Measuring Canadiens Joel Edmundson’s True Trade Market Value

Ever since Joel Edmundson’s name was linked to the Edmonton Oilers, heated debates have arisen over the Montreal Canadiens’ defenceman’s true value.

The 29-year-old defenceman is in the 3rd year of his four-year, $14M deal with the Canadiens and has quickly become a talking point leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline.

The Canadiens have taken calls on their veteran defenceman in the past, but have held off on any serious conversations, but that could quickly change, as his name is starting to pop up more and more in trade banter.

With the emergence of Arber Xhekaj, Kaiden Guhle and Jordan Harris and the recent acquisition of Mike Matheson; the left side of Montreal’s defence has become extremely crowded.

In no way does this article openly suggest trading Edmundson, but, similarly to what the Canadiens did with Alexander Romanov this past summer, General Manager Kent Hughes could use an organizational strength on defence to try and improve themselves at other dire positions.

That being said, the Canadiens won’t give away Edmundson either; they’re likely to move him if they get an offer that rivals the going rate for top-4 defenceman over the past few years.

And, based on his experience and resume, Edmundson’s true trade value shouldn’t be too far off from what we’ve seen in the past.

Joel Edmundson’s Value

The outrage over Edmundson’s value came when the veteran defender was linked to the Edmonton Oilers with prospect Xavier Bourgault.

Many believed that Edmundson wasn’t worth the value of a 1st-round pick, like TSN’s Dustin Nielson, but precedence shows that he might be in for a surprise.

Montreal acquired Joel Edmundson for a 5th round pick three years ago, he doesn’t appear to be any better than he was then, now the expected value in a trade is a a prospect like Xavier Bourgault?

Someone is going to have to explain this to me.

— Dustin Nielson (@nielsonTSN1260) December 8, 2022

A former Cup-winner with the St-Louis Blues, Edmundson was also part of the top-four defensive group that powered the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup Final just two years ago.

His 48 playoff games in the last five years make him a prime candidate to come in and balance a team’s defensive corps, and there is likely no defensive unit more in need of stabilizing than that of the Edmonton Oilers.

During the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline period, the Canadiens executed two trades that should give you an idea of where Edmundson’s value truly lies.

First, the Canadiens moved defenceman Brett Kulak, who routinely played under Edmundson in the pecking order in Montreal, for a 2022 2nd-round pick (Lane Hutson), defenceman William Lagesson and a 2024 7th-round pick.

A few days prior, Hughes moved defenceman Ben Chiarot to the Florida Panthers for a 2023 1st-round pick, a 2022 4th-round pick and prospect Ty Smilanic.

In both cases, these defencemen were unrestricted free agents, meaning they were moved as pure rentals.

Just to show this isn’t a one-off occurrence, current Canadiens defenceman David Savard, who is arguably on the same level as Edmundson, also garnered a similar return for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The veteran defenceman brought back a 2021 1st-round pick and a 2022 3rd-round pick from the Tampa Bay Lightning as a rental, en route to  Stanley Cup victory over the Canadiens a few months later.

With Edmundson occupying a top-4 role on any acquiring team, and being available for not one, but two playoff runs, his value is likely to be in the same ballpark as Chiarot and Kulak.

Defenceman Market Trade Deadline

While the focus leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline will likely be on Erik Karlsson, Jacob Chychrun, and Shayne Gostisbehere, Edmundson will likely be and easier and less costly target for many teams.

The only competition the Canadiens could have for the role of top-4 two-way defenceman at this time would be the Washington Capitals’ Nick Jensen at this time, but, with the returns of Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson on the horizon, there’s doubt as to whether Washington will remain outside of a playoff spot come March.

With trade like that of Ben Chiarot and David Savard in 2020 setting the standard in pric for top-4 defencemen, it wouldn’t be outlandish at all to say that Edmundson is worth a 1st-round pick or a prospect who is a former 1st-round pick in a trade.

With the Canadiens also being able to take on salary to make any deal work, they have the added flexibility to extract maximum value, just as they did last spring for their other left-shot defencemen.

Again, the Canadiens do not have to trade Joel Edmundson, and, if they don’t get an offer that rivals what they received last year, they should hold on to him.

But when managing your roster, it’s important to set threshholds for what you believe your players are worth, and Edmundson is certainly a valuable piece, to the Canadiens and their rivals.

https://montreal.nationalhockeynow.com/2022/12/06/montreal-canadiens-oilers-linked-in-trade-chatter-but-not-for-monahan/