Pro Hockey Rumors

Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include trade candidates for the Rangers, Jake Allen’s future in St. Louis, the top players outside of North America, a notable player that could soon be on the move, and what Vancouver should do with a pair of veteran defensemen.

acarneglia: Who are the Rangers most likely trade candidates, partners, and returns?

Hayes stands out as one that’s likely to go.  They have Mika Zibanejad signed through 2021-22 and youngsters Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson both appear to be part of the long-term future as does Brett Howden so there isn’t going to be room for Hayes down the road.  Winger Mats Zuccarello, another pending UFA, is probably one that’s going to move unless they decide they want to hand him a long-term extension.  In terms of non-rentals, winger Vladislav Namestnikov is already out there but with his $4MM price tag, he’s not as much of a guarantee to move.  I wonder about winger Jimmy Vesey – he’s clearly a secondary option in New York so would a contending team value him a little more?

In terms of potential partners, that’s a little more difficult to lock down so early in the season.  Contending teams are going to want Hayes and Zuccarello but for the most part, those teams haven’t separated themselves from the pack yet.  Those trades won’t likely happen until closer to the trade deadline for salary cap purposes.  Namestnikov would likely be coveted by teams that have a player in a similar situation to swap.  This wouldn’t be limited to contenders; in fact, a non-playoff team hoping that a change of scenery may make the most sense.  I think he could be a fit in Carolina, who is known to be looking to add a forward that can play in the top-six although they don’t really have a comparable contract to send back.  As for Vesey, his market would be larger – contending teams would want him to upgrade their third line scoring while a non-contender may want to take a chance in the hope that a larger role could lead to a breakout.

As for returns, Hayes doesn’t have the track record like Paul Stastny does but I think a comparable return (a first-rounder, prospect, and a conditional mid-round pick) is something they can push for.  While Zuccarello is more proven, wingers are easier to get than impact centers so his return should be lower, potentially in a second rounder plus a decent prospect range.  A return for Namestnikov would be negligible given his struggles – either a comparable contract or a mid-to-late pick if the acquiring is assuming the contract outright.  As for Vesey, his return could go a couple of different ways – a quality prospect if the Rangers want someone closer to playing now or if they want to go the draft pick route, I could see the asking price being a second rounder or a lesser pick plus a prospect.

Paul Heyman: Is it time the Blues move on from Jake Allen? If so what could they possibly get in a trade?

If St. Louis believes that they have a good enough team that they can win with adequate-to-average goaltending, I’d say no.  Allen’s contract is towards the lower end of the pay scale for starting goalies and can use some of those savings relative to a better but more expensive starter to add to their roster.

However, if they make the determination that they need their goalie to steal a few more games along the way, then I’d say they should be looking to move him.  Allen is who he is at this point; I don’t think there’s any hidden upside in his game remaining.

The Blues are a team that has had goaltending questions for a while so I’d be inclined to look for an upgrade even if it further tightens their cap space.  However, there are two factors that would work against them here.  First, quality starting goalies don’t get moved in-season very often and aside from Sergei Bobrovsky as a rental, that’s probably not going to change.  The second is their cap situation.  St. Louis doesn’t have a lot of extra cap room so on top of moving Allen out in a trade, they’d also probably have to include a roster player of some consequence.  That certainly would lessen the odds of a move over the next few months.

In a perfect world, I’d suggest that Allen and whichever roster player gets moved with him yields another starter, one that’s a bit more reliable.  A deal like that would make sense to do around the draft given the current factors working against them.  Between the newcomer and Ville Husso ideally upgrading the number two spot, they’d be in better shape for 2019-20.  But for 2018-19, I think they’re going to go with what they have, even if they’ve already decided to pursue an upgrade in the offseason.

ThePriceWasRight: Top 3 fav retro jerseys? Vancouver Skate blade jerseys? Anaheim Mighty Ducks? North Stars?

I have to admit, I’m not a big jersey aficionado, especially when it comes to retro ones so chances are there are probably some good ones I’m not thinking of.  I liked the simpler variation of the Vancouver skate blade one that was used in the early 1990s so I’d have that on there.  New Jersey’s red/green combo in the 1980s was also really nice and I find green to be underused in uniform colors.  Washington’s blue set in the late 1990s wasn’t the most popular but I always liked those – it’s a different shade of blue than most uniforms have.  I can’t qualify a jersey from just two seasons as ‘retro’ but the Kings’ 50th anniversary gray sweater was another one I really liked – another very underused color among uniforms.

