The latest on Andrew Ladd and Dale Weise, plus updates on the Leafs, Oilers and Flames.
UPDATE ON THE LADD TRADE WATCH.
It’s rumored the Jets received an offer of a first-round pick & a prospect for Andrew Ladd.
TSN.CA: Gary Lawless reports Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff continues to get trade calls regarding pending UFA left wing and team captain Andrew Ladd. “As many as six teams – Anaheim, Chicago, Florida, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Washington – are believed to have interest in him”, writes Lawless, who also claims “it’s believed at least one team has made an offer of a first-round pick plus a prospect.” While the Jets have the cap space to re-sign Ladd, Lawless claims Cheveldayoff is keeping an eye on the future, as RFAs Jacob Trouba,Mark Scheifele and Adam Purdy must be re-signed.
WINNIPEG SUN: Kirk Penton believes Cheveldayoff should move Ladd now instead of waiting for the trade deadline, as that will increase the Jets’ chances of sliding further down the standings and improve their chances of winning the draft lottery. Penton believes it’s time for the long-struggling Jets to shake up their roster, noting Ladd will fetch a decent return.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Media consensus suggests Ladd is a goner and I see no reason to disagree with that assessment. If Cheveldayoff can get a first-round pick and a prospect for Ladd, I say go for it. While he could hold out for a good young roster player, a first and a prospect is probably the best he’s going to get at this time of year.
TRADE VALUE OF KEY LEAFS.
TORONTO SUN: Steve Simmons lists the anticipated trade value of several Maple Leafs players, citing information from “four NHL scouts, executives and one former talent evaluator.” Defenseman Roman Polak should attract the most interest and could fetch a second-round pick and a “decent prospect.” Center Tyler Bozak, the Leafs most serviceable player, could land a second-round pick. Winger P.A. Parenteau could be worth a third- or fourth-round pick, blueliner Matt Hunwick a third rounder, goaltender James Reimer a fourth-round selection, grinder Daniel Winnik a third rounder and forward Peter Holland a third rounder. Brad Boyes, Michael Grabner, Mark Arcobello, Byron Froese, Colin Greening and Martin Marincin would be “garage sale” players that could fetch fourth-rounders on down. As for center Nazem Kadri, there wasn’t any consensus on his value because of the uncertainty over his availability.
TORONTO STAR: Mark Zwolinski acknowledged defenseman Roman Polak could be shopped, but suggested it could be in the Leafs best interest to re-sign him, citing his strong play and how his experience and leadership could benefit the younger players coming up in the lineup.
**UPDATE** TSN.CA: This morning, the Leafs shipped defenceman Roman Polak and forward Nick Spaling to the San Jose Sharks for two second-round draft picks and forward Raffi Torres.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I expect most Leafs fans will disagree with several the proposed returns. Heck, even I think Reimer could land a second rounder. Bottom line, though, is those players aren’t bringing back a first round pick, a top prospect or a good young roster player. The return for Shawn Matthias yesterday drives that point home. I agree with Zwolinski’s take on Polak. The blueliner won’t be expensive to re-sign (provided he wants to stay) and could certainly help the younger Leafs. We’ll find out soon enough if Leafs management shares that opinion. Well, so much for Polak staying in Toronto. You can read my take on that trade, plus yesterday’s Matthias trade, in my News section under today’s morning coffee headlines.
LATEST ON THE OILERS, FLAMES AND CANADIENS.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: With the Oilers facing another lost season, Jim Matheson speculates a roster shakeup could be coming by GM Peter Chiarelli. Matheson believes the Oilers need “a defenceman or two and a different makeup of top six players.” He speculates right winger Jordan Eberle could be traded while left wing Taylor Hall and center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins “might be”. Except for Connor McDavid and perhaps Leon Draisaitl and Darnell Nurse, Matheson believes there are no untouchables on the Oilers.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I don’t believe Eberle and Hall are available. It’ll take a significant offer to pry them away from Chiarelli. I also don’t believe they’ll move Oscar Klefbom, who missed significant time this season to injury. Given the additions of McDavid and Draisaitl, I think Nugent-Hopkins is the most likely trade candidate. I also think Nail Yakupov’s time as an Oiler is drawing to a close. Ditto Justin Schultz. They recently re-sign goalie Cam Talbot and added Andrej Sekera last summer, so they’re not going anywhere. As for everyone else, yes, they could be available.
