NHL Rumors: Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin’s Days are Numbered in Calgary

Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin Winding Down Their Time in Calgary

TSN’s Calgary Flames Bureau Chief Salim Valji joined Jay Onrait on SportsCenter to discuss the situation in Calgary and how Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin‘s days with the Flames are winding down.

** NHLRumors.com Transcription

NHL Rumors: Guentzel, Tanev, Hanifin and Henrique Clogging the Trade Market

Jay Onrait: The Calgary Flames have an opportunity to really reshape the roster. They have the top three players on our Trade Bait List Jake Markstrom on the top. Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin blueliners follow. Calgary is five points (at the time) back of the Blues for the final wildcard spot. St. Louis has a game in hand. The Flames are looking to avoid missing the postseason for the third time in four seasons.

With that, we bring in our Calgary Flames Bureau Chief, Mr. Salim Valji. Great to see you, my friend, and reports out of Calgary Saturday suggest that Noah Hanifin’s time with the team is coming to an end. What can you tell us about that situation?”

Salim Valji: I think Jay, I can tell you that it is radio silence on all fronts. His agent, Pat Brisson, didn’t respond to a request for comments. And I think, Jay, that we likely have seen the last media availabilities for both Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev.

NHL Rumors: Jacob Markstrom on the Trade Rumors Surrounding Teammates and Himself

Because the organization is clearly putting them on the trading block, and how it was explained to me, Jay, is that there is a fear that any player that has their name out there can say something in the media that other teams will use as leverage against their team in trade talks.

I think, you know, ideally, we get to talk with these players being media and just asking them maybe more about the human side, how they’re managing what seems to be a really stressful period for them. But the reality is that they don’t want to risk a player inadvertently saying something that could actually have an impact in trade conversation and I think that risk management is exactly what the Calgary Flames are doing right now. So it’s radio silence on all fronts.

NHL Rumors: Jake Guentzel, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev and Adam Henrique

We did hear from Jacob Markstrom on Saturday night after he got pulled, but in terms of Noah Hanifin, I really don’t think we’re gonna see much from him publicly as the organization really is in protection mode, not just with him, but with others.

And it really is a shame because I think fans do want to understand the perspective of players. But there is a much bigger game at play. As a result, we really don’t know how Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and others are dealing with this constant trade chatter that seems to perpetually be coming out of the Saddledome.”