NHL trade deadline preview

 

NHL trade deadline preview

What can be expected with two weeks until the trade deadline arrives?

By Ryan Mosher

NEW YORK (Feb. 22, 2024) – The National Hockey League’s trade deadline is almost upon us. There are plenty of teams looking to solidify themselves as contenders and some teams already looking towards next year.

According to TSN, the top three players most likely to be traded all currently reside in Calgary with the Flames. Those three players are defensemen Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev, as well as goaltender Jacob Markstrom. The destinations for these three aren’t crystal clear.

Ultimately, I believe that Markstrom’s destination will come down to the New Jersey Devils or the Edmonton Oilers. Both teams have talented rosters but haven’t played to their potential because of inconsistent goaltending.

The Devils hoped that Nico Daws would be ready for consistent NHL action, but he has struggled to this point. With Dougie Hamilton on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), New Jersey has $9 million extra cap space, so Markstrom’s $6 million contract isn’t an issue.

Unlike the Devils, the Oilers are currently sitting in a playoff spot and Stuart Skinner has given them quality goaltending recently. The worrisome part for the Oilers is the possibility of having Skinner wear down during the playoffs again. He has played in 22 of the Oilers’ last 29 games.

Moving on to the two defensemen, a team I would love to see Hanifin on is the Boston Bruins. This is partially biased because I am a Bruins fan, but he would be able to shore up the third defensive pairing and play on the penalty kill unit.

In pressure situations, Hanifin would play alongside Charlie McAvoy on the first defensive pairing. Unfortunately, the Bruins have less than $1 million in cap space available. We may see Hanifin on the Bruins next season, but a trade this season is unlikely.

A more likely trade destination for Hanifin is the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning need to replace their second-best defenseman, Mikhail Sergachev, who suffered a regular season-ending leg injury earlier this month.

It may take a first-round pick or an intriguing prospect to trade for Hanifin, and the Lightning don’t have a first-round pick until 2026. Therefore, they may have to part ways with someone like Tanner Jeanot if they want to complete the deal.

While Hanifin is the more expensive option, his current defensive partner, Tanev, is a much cheaper option. The team I see most likely pursuing Tanev is the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks have lost three games in a row while giving up 17 goals in that span. They still lead the NHL in points, but to advance in the playoffs they will need to improve defensively, and Tanev will help that cause tremendously.

Regardless of what happens to these three players, there will be several trades made between now and the March 8 trade deadline.

Maple Leafs defensemen Morgan Reilly handed five-game suspension

Maple Leafs defensemen Morgan Reilly handed five-game suspension

Ugly late-game penalty creates controversy

By Ryan Mosher

TORONTO (Feb. 15, 2024) – On Tuesday Feb. 13, Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly was suspended five games for a cross-check delivered to the head of Ottawa Senators forward Ridley Greig on Saturday at the Canadia Tire Centre.

Rielly reacted when Grieg took a slapshot into an empty net with six seconds remaining. The defenseman considered the play disrespectful and believed it deserved a response. He skated towards Greig and delivered a blow to the head.

There are two different schools of thought on the incident. Many younger players and fans thought the act was egregious and uncalled for, but older ones believed the response was warranted.

Teammate Ryan Reaves appreciated Rielly’s response and was disappointed with the NHL’s reaction. Per The Hockey News’ David Alter, Reaves even went as far as to say “Make hockey violent again, a tattoo I should get”.

I believe the play from Grieg did merit a response, but Rielly’s actions were unacceptable. There are other ways to make a statement and stand up for your team when you feel disrespected. An intentional cross-check to the head is never an acceptable play.

Rielly was offered an in-person hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety to discuss a punishment. An in-person hearing typically results in a longer suspension, compared to a telephone hearing.

A similar play by David Perron earlier in the season resulted in a six-game suspension from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

The reason for Rielly’s shorter suspension was his lack of disciplinary history. Rielly is historically a clean player, and this was his first offense, whereas Perron did have a prior offence. The forward received a $5,000 fine in 2022, the maximum amount under the current CBA, when he cross-checked Nazeem Kadri.

The NHL is often criticized for being wildly inconsistent when it comes to suspensions. However, their decision regarding this incident appears to be consistent when compared to the Perron incident.

Rielly filed an appeal against the suspension and an in-person meeting with commissioner Gary Bettman has been scheduled for tomorrow. Realistically the best-case scenario for Rielly is a one-game reduction of his suspension, but I don’t see that as a likely outcome.

Bruins vs Flames Game Recap

Flames tame the beast

Flames take down Bruins 4-1 in first game since Elias Lindholm was shipped to Vancouver

By Ryan Mosher

 

Boston – February 8, 2024 — The Boston Bruins faced the Calgary Flames in both teams’ first contest after the All-Star break. Boston entered the night tied for first in the NHL in points with 71 in 49 games played and a record of 31 wins, nine regulation losses, and nine overtime/shootout losses.

Calgary entered the game with a record of 22 wins, 22 regulation losses, and 5 overtime/shootout losses. This put the Flames sixth in the Pacific Division, but only five points out of a playoff spot with their 49 total points in 49 games played.

The goaltending matchup was bound to be a good one as it featured 2024 all-star Jermey Swayman up against two-time all-star, Jacob Markstrom.

It didn’t take long for Andrei Kuzmenko to open the scoring. He buried a shot on the powerplay four minutes and 20 seconds into the first period with assists from Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazeem Kadri. The goal was Kuzmenko’s ninth of the season and first since he was traded from the Vancouver Canucks as a part of the Elias Lindholm trade.

