
Schlemko, 30, was picked from the San Jose Sharks in Wednesday’s Expansion Draft and dealt to the Canadiens this afternoon. Schlemko is a steady second pairing defenseman who has 20-plus point upside, but hasn’t appeared in more than 67 games in a single year in his NHL career. He posted 18 points (2G / 16A) in 62 games with the Sharks last year and will replace Alexei Emelin on the Habs’ blueline after Emelin was also chosen by Vegas.
After being selected in the expansion draft yesterday, it was rumoured that van Riemsdyk could be on the move before Friday’s draft and Carolina is where he ends up. The 25-year right shot defenseman was limited to 58 games in 2016-17, but set a career-high with 16 points (5G / 11A). TVR is just scratching the surface offensively and should be a key member of an already talented Hurricanes’ blueline.
Strome, 23, was the No.5 overall pick in 2011 and has had a couple of tough seasons since posting 50 points (17G / 33A) in 2014-15. Overall, Strome has 126 points (45G / 81A) in 258 career NHL games. Strome is set to become a restricted free agent next summer and carries a $2.5 million cap hit this year, versus Eberle’s $6.0M AAV for the next two seasons.
Eberle scored 20 goals with 31 assists (51 points) in 82 games with the Oilers last season. The 27-year-old winger struggled in the playoffs, collected just two assists in 13 games before the Oilers were bounced. Eberle has averaged 24 goals and 32 assists (56 points) over that last four seasons and could see ample playing time with John Tavares in 2018.
Smith, 33, was with the Coyotes for the last six seasons, but heads to Calgary to address their need for a No.1 netminder. Smith has had injury issues in his career, but when he is healthy he is capable of starting 60-plus games. The veteran netminder has posted a .911 SV% over the last three seasons while regularly facing more shots than most other goalies. Bringing in Brian Elliott last summer didn’t really work for the Flames, but they’re hoping they’ve finally found the goalie they’ve been searching for since Miikka Kiprusoff retired.
Beaulieu was a first round pick in 2011 (No.17 overall) and had his best season of his young career in 2016-17, scoring four goals with 24 assists (28 points) in 74 games. The Canadiens could potentially have lost Beaulieu in the expansion draft, so they elected to trade him and at least get something back in return instead of losing him for nothing.
Cousins, 23, was a third round pick of the Flyers in 2011 and he amassed 27 points (12G / 15A) in 107 career NHL games. Cousins was been a near point per game player the AHL level, posting 34 goals and 60 assists (94 points) in 102 games in 2015 and 2016. He has the scoring ability, but just needs to elevate his NHL game to be more productive.