A shift to the wing raises questions again about Steven Stamkos’ relationship with Lightning coach Jon Cooper, while Travis Hamonic’s play has improved since his trade request was revealed.
Speculation persists over Steven Stamkos’ relationship with Lightning coach Jon Cooper.
TORONTO SUN: Mike Zeisberger reports Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos has been shifted to left wing for the last three games. That will likely continue to stoke questions over his relationship with head coach Jon Cooper, as well as his future with the Lightning.
Zeisberger noted the second guessing over their relationship began after Cooper was recently re-signed to a contract extension. He also believes Stamkos “wasn’t actually oozing with enthusiasm” after the Lightning’s recent victory, “especially with reporters pestering him about being shifted away from centre.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The longer Stamkos goes unsigned, the more we’ll see reports like this musing over his unhappiness playing for Cooper. If Stamkos re-signs, the reporters will be chided by fans and bloggers for making a mountain out of a molehill. If he doesn’t, these pundits will triumphantly point back to these reports as proof they were right all along.
As for Stamkos’ contract talks, there’s nothing new to report. Both sides have agreed not to discuss the situation with the media. Should a deal get done, no one will have any inkling of it until the moment it’s announced.
NEWSDAY: Mark Hermann reports New York Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic has seemingly improved since his request to be traded to a Western Canadian team was leaked to the media nearly a month ago. Hermann notes Hamonic’s led the Isles in ice time in 13 games this season and remains very much committed to helping the Islanders win this season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: That’s only going to boost Hamonic’s trade value. General managers value professionalism as highly as ability. It’s also going to make it difficult for the Islanders to trade him.Hamonic’s a valuable core player, making him very difficult to replace.
GM Garth Snow reportedly wants a comparable defenseman in return. It could take until next summer to sort out a deal. In the meantime, Hamonic obviously isn’t letting this situation hurt his play or his relationship with his teammates.
If the Ducks were willing to facilitate there seems to eb a deal to be made with the Oil or Jets to land Harmonic with Fowler going to the Isle. Other parts invlived but they would be the core players and if Andersen were truly on the block too then it could become much bigger.
Maybe….
Ducks get: Byfuglien, Eberle
Islanders get: Fowler, Schultz and Comrie
Jets get: Harmonic, Maroon
Oilers get: Andersen, Cogliano, pick from the Ducks
Oil giving up the most but Schultz is a gonner anyway and they need to pay to get a proper #1 goalie.
It’s pretty rare to see a 3 way deal in the nhl these days, I think the Oilers have a better chance of winning the presidents trophy this year before we see a 4+ way deal.
Whole lptta math to make work there nvm just the cap with that many players and teams shifting around contract numbers could be a factor aswell…Im not 3ven sure where to begin withh all those.
Didn’t the Oilers have Cogliano before? Why would they want a non-producer back?
It works out to be Eberle and Schultz for goalie salary dump and a pick…. Im gonna go out on a limb here and say no.
So if I read this right the Oilers get a goalie that they don’t need anymore due to the play of Nilsson, a center in Cogliano who they originally traded to the Ducks and don’t need, and a draft pick that they don’t need. And trade away Eberle who is part of their core and Schultz who is a defenceman a position that the Oilers are weak in. I would say that this would go down as one of the worst trades in Oiler history.
Why is it with this tiny sample size you are sold on Nilsson?
Nilssons sample size isn’t that much smaller than Anderson’s. Plus Nilsson’s sample is actually behind the Oilers poor defence. The Ducks do have a better defence therefore can hide a goalies shortcomings.
Nilssons sample size isn’t that much smaller than Andersons. Plus Nilssons is already shown his stuff behind the Oilers poor defence. Anderson has only shown what he can do behind a good Ducks defence.
I wonder if you replaced Andersen with Gibson, if the Oil would be into that?
Not a chance.
Lol. The only problem with that is. The Oilers get absolutely nothing that they need in that trade, absolutely NOTHING. Terrible trade for the oilers. The Oilers give up Schultz and Eberle. They don’t improve defensively(they don’t get hamonic) . We don’t need more draft pics, and we don’t need Anderson. (See nillson) and just what is Cogliano suppose to do for us? You must be a Jets Fan. Do You really think a pending UFA (buff) can land hamonic and Maroon? Ludicrous! Stick to be a GM.
Dream on … Eberle is not leaving, especially for what you have to offer. The Oilers don’t need picks or another small forward in Cogliano (remember where he came from!). The Oilers need D-men. In case you didn’t notice, goaltending is going ok these days.
The notion of trading Harmonic for a similar defenseman is idiotic. Why would any trading partner do that? How does it it help them? It doesn’t. The Islanders gain by getting rid of player who doesn’t want to be there but the other team gains nothing.