CALGARY SUN: Wes Gilbertson reports the Flames face some crucial questions leading up to next week’s trade deadline. They must decide if pending UFAs Jiri Hudler, David Jones and Kris Russell are in play in the trade market. It’s also expected GM Brad Treliving could shop for a goaltender at the deadline.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hudler seems most likely to be dealt. The Flames apparently want to re-sign Russell but won’t go over $5 million annually to do so. I don’t see much of a market for Jones. Goalie options are slim this summer via free agency, but they aren’t much better via trade. Toronto’s James Reimer, Carolina’s Cam Ward and Winnipeg’s Ondrej Pavelec might be available by the deadline. Detroit could trade Jimmy Howard but not until this summer.
SPORTSNET: Eric Engels reports Montreal Canadiens winger Dale Weise loves playing for the Habs, but the pending UFA understands he could be dealt by next week’s trade deadline.
Moving Bozak for a late 2nd is nonsensical. Most people think he is a 3C on a good team and he’s on a decent contract with some term left. You don’t move that for a late 2nd, which has like a 10% chance of becoming an NHL player years down the line.
I think everyone understands you need some semblance of a hockey team for the next couple years and if you move Bozak, what do you have left down the middle? Kadri as 1C – not ideal, but fine. Holland as 2C? He has trouble at 3C already, and then you have nothing behind that with Nylander unlikely to start at C in the NHL.
Id drive him to the airport for a second…lol yes they will need to oce a team but I think Bozak is replaced adequately for less than the cost of his salary.
You’re going to sign a forward who will put up 50 pts on the Leafs out of free agency for less than $4.2m? That will be some feat.
Maybe not one that puts up 50 points (and Ill believe Bozak is a 50 point player when I see it) but one that can be useful I dont think its a great idea to play a center at wing to develop him if Nylander was to make the team you play him at 2 c givehim lots offensive zone time and shelter him a bit, and let him learn from mistakes. The same as a young D you dont play him at forward til he learns to be responsible. You dont learn 1 position by playing another. There will be guys around who could play 2 or 3 C for less. I dont think the Leafs need both Bozak and Kadri, and I doubt they move Kadri.
Hah, okay, Shticky, I’ll rephrase for you:
Bozak is a 49 pt player. He had 49 pts the last two years in 82 and 58 games and this year he’s on pace for 45-50 again, after accounting for lost games, on a terrible team.
You’re not replacing that production for $4.2m via free agency.
As to Nylander, starting him at 2C is not development, that’s feeding him to the wolves. We’ve been down this road before, it’s a way to ruin a promising young player.
I think more likely with Bozak unless a great offer comes along is you deal him year after next when he’s a pending UFA and you have options to replace him.
I’m in agreement with Dan here. We’ve seen the model of trading everyone and relying on youth fail miserably in another Canadian team, that shall remain unnamed. A few of these guys need to stick around.
I’m with Dan. Moving Bozak for a 2nd is terrible asset management. Playing a rookie as a 2C isn’t sheltering him at all & won’t be happening.
Young centers should play center more than wing, Duchene McKinnion Seguin Kuztnezov Monahan Johnson Johansen…dosent help to develop centers to play them on wing. Again you can go pick up a depth 2/3 guy cheaper than Bozak and give a guy like Nylander sheltered matchups. This team goal isnt to make the playoffs next year, its developing players.
Tell that to Cooper who wasted most of this year by insisting Stamkos was a winger and not a C! Between him and his benefactor Yzerman – who’s stuck with albatross contracts like Callahan ($5.8 mil for 4 more years, Filpulla $5 mil for 2 more years and Carle $5.5 mil for 2 more years – good luck trading them – the Lightning are having trouble coming to terms with arguably their best player (Kucherov is showing signs of closing the gap). They have also jerked around a young winger (Drouin) who sees 17 of the top 20 picks in his draft year playing regularly in the NHL while he – a # 3 pick – cools his heels refusing to play in Syracuse. And I don’t blame him one bit for digging in his heels. Saint Yzerman has come a long way down in my estimation since everyone had him on a pedestal not too long ago.