Robert H: Who are the three or four best players currently not in the NHL or AHL?

The KHL is the place to look here.  I’ll give you two sets of players, prospects and veterans.

For the prospects, Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov has emerged as a high-quality player.  He played extremely well at the Olympics while he isn’t among the top scorers in the league, there is legitimate optimism about his NHL upside.  Unfortunately for Minnesota, he’s signed in the KHL through next season although that hasn’t stopped GM Paul Fenton from starting his sales pitch for 2020-21 already.  The Golden Knights’ acquisition of winger Nikita Gusev largely went under the radar at the time given all of the hype around the expansion draft but he has been a high-end scorer for several years now.  Vegas will undoubtedly be looking to bring him across the pond for next year.  I’m a fan of Islanders goalie prospect Ilya Sorokin and Rangers netminder Igor Shestyorkin and I believe both have legitimate NHL upside.  The Islanders will have to wait at least one more year for Sorokin but the Rangers could make a push to bring Shestyorkin over for next season.

In terms of veterans, long-time Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk is still going strong and is a core player for SKA St. Petersburg.  Nigel Dawes was never a productive player in the NHL but the winger has emerged as a star in that league, routinely playing near or beating a point-per-game mark.   Winger Sergei Mozyakin never went to the NHL after being a draft pick of Columbus back in 2002 but he has been an elite KHL player for a long time.

I’ll toss in one non-KHL player.  Swiss goalie Leonardo Genoni is a little undersized but has been a top-flight player in the NLA for a decade and I’m surprised he’s never even attempted to land an NHL job.  His current contract expires at the end of the season but he already inked a five-year deal with his new team for 2019-20 and beyond already.

Dylan: Who will be the first big-name player to be traded this season, and to where?

I think many would expect William Nylander to be dealt very soon but I still think a contract eventually gets worked out with Toronto so I’ll go with someone else.

Some may not qualify Kings winger Tyler Toffoli as a big-name guy but he has quietly hit or at least played at a 20-goal pace in each of the past four seasons so he at least qualifies as an impact player.  Los Angeles isn’t done making changes by all accounts and if they continue their freefall, they’ll shift their focus towards trying to free up some salary cap flexibility which brings Toffoli and his $4.6MM deal through 2019-20 to the forefront.

As for where he could land, I’d look at teams that are underachieving offensively or have already stated their desire to add top-six help.  Boston’s known to be looking for some firepower although their preference is to add a center over a winger.  Carolina wants Nylander but they’ve also looked into other top-six forwards as well and I expect Toffoli is one of those.  I wouldn’t sleep on a team like Chicago having interest either.  However, I’ll pick the Hurricanes as a landing spot as their Plan B for when Nylander re-ups with Toronto.

It will probably be a while before more of the prominent players are dealt.  Matt Duchene could go if they can’t get an extension done but they’re still talking.  Mark Stone is in a similar boat in Ottawa although he can’t even consider extending until January.  The Rangers seem to want to wait to move which takes players like Zuccarello and Hayes off the table for now.  Columbus doesn’t want to move Artemi Panarin so that will be a late swap if one happens at all and I suspect Bobrovsky is in a similar boat.  Some of these players will go but not anytime soon.

@canuckjake16: With Edler out & Tanev newly returned is there a point in exploring trade options or do they simply, as of today, have more value overall in staying & signing with the Canucks, lots can happen between now & then understandably but signing does provide mentorship

In Alex Edler’s case, there would certainly be a market for his services but there are two questions in play.  The first is can he stay healthy?  That has been an issue for him routinely in recent years and as you noted, he’s hurt again.  The other is would he waive his no-trade clause?  Edler has stated in the past that his preference is to remain with Vancouver so even if the Canucks wanted to move him, I don’t think it’s a guarantee that Edler would waive.  I’m not sold on Vancouver hanging on to a playoff spot so from a long-term standpoint, I’d look to move him and indicate to him beforehand that a reunion next summer would be desirable.

As for Chris Tanev, it’s a catch-22.  There are plenty of teams that could use him in their lineup.  However, considering his own historical injury struggles, it’s hard to see a team parting with a good enough asset to make it worthwhile for Vancouver (who has leaned on him heavily this year) to move him.  If Tanev can stay healthy all season and someone looking for a stay-at-home blueliner is willing to pony up a notable return, I’d move him.  Otherwise, the time isn’t right to sell low knowing that he has another year left on his contract.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.