Potential Flames blue line targets
Eric Francis of Sportsnet: Francis recently looks at potential blue line targets for the Calgary Flames after Mark Giordano‘s injury
Hockey Deals – Matt Dumba – three years left at $6 million
Jeff Petry – one year left at $5.5 million
Josh Manson – two years left at $4.1 million
Shayne Gostisbehere – three years left at $4.5 million
Rentals – Brenden Dillon – not top pairing but a top-four guy.
Zach Bogosian – asked for a trade before Christmas. A $5.14 million cap hit and a history of injuries.
Sami Vatanen – the Devils will surely be moving the pending UFA who has a $4.875 million cap hit.
Marco Scandella – A $4 million cap hit and will be shopped.
Ron Hainsey – A $3,5 million cap hit that wouldn’t be a top-four in Calgary.
Best fits and deadline options for the Oilers, Devils, Panthers, and Rangers
Dan Rosen of NHL.com: (mailbag) The Edmonton Oilers need some scoring help. Tyler Toffoli is not the best option for them as they could use a top-six left winger. Chris Kreider would be the best option. Ilya Kovalchuk may not be the right fit either.
The New Jersey Devils may be looking to move pending UFAs in Wayne Simmonds, Sami Vatanen, and Andy Greene. Greene wants to stay but they need to get younger.
Devils with a year left on their deals that could be moved include Travis Zajac, Kyle Palmieri, and Blake Coleman. They’d need to get good value if they were going to move any of the three.
The Florida Panthers are looking for a top-four defenseman to play with Aaron Ekblad. Their best option is Los Angeles Kings Alec Martinez, and they won’t be alone in chasing the defenseman. The Kings are looking for picks and prospects and the Panthers have plenty.
The New York Rangers should keep and re-sign Chris Kreider as opposed to trading him. Term is likely the holdup as they’d likely want 5-6 years and he could be angling for 7 years.