My thoughts precisely. Snow isn’t getting a comparable asset. He may get a player that could become Hamonic & another asset or 2. No team is swapping a Hamonic clone for Hamonic. What’s the point? Example Trouba for Hamonic. Trouba may cost more to sign than Hamonic is making for several years. Fowler’s not a direct comparable. He has way better offensive abilities than Hamonic. Hamonic plays with slightly more of an edge.
And going by what some say Snow wants more than that…he wants a comparable player plus a little something extra j7st for the privilege of speaking to him I guess. Be interesting to see what this deal ends up looking like.
If Snow is asking for something greater than Hamonic in return it’s probably just to ultimately make sure that he gets fair value in return. Lots of people point out that other teams shouldn’t be giving fair value because Hamonic wants to be closer to home and asked for the trade. While that’s probably the attitude to have as a would-be acquiring team, it’s not on Snow to just acquiesce and accept a mid-level prospect and a draft pick back just to make everyone happy. Hamonic okayed having the trade play out over the course of the season and into the off-season, so we could be speculating on this one until next summer. And I’m going to be really interested in seeing how it plays out in the end as well.
And we all know how well Snow’s demands work out .. see Vanek to Montreal trade ..
lol absolutely right dino
absolutely wrong hamonic requested a trade and has no demanded one, he’s signed for 4 more years….he came out saying its a private family issue and will not force a trade because he loves the Islanders
True enough things like that only happen when players are disgruntled on both teams.
The islanders are going to have to get the best they can get. Teams aren’t going to just help them out.
God!! I’m so tired of hearing about these 2. No one knows ANYTHING about what is going and dissecting every little thing they do and trying to turn the pieces into signs that inevitabilities can be determined. It’s just silly to insist on beating this dead horse because no one will know anything until there is something to know.
Haven’t you noticed that is journalist/TV pundits don’t have anything concrete to report/comment on they just invent something? ‘Twas ever thus since newspaper journalists are compelled to write so many columns a week while TV/radio panelists can – when there’s nothing concrete to talk about – either do that or resort to some of those idiotic shows you hear on radio who fill their time slot with what I call “inane chit-chat” – such as “the best coffee available” or even “what type of socks do you like best …” If you don’t believe me, just tune in to one on your local radio.
Problem with all the trade proposal being made are, the NYI want a comparable Defence men for Harmonic.
Not one , of those trades gets the NYI a comparable player.
Harmonic is an all around player, and all the defence men in the trades proposed are all offence.
As for Eberle, he’s not what the NYI need now.
Totally doable but that doesn’t mean that comparable D-man will come from your team. If I’m loaded at the forward position, I’ll scout teams that need help scoring and happen to be set or have an abundance of top 4 help on defense like Nashville maybe? Maybe Hamonic is your guy over others that would cost you a top 6 young forward.
Oh this is all if you wanted to make the deal during the season which looks like a deal like this would be easier to happen in the off season IMO.
The reason for me that Eberle would make sense is that Okposo is a UFA at the end of this season, where Eberle still has a few years on his contract.
Also Eberle is already familiar with John Tavares as they played together at the WJHC. Those 2 would be great together.
We are sure trying to build up this overated Hamonic,snow is not going to get any of these players talked about in here.If he moves him going by the other dman moved in such trades,it will have to be for a prospect and draft picks.
The whole world
Knows the Oilers need a Dman and Hamonic wants to be traded out west. If Peter can’t get this done he must be asleep in the back room.
Snow wants a COMPARABLE defenseman in return. Who is comparable on the Oilers defence to Hamonic. Nurse is the closes thing at this point, but his potential is greater and no way PC is going to make that trade. Last Friday someone, I forget who, suggested Schultz and Eberle for Hamonic? As an Oiler fan I would love for that to happen, but until Snow lowers his asking price there is no way PC is going to get a deal done unless a third team who is deep on defence and needs a top 6 forward gets involved.
Kevjam and Obe i am glad your an oilers fan and not the gm.
Schultz is more a salary dump in a trade. I’m not so sure anyone would claim him even on waivers right now. But also, Eberle has been commented by good hockey people as worth slightly more than Hamonic at this point. Maybe plus and minuses in a package of Eberle + Schultz would be palatable to Snow. The only problem is the salary discrepancy. That trade has to go down on deadline day for both GMs to be satisfied with it.
Not necessarily true, I’m sure PC is very well aware of the potential, but what can he give to meet the Snow’s demands? His position of weakness is defense, and that’s what the Islanders want. The Oilers won’t give up Klefborn or Nurse, so what does that leave as their best defenseman? Ference? Fayne? Schultz? Nikitin? Good luck getting Hamonic for any of those.
Not sure why the oilers wouldn’t give up nurse or Klefbom for Hamonic. Hamonic is what they hope these two young D eventually turns into.
From what MacKenzie and a few others have said is that Snow doesn’t want Klefbom, but would take Nurse. From an Oiler fans perspective Nurse has a bigger upside than what Hamonic is. Nurse has that nasty side that Pronger had. In a few years people would be criticizing the Oilers for trading Nurse for Hamonic.
