Sportsnet: Eric Francis says that it’s pretty evident that the Calgary Flames are getting close to being sellers at the trade deadline. GM Brad Treliving should be listening to anything. It’s possible that they could look to acquire a small piece, but “the likelihood that you’re selling in a big way.”
Francis when asked who are they realistically trading if Treliving decides they are selling.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“The first two that come to mind are the unrestricted free agents – David Rittich and Derek Ryan. These are two guys that don’t have a future in Calgary most likely. And I think those are guys you want to get something for. David Rittich has been a 1A/1B goalie for several years now. He could be a nice strong addition to a lot of different teams who are in playoff races and want to bolster that position.
The name that I’ve been saying all year long has not been in play, and I don’t think will be in play is Sam Bennett. If these are out of the playoff race, I think Sam Bennett shoots to the top of the list. He would be a great add. He would be the most valuable asset I believe on this team on the open trade market because of his value as a playoff performer.”
When asked if there are untouchables or players who may get talked about but aren’t moving.
“I knew you’d get there. Gaudreau and Monahan. This is not the time to be trading these guys. You’re going to listen and think about the possibility, but you want to wait until the offseason when you got 31 other teams you could be dealing with to possibly move those guys. That is a story for another day. But for right now I don’t think they are in play unless someone wows the Calgary Flames.
Untouchables, I think there are many, and people think we’ve got to blow this thing up. The notion that everybody’s up for grabs, to me, is completely erroneous. Markstrom and Tanev have basically been rocks. You’ve paid a lot to get them. You’re not moving those guys anywhere. Matthew Tkachuk, Dillon Dube, Andrew Mangiapane, up front. To me, those guys are absolutely untouchable. You build franchises around guys like that. At the backend – Valimaki, Rasmus Andersson, and even Noah Hanifin to a much lesser extent. Those three guys are kind of your core on the blueline. I don’t see you moving any of those guys. I want to include Mikael Backlund because his coach value centers more than anyone but I’m not putting him on the untouchable list.”
