2018 is upon us and the NHL is less than two months away from the trade deadline. With that in mind, we’ll run another edition of our #PHRMailbag, with our very own Brian La Rose answering all your questions. Interested in his thoughts on the top rental options? What about the players with several years left on their contracts? Who will be the biggest sellers, and who will add for a postseason run?
Brian will be answering the mailbag on the weekend, but be sure to submit your questions now! Leave a comment below or tweet at @prohockeyrumors using the #PHRMailbag.
Make sure to check out our last mailbag, where Brian answered some questions about various superstars that may be on the market in the coming months. He sure didn’t make any new Bruins fans when he wrote “I don’t think [John] Tavares is a great fit in Boston,” but perhaps you can change his mind.
Which teams in the Metro are pretenders and contenders?
Watching Carolina lately, a huge problem is a lack of a big body who will do dirty work in front of an opposing goaltender. Rarely do the Canes screen the goaltender. Who is out there that may be available on the trade market who will help this problem?
Who does Brian Boyle play for now? If he’s not with a contender he’d be a good pickup at the deadline.
Jersey
Depending on how much Montreal sells, a guy like Andrew Shaw seems to fit what you describe perfectly. Despite not liking his contract, Shaw is effective as a net front presence, can play on any line, will give you 14-17 goals and is quite good on faceoffs(54% rate as a Hab) which is increasingly valuable with how many centres are getting the boot on draws.
What would be your all 22 and under team?
Even though the playoffs are a completely different beast, the way the knights have played can we consider them true contenders?
I’m not quite there yet I just don’t think they have quite enough “star power” as far as I’m concerned. The overall quality of the time isn’t bad but I’m not sure I’d rely on Marchessault, or even Neal, to be the go to go to guy if you need a goal at the end of the game.
What do the Coyotes do after making good veteran additions only to see the team perform like this? Stepan, Hjalmarsson, and Raanta should all have good value at some point but will they move on this quickly after a poor start?
With Adam McQuaid coming back could the B’s look to trade a guy like Tory K with Matt G playing great with Miller and being younger and more controllable
I’d think McQuaid becomes the most likely candidate to be moved. I don’t think Matt G has had a large enough sample to prove he can be a consistent member of the top 4, but I like what I’ve seen so far. Especially with the injury problems on the back line last year during the playoffs, I don’t think they would consider moving Krug, Matt G, or Miller. I think they move McQuaid or just be thankful for their depth. Unless they move Krug in a deal for a scoring forward, which i wouldn’t entirely rule out. Krug and Pacioretty matches cap wise roughly? Doesn’t it? Additional compensation is probably needed, but that would be interesting.
Will David Backes ever return to his St.Louis Blues form?
I think Backes’ best days are behind him, but he can still be a good 2 way forward who can put some pucks in the net, and there may be times we see flashes of what he used to be, but I think he won’t return to the player he was for long stretches ever again.
Would Boston be able to assemble a good offer for Pacioretty, and is there any chance a trade of that magnitude could happen with BOS-MTL? Would Montreal take Krug and picks?
That is a very interesting thought. I doubt either team would get far in talks but I’m a big Krug fan and he’d fill a hole on the Habs D. At the same time though, he’s a tad older than what I’d assume Montreal would want in return(26 Y/O vs I believe MTL would want someone in the 22-24 range).
Yeah I though Krug might be a bit on the older side for them, but if they were looking for a 2-3 year turnaround he could be a part of the next good Habs team.
Will the jets continue to play great hockey with an injury to one of there key players?
Will the jets continue with there recent stretch of good hockey even with two of their key players out?
Is there anyway Army can trade for E. Kane ? I know they have little cap room. Maybe Bowmeister n cpl prospects.
My bet would be the Air Force for a B-18, a 2020 4th rounder, and a couple pilots to be named later.