Post-Deadline Notes: Armia, Ferraro, Blue Jackets, Flames

The Canadiens elected to stand pat at the trade deadline, a small sign of confidence in their group that has gotten back to the edge of the playoff picture since the 4 Nations Face-Off.  But in doing so, it appears as if they opted not to make at least one move of some significance as Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports that they could have landed a second-round pick for winger Joel Armia.  The 31-year-old has 11 goals and 14 assists in 63 games this season but also has been one of the most-used players shorthanded while carrying a $3.4MM cap charge (which they may have had to pay down to make the move).  Armia is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Other notes from the recently passed trade deadline:

• Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro had been in trade speculation going all the way back to last season but remained with San Jose through the deadline. Part of the reason for that might have been the asking price as Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now suggests that GM Mike Grier was seeking a first-round pick plus another asset for the 26-year-old.  Ferraro has 11 points along with 101 blocks and 136 hits in 65 games while logging over 21 minutes a night and has one year left on his contract that carries a $3.25MM AAV.
• Going back to the start of training camp, Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell had talked openly about being willing to take on a contract or even act as a third-party retainer to add some assets. Neither of those wound up happening.  He told Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch that they had a pair of trades lined up on Thursday that would have seen them be a third-party retainer fall through plus another on Friday so it wasn’t for a lack of effort that they weren’t able to utilize any of those retention slots.
• The Flames were hoping to act as a third-party broker heading into the deadline, relays Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Herald. However, it doesn’t appear that any options were available to Calgary on rental contracts.  While they had options to act as a retainer for a contract that ran through next season, Calgary was not willing to take on dead money beyond this year, keeping their salary cap flexibility as much as possible.