The same goes for Trouba. He has some bite too, that’s why Chevy won’t part with him in a Hamonic trade.
Scott.Because Kefbom and nurse are going to be a lot better than Hamonic.
No way to predict that. Oilers have lots of going to be betters…..
The Oil will take Hamonic for Yak and their 2016 1st round pick … or how about Nikitin, Ference, and their 2016 3rd round pick. 🙂
Anybody think snow would take gardiner for hamonic?
Nope
ya gardiner isn’t near hamonic is all around better
WHY would Snow do that? How is Gardiner seen as even being half the defensive D which is Hamonic?
I would love it if anyone took Gardiner at this point. Way too inconsistent and has looked terrible with Phaneuf since they put Hunwick with Reilly.
I agree durt gardiner has looked good a few games but most of the time he has no idea where to be in his own end
The whole Hamonic for a d-man is tricky, and unlikely to be done during season.
The only possible recipe I see is Hamilton in Calgary goes for Hamonic. I would argue at the beginning of the season they had similar value despite different styles of play. Hamilton might of had even more. Tricky part is salary and term. Hamilton 5.75 @ 4 yrs, Hamonic 3.85 @ 4 yrs.
I don’t see Calgary moving Hamilton
I agree with you that a Hamonic trade will probably not go down during the season in this day and age. At the very best, Hamonic could be traded close to trade deadline, but most likely in the summer. I see Snow probing the market right now and doing a lot of posturing regarding his demands, even though he is in a weak position… This won’t lead to a trade before trade deadline but serves and agenda to reveal the interested parties and raise the price a bit so when the bidding gets real in the summer, Snow can get close to Hamonics real value. In most scenarios he won’t likely get out on top, so he has to be smart about this.
Have to admit, I don’t really understand the “Hamonic out west” thoughts, if they are to include Anaheim, for example.
Anaheim is not only further away from Winnipeg than Brooklyn, but it’s even an extra time zone different. Hell, Vancouver is further from Winnipeg than Brooklyn is, too!
Colorado isn’t that close and would almost certainly have worse flight connections to the ‘Peg than NYC.
If Hamonic REALLY wants to be closer, it seems like only a couple of cities could truly be in the running (WIN, CGY, EDM, maybe MIN?)
Not that I think it matters but Edmonton to Winnipeg is around a 2 hr flight if I remember correctly Toronto to Winnipeg is barely over 2 hrs and I believe would have more flights…again it doesn’t mean anything just the same thought on some of these destinations struck me as odd as well….how many direct flights you think are going from Anahiem Arizona or places like that to Manitoba?
I wonder the same thing. It must have something to do with the amount of times a western teams visit Winnipeg or near Winnipeg to give him a better chance to get home quickly if needed.
I would think opening it up to Winnipeg’s division would make more sense than including a team like Vancouver who is pretty pretty far from the Peg.
Makes a lot more sense, both of you (Jeff Noel & Shticky). Thanks for the input! 🙂
Endless speculation.. You guys are crazy on here
Whoever proposed that
4-way trade should be banished!!!
That’s not the first time I’ve seen that exact proposal.. Please stop regurgitating the same garbage over and over!! Try having an original thought.
Snow is in a position of weakness so he will be forced to wait until at least the trade deadline to move his man but most likely the offseason.
why is he forced to do anything? hamonic has already said he loves the Islanders and will not push for a trade…..YOU ONLY WISH HE WOULD. like hamonic said he requested one for family reasons…..come the offseason he could just decide to move his family…….kinda hard to do in season
Lighten up will ya. I took that 4way trade as a joke, which it probably was… Those kind of trades didn’t likely happen 10 years ago either, so it was a ludicrous proposal to begin with…
But Spec, awhile ago you said that there was no chance of Stamkos leaving Tampa, now not sure? What happens if he actually does the unthinkable and goes free agent?
I’m still not dismissing the possibility he’ll re-sign. But if he doesn’t, no big deal. Obviously circumstances changes. It happens.
If history is any indicator, he’ll resign…but every player is different. He has a no trade and is pending UFA. Stamkos is fully in the drivers seat and no one seems to be able to gauge the chances of what will happen. Stamkos is keeping the truth closely to his vest.
all these wishful thinking oiler fans thinking thy’ll get Hamonic. even Mckenzie said Hamonic will not push for a trade if Snow doesnt get an offer he likes. Whats snow gonna do ruin his team if no one offers a quality d man……what will 25 year old hamonic do…..retire?
name one player who retired at 25 when healthy?
What you see now is Snow doing a lot of posturing for a summer trade. He’s gauging the market and being firm on price. There will be a little different tune in the summer I think. Snow will have to be cunning to get full value back in a trade. Don’t expect anything to happen regarding Hamonic before trade deadline, it’s too hard to trade in-season.