Weekly Rumours – American Thanksgiving Looms
4 years ago
American Thanksgiving is looming and that means some teams are really starting to feel the heat. History shows us that 75% of teams that are holding a playoff spot near the end of November end up making it to the big dance. The teams that are on the outside looking in, Calgary and Toronto being two of the most notable, are quickly starting to run out of time to turn their season around.
There are plenty of rumours surrounding those two teams and a handful of others as we close in on a crucial time in the NHL season. Here are some of the big ones:
FLAMES OPEN TO DEALING GAUDREAU
Eric Francis is saying that if things don’t get going in Calgary, the club could be looking to move on from a significant piece of their core. Francis does mention that the Flames likely wouldn’t do something that big until the summer but in my opinion, the fact that this is even being discussed in the media shows that there are some serious problems within the organization.
If they decide to deal @Johnny Gaudreau there are two teams that I could see making a big push for him. The New Jersey Devils could be losing Taylor Hall this summer and I bet they would love to replace his star power with a local product. Philadelphia has been tied to Gaudreau since he said that he would love to play for who he considers his “hometown team” back in 2016. I could see both those teams making a push to acquire him this summer but I doubt a move would happen in-season.
I’ll end the Gaudreau talk on this: wouldn’t a Gaudreau for Hall swap make a lot of sense? Assuming Hall had an extension attached to him.
Lastly on the Flames, @Travis Hamonic’s future is also up in the air. The veteran defenseman is a UFA at the end of the season and word is that the Flames could move him sooner rather than later.
The Oilers once had interest in Hamonic when he was an Islander but I would say that there is a zero percent chance that Ken Holland would even look twice at him now. Their blueline is solid and it’s more likely that the team trades a blueliner before adding one. In fact, the market for defenseman seems rather flooded right now. Which brings me to my next point.
TYSON BARRIE ON THE BLOCK
Things are not going well for the @Toronto Maple Leafs this season. Mike Babcock is out as their Head Coach and now the pressure shifts to Kyle Dubas. There is no one else for him to blame. This is his team now and I wonder if he will do something to
Chris Johnson from Sportsnet is reporting that the marriage between the Leafs and @Tyson Barrie is not going well and the team probably won’t want him back this summer when he is a UFA. That’s leading to plenty of trade speculation around the puck-moving defenseman as he works his way through a contract year.
I could see them moving on from him before the trade deadline but I also know that Kyle Dubas is a patient, stubborn GM. He won’t make a rash move.
If Barrie is on the move, I doubt the Oilers would have much interest, if any. I like him as a player and in the past, I’ve always wanted the Oilers to make a push for him. Right now, the Oilers simply have enough defenseman and there are more coming through the pipeline. Ken Holland won’t give up assets for a defenseman. He wants forward help.
There have been some rumours floating around that the Oilers could be interested in veteran forward @Jason Spezza. The first few months of his career with the Leafs has not gone well despite the fact that he’s produced some decent numbers when he is in the lineup with seven points in 13 games.
He also makes just 700k so the Oilers could easily fit him in under the cap. I don’t hate the idea, I’m just not sure if it’s a significant upgrade on what they have. His foot speed is a question and personally, I want to see Holland add someone with a little bit more of an upside than Spezza. There’s still a part of me that could see the move happening simply because he is cheap and would be a pretty safe bet.
SABRES LOOKING FOR FORWARD HELP
The last team I want to talk about is Buffalo. They’re regularly scratching at least one NHL quality defenseman and with @Zack Bogosian almost back in the lineup, the log-jam on their blueline is only getting worse.
They desperately want to trade a defenseman for a forward, as does Carolina, but the issue is that teams aren’t going to give them great value for their spare defensemen because they know the Sabres situation.
The good news for Sabres GM Jason Botterill is that there are enough teams around the league looking to shake things up that he might be able to find a deal.
This is a time where teams might start to feel desperate and pull the trigger on a move they regret. It’s what Peter Chiarelli did last season. This is when good GM’s, or vultures, attack the weak. I’m really hoping we can see Ken Holland make a savvy move at some point in the next month or so and add a forward to this team.
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