Blackhawks starting the GM interviews this week
Frank Seravalli: Chicago Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz said they will start their interview process for their GM position next week. They hope to have a permanent GM in place before the trade deadline.
Kyle Davidson is their interim GM and is a candidate.
Frank Seravalli: At least for now they won’t have a president of hockey operations.
Scott Powers of The Athletic: The Chicago Blackhawks are very unlikely to make the playoffs. Their focus should be on who is part of their long-range plan and increase the trade value of those who aren’t.
The Blackhawks have been looking to trade forward Dylan Strome since last offseason, and that won’t change under interim GM Kyle Davidson.
Strome is owed a $3.6 million qualifying offer. Dominik Kubalik is owed a $4 million qualifying offer and likely on the move as well.
Calgary Flames trade targets
Hailey Salvian of The Athletic: (mailbag) Potential trade deadline targets for the Calgary Flames include…
Tomas Hertl – With the cost at first-round pick and good prospect, he’s likely not for the Flames.
Rickard Rakell – A top-nine forward at a good price. A $3.79 million cap hit may allow them to add another piece.
Reilly Smith – The Golden Knights will eventually need to move salary and the Flames could use his offense from the right side.
Tyler Toffoli and Christian Dvorak – It’s not known how far the Canadiens will take a rebuild.
Chris Tierney – Maybe too much like Mikael Backlund.
Vladislav Namestnikov – A versatile winger at $2 million.
Alex DeBrincat – Could be available but costly.
J.T. Miller – Would make a lot of sense for the Flames as a top-six center. Could cost a lot to acquire him.
There isn’t any rush for Johnny Gaudreau or Matthew Tkachuk to sign a contract extension with the Flames as their stock continues to increase as the season goes on.
If the Flames don’t re-sign Gaudreau and he hits the open market, interested teams could include the Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, and Anaheim Ducks.