Darren Dreger on TSN 1050 radio this morning.
- Biggest offseason storyline in your opinion:
“That’s a good question because there are many of them. Obviously the dismantling of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the swift rebuild in terms of heading into the draft with a bunch of draft picks and potential prospects if they can maximize any of those deals, I mean that’s of keen interest. But you know, there are other big names obviously in play as well. You know, what’s going to happen with the Chicago Blackhawks? We’ve been speculating on the future of Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad and go down the list of all those players who could be targets. There will be interest in those guys, there’s no doubt about that and we also know that Stan Bowman has a lot of offseason salary cap clean-up work to do so that’s a big story. It goes on and on from there. Ryan O’Reilly and the Colorado Avalanche; what’s going to go down there? What’s the salary cap number going to be? Is it going to be closer to 71, or upwards of 72 million? And that will impact decisions that are made. Way in the background is of course what’s going on in Arizona and I don’t mean that to be disrespectful, I think that the hockey world has grown weary of this story but if things don’t get resolved between the city of Glendale and the Coyotes then late in the summer, are we talking legitimately about the possibility of relocation? So our plates are full when you look at it from an NHL perspective”
- Is Arizona that wild card team that could change everyone’s draft boards?
“Well they absolutely could. Do I think the Arizona Coyotes are going to flip the 3rd pick overall? I think that’s a bit of a stretch given the type of player they’re going to be able to draft in that spot. You look at the Coyotes and some of the young talent that they have coming in and that will continue to develop. You know, this isn’t a full-on rebuild but it’s pretty close. I’m sure that Dave Tippett, who would’ve been a highly sought after head coach had he and the Coyotes decided to part ways is pushing it a little bit and saying to Maloney and company and whatever ownership base is involved in these daily operations and discussions. He’s saying “Look. We can’t be that team that sits around for 3, 4, or 5 years stockpiling and rebuilding. You know we’ve got some young pieces here. We’ve got some veterans that can still play the game at a high level. Let’s use some of these pick, and let’s use them of the younger guys we have or the pieces that we have and try to get back into the fight.” Again that’s my speculation and assumption but given the reality that Tippett decided to hang in there, I think that their plan is to be pretty aggressive.”
- On the eventual Lehner or Anderson trade and the list of teams interested:
“I wouldn’t say a long list of teams, Dave (Bastl), but teams are always interested unless you’ve got a solid 1-2 pair, you’re always looking at opportunity to either improve in that position as a back up or maybe get a little younger, a little cheaper. There are a lot of variables that go into that decision. Now, we know that the Edmonton Oilers and the Buffalo Sabres as an example are two teams that need goaltending and for me it’s Robin Lehner out of Ottawa. That’s not to say they wouldn’t trade Craig Anderson, an older goalie, but they believe in Ottawa that they can get a better return for Robin Lehner. Because of that, I’m sure Bryan Murray and his management team are listening to all of the interest out there and as I said there have been a few conversations anyway between Chiarelli in Edmonton and Murray in the Ottawa Senators and likely Tim Murray in Buffalo as well, but there are a few goalies who are in play here. You know, Cam Talbot from the New York Rangers is generating a ton of interest and in fact, I would be a little surprised if he wasn’t the first guy to go. I know that the Edmonton Oilers have considerable interest in Cam Talbot. You’ve got John Gibson with the Anaheim Ducks. Not sure that the Ducks are 100% sold on trading him. Eddie Lack in Vancouver will also draw some interest and then there’s a number of goalies beyond the few that I’ve mentioned already. For me in Ottawa, the likelihood is more that Lehner gets traded again just based on the needs. You know Ottawa wants either a top-six player back or a young prospect who’s going to quickly develop into that top-six role.”
Transcribed by Platinum Seat Ghosts from TSN 1050 Radio