What could the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets could be thinking ahead of the trade deadline?
Sportsnet: Frank Seravalli on if the Calgary Flames are going to be buyers or sellers at the NHL trade deadline, and what the Winnipeg Jets could be thinking.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Nick Kypreos: “Gotta ask you about Winnipeg and Calgary in terms of the expectations going into the trade deadline. We know Winnipeg is in a different place than Calgary, but low and behold, Calgary is man, right there in the thick of things as well. So what are you hearing on those, those fronts?”
Seravalli: “Well, the Flames are just patient. They’ve been a scrappy team. They’ve been to me, one of the most fun teams to watch in the league, because I think they really understand what they have and what their identity is. And they don’t really try to do too much. They’re hardly ever playing over their heads, which I think has been a really important facet of this season. And they also seem really comfortable no matter the situation, down, up, whatever it is.
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They’ve got enough vets there that they’ve pulled that group together. The culture is night and day different, I think, from this year to last. And I think they’re a team that’s going to remain right in it up until the very end.
As far as what that means for the trade deadline, it probably means that there’s not going to be a fire sale, which is disappointing to a lot of teams I’m sure. Will they have to consider a call or two if it comes in asking for Rasmus Andersson, or whatever that market looks like? Yeah, Craig Conroy is going to have to consider everything that comes across his plate for the Calgary Flames. But I, I don’t think they’re in a posture or position where they’d want to do something.
And I think the bigger part when it comes to Winnipeg is asking the question of Kevin Cheveldayoff, who took a couple big swings last year. Although the prices weren’t exorbitantly high, still certainly paid a pretty decent penny to bring in the guys that he did that made immediate changes that really didn’t impact that team in the playoffs.
So look, I think Winnipeg for the start that they had, and then the almost expected downturn and came, you know, come back to Earth, I still like the Jets, actually, if you’re looking at some odds and Borne, I know you’re all over this. Like Jets as a President’s Trophy winner. I mean points-wise, gold differential-wise, I don’t know why that wouldn’t be a team that you’d be thinking about in terms of ability to make a run for that as the top team in the West or in the entire NHL in the regular season. I think they’re pretty uniquely positioned for that with Connor Hellebuyck.
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And I just wonder, I don’t, again, don’t know exactly what Kevin Cheveldayoff’s thinking. But when you, when you do go out last year, and make the additions that you did and then don’t find success in the playoffs, do you turn around the next year and say, ‘maybe less is more.’ Maybe we have a good team, and don’t need to do that. I don’t know.”
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