rentals. I am sure they're also looking for a player that they feel confident about locking up long-term. To me, it sounds like Jake Guentzel is that guy but of course this is all speculation at this point.

Thoughts?

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