The Flames powerplay came virtue of a Brandon Carlo holding penalty. With a key part of the Bruins eight ranked penalty kill in the box, Charlie Coyle was denied on partial breakaway, then Kuzmenko scored from the slot on the ensuing counterattack.

Nearly nine minutes later Conor Zary scored goal number 11 of the season with an assist from Kadri, his second of the game. A bad offensive zone turnover from Brad Marchand led to an odd man rush, where Zary received the feed from Kadri, danced around Swayman, and tucked it home.

After the Bruins dug themselves a hole to begin the game, they looked for a spark to ignite their offense. A scrum ensued in front of the Calgary net and Martin Pospisil received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking Marchand in the face. Even with a five-minute powerplay and the fifth best powerplay percentage, the Bruins couldn’t generate much offense.

Boston started the second period with a minute remaining on the Pospisil major, but were never able to enter the zone with control of the puck as the penalty expired. There was not much action for the entire second period. Calgary was holding the fifth best scoring offense in the NHL to nothing through the first 40 minutes.

In contrast to their first two periods, the B’s came out flying and generated a scoring chance one minute into the third when Charlie McAvoy broke through and beat Markstrom, but hit the post. Not long after, Pavel Zacha drew a hooking penalty against Brayden Pachal to give the Bruins an early third period powerplay. Less than a minute later, Mackenzie Weegar took a four-minute double minor as he caught Marchand with a high stick that drew blood.

Boston capitalized on the opportunity and scored on the two-man advantage to cut their deficit to one. Zacha buried the goal on a one-timed pass from David Pastrnak, and Coyle picked up the secondary assist. Zacha’s eleventh goal of the season deflected off defenseman Noah Hanafin, which gave Markstrom no chance.

Boston scored 34 seconds into the two-man advantage, so they still had three minutes and 26 seconds of powerplay time remaining, but the Flames third-ranked penalty kill would hold strong, and the Bruins would halt their own momentum with a too many men on the ice penalty.  

Moments later, Huberdeau restored the Flames’ two goal lead after Kadri stripped McAvoy of the puck in the slot and fed the second-year Flame for his seventh goal of the year.

Now chasing the game, Coyle would take a slashing penalty for Boston and Calgary would add to their lead when Hanafin found Swayman’s five hole. Huberdeau and Markstrom were credited with the assists for the Flames second powerplay goal of the game. This was Markstrom’s third assist of the season, which matches his career high. Boston was unable to answer, and the Flames would capture win number 23 of the season.

The Flames are now only three points from the last Wild Card spot in the western conference and look to cut into that deficit when they visit New Jersey on Thursday Feb. 8.

The Bruins will look to bounce back at home against Vancouver on Thursday Feb. 8.

Lindholm traded to the Canucks and what could come next

 

Lindholm traded to the Canucks and what could come next

Number one trade piece off the board as Elias Lindholm gets traded to the NHL leading Vancouver Canucks

By Ryan Mosher

Elias Lindholm was traded from the Calgary Flames to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Andrei Kuzmenko, a first-round pick and conditional fourth-round pick in the upcoming 2024 draft, along with prospects Joni Jurmo and Hunter Brzustewicz.

The Canucks received a two-way forward who has a track record for putting up points, as he averaged 0.85 points/game in a Flames uniform. Lindholm also scored almost 30 goals for every 82 games he played with Calgary.

The Boden, Sweden native will slot in alongside Hart trophy hopeful and fellow Swede Elias Pettersson, and Ilya Mikheyev to form one of the NHL’s most formidable lines on both ends of the ice.

This deal will most likely be a rental for the Canucks. Lindholm is on the last year of his contract and Vancouver has little cap space available next season, especially when you consider that they still need to re-sign Pettersson, who will most likely demand as much as $12-13 million dollars per year.

There is a small chance the Canucks can retain Lindholm, but it will require them to shed significant salary currently allocated to next season’s cap. They could start with Conor Garland, whose cap hit will be $4.95 million until the end of the 2025-2026 season.

Garland is on-pace for a 40-point season, which is what you look for from a third line forward. However, it is hard to justify paying close to $5 million to a third liner who is not dependable in the defensive zone.  

Next, the Canucks should look to acquire a right-handed defenseman to shore up their blueline. The two most likely options are to make another trade with the Flames for Chris Tanev or look east to the free-falling Philadelphia Flyers for Sean Walker.

Chris Tanev is the best “fit” for the Canucks, as he brings the physicality that will be necessary for the impending Stanely Cup run. Tanev is also an effective penalty killer who will improve Vancouver’s mid-pack penalty kill, which currently sits at 80%.

Realistically it will be more difficult for the Canucks to trade for Sean Walker because the Flyers are currently sitting in a playoff spot, although they have lost five consecutive games. Walker’s cap hit is only $2.65 million, compared to Tanev’s $4.5 million, so Walker’s contract would fit better with Vancouver’s cap situation. Walker also kills penalties for the Flyers who hold the league’s second-best penalty kill percentage at 85.9%.

Vancouver is in a great position, leading the league with less than half of the season remaining. Historically a team in their position would make another aggressive move to go all-in for the Stanley Cup, but with their young core, the Canucks may not want to compromise their future by giving away more prospects to add a veteran presence that may only be there for a year.  It will be interesting to see which direction the Canucks take between now and the March 8 trade deadline.