I couldn’t disagree with your assumptions & opinions further George but that’s nothing new. Ha-ha! I have just the opposite opinions or look at the factors in play at the time these contracts were signed & where we are today.
You can’t judge Yzerman on something that hasn’t actually happened yet.
Drouin is getting exactly what he deserves. The inn is full in TB & he needs to pay his dues. Like the vast majority of players do. This isn’t Edmonton, Colorado or Calgary. This is a cup contender that went to the cup last season & Drouin wouldn’t play as requested. The reason he’s not on the NHL roster.
I’ll judge Yzerman on the decisions he makes when he finally makes those decisions, not hypothesize on what might happen. I hope Yzerman makes the right choices based on all factors, not the least of which is money & I have no doubts that’s exactly what he’ll do.
Callahan moved back into a top 6 role when Nemestnikov went down, since followed by Kucherov. I hate these small snap shots but it lends to what you & several others just refuse to accept & I’ll express yet again.
Opportunity; line mates, ice time, both quantity & quality, with 1’s specific skill set determine point production.
In 4 games playing with Stamkos & getting PP now Callahan has 3 goals & 5 points in 4 games. 8 in his last 8 as his deployment changed.
When serving as a 3rd line checker with zero PP time & 1st line penalty killing time, little to no production, with quality & quantity great production. Callahan is accepting what ever role Cooper chooses to use him in as he’s suited to any.
The only people that seem to have an issue with his contract is a few of you, same for Filppula. I can assure you Yzerman doesn’t.
As for Carle he was signed in 2012 in a completely different cap world. I think we can all agree Yzerman would do that differently knowing what we know today but 4 & 1/2 years ago TB’s D was a mess & paying a Carle that kind of money & term was the norm.
Thank God expansion is right around the corner & Carle will be gone in expansion & Las Vegas or Quebec will be paying his final year if his contract isn’t dumped on someone prior when Stamkos’s rights should he not resign or Drouin are potentially moved.
I’m not about to get into a prolonged discussion as to who is right or wrong on this issue. I have my views – you have yours. But you’ll notice I didn’t make bald statements like “The only people that seem to have an issue with his (Callahan’s) contract is a few of you, same for Filppula. I can assure you Yzerman doesn’t.” Must be nice to have inside personal knowledge! Are you telling me that the combined $16.3 mil hit for Callahan, Fillpula and Carle isn’t hamstringing Yzerman on the Stamkos deal? Bulls*^t! He has to deal with other UFAs this year and next yeart has Jillorn, Kucherov, Coburn and Ohlund to sign. Do the frikken math. As for Drouin you say “This isn’t Edmonton, Colorado or Calgary. This is a cup contender that went to the cup last season & Drouin wouldn’t play as requested. The reason he’s not on the NHL roster.” Philadelphia was a finalist in 2010 and haven’t made the playoffs since, Vancouver was a finalist in 2011 and is hard-pressed to make the playoffs. NJ was a finalist in 2012 and haven’t been in the playoffs since. Those who say it was MacKinnon that made Drouin aren’t paying attention. In MacKinnon’s last Q season he had 32g 43a for 75 pts. Drouin was 41g 64a 105 pts and the next year, without MacKinnon, had 29g 79a 108 pts. He is being jerked around. Period.
LOL im with Ya 110% George except Ohlund hes done wont be needing to resign him. Besides that tho love it. Callahan eveven with hos point explosion that now has him at a ahoping 8 goals is nowjere near a 5.8 million dollar player and perhaps there was a reason that a team that struggled with injuries was giving a 5.8 million dollar player 3rd line minutes for the majority of the season. I get a kick out of some who dont see thos contract in the exact same light as Brown Richard Vinny….its a bad contract for a player who was once good played hard but time os catching up for it….with in a uear or 2 thos is the type of contract that takes some outside the box
thinkimg to get out of. Fillpula is not
necessarily an easy move, and not only is Carle tough to move but if you think Carle is a 5.5 mill guy how much does that make Hedman worth? That is an awful bog comtract coming down the pipe and Yzerman os not doing anyone any favors ot seems with some of hos previous moves…dont even get me started on the kings ransom he gave up for Cobourn. Yes the Lightning have some good young players to resign fans should hope that they dont get harpooned by the coach and GM like Stamkos Drouin StLouis got…
Drouin is doing the jerking & being a stupid jerk I can assure you. If he would play as requested he would be in the NHL. He over handles the puck, wants to play east west trying to skate thru players like he could in the Q but not here as opposed to north south moving the puck that Cooper’s system demands. He can’t & won’t check currently so no good as a bottom 6 forward. Who out of the current top 6 sits so he could play from Killorn, Kucherov, Nemestnikov, Palat, Johnson or Stamkos. None of the above & he can’t even crack TB’s 3rd line with Brown, Filppula & Callahan, doing all the heavy defensive lifting.
TB’s salary issue’s this summer are tight but manageable. If Stamkos is retained something has to give following next season. I have no doubt Yzerman will handle as he always has. Effectively & efficiently making the hard choices when confronted with having to do so.
You might want to worry more about how your favorite team is going to pay Hoffman & add all the other pieces you hope for. Ha-ha!
Quit effing “assuring” me! You have no more inside knowledge than any of us.
Some leaf fans don’t change – You’d be crazy not to jump at s 2nd for a 29 yr old bozak ……31 pts this year with major minutes on PP and 1st line. He’s a #3 centre on any good team….Let’s see the leafs do a true rebuild for once
I just hope that the bulk of the trades – if and when they come – are not made between now and trade deadline day, resulting in another long, boring day of panel analysis of what has already taken place. But I have a hunch that that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
Amen.
Me too, book the day off
I ahree on Polak aswell, he could be a decent guy to resign but you visit that in the summer, Simmons is just confusing I domt think there are amy firsts round picks available in that list either but if Mathias brings in 4th how are Parenteau and Riemer valued the same and wouldnt that put them in the garage sale category…yea Im not sure there are any firsts but I think Steve is a touch low in his “scouts” evaluations.
It’s just the normal cynicism at work – same as last year. Polak and Spaling for two 2nds in 17, 18. In Simmons list, Polak was worth a 2nd and a prospect supposedly and Spaling wasn’t even included in the ‘garage sale’ category. So you can see already how the returns are going to be better.
Ehh, maybe, I mean they took on Torres as well so clearly it was a bit of a salary dump going the other way to fetch the two seconds.
It’s a good point on a nice piece of business. Leafs now have $8m in cap space, which I think they will try to make a more significant part of upcoming deals. Even if they can’t ‘buy’ futures outright, they might be able to sweeten up returns as they apparently did here.
I dont think Hall or Eberle are anywhere close to guys that get moved in season but I do kinda wonder if with Chiarelli there wont be a deeper cut to the Oilers than expected in the summer to build a blueline.
Polak and Spalling to SJ for 2 2nds….lol
And the Kessel trade now stands at a 1st a 2nd and Harrington and Kapenin…looks better that way, still not perfect but better.
Don’t think it’s spaling who got a 2nd rounder. More like Polak was 2nd + and Spaling with the 2nd –
Given Kessel’s production this year I think the Leafs are pretty happy with what they got.
I see polak as likely a second and Spallings return was SJ getting rid of the headache that is Torres and a second for Torontos cap space. But doesnt change the fact that somehow Spalling was involved with a 2nd coming back…lol
What is the cap space argument? Torres was buried in the minors so his net cap was only $1.275, $0.925 off his $2 salary. Spaling has a cap of $2.2 so the net cap change went to SJ it would seem to me unless I’m missing something.
Sorry, $2 million less $925k = $1075k.
Im not say bad contract Im sayin Torres was a distraction that SJ no longer has to worry about. They can scratch him or just send him home it dosent make a difference. The Leafs are paying him out this year, and the contract is one less againstthe limit. Torres was a dump no doubt about it but Spalling was still involved so Spalling in addition to a little value by taking him with Polak was moved for a contract/player dump and a second at least is
seems about what happened to me anyway
And I am npt sure that makes Marinicin a “garage sale” part now. He will be needed and with 1 less depth guy D available well he isnt going anywhere for a 4th or 5th
I don’t see the Oilers making any big moves this trade deadline. The top defenceman that the Oilers would be looking for, the teams that they are on right now will be needed for a playoff push or a long playoff run, which is also why I do not expect the Oilers to trade their 1st round pick before or at the deadline. So I would expect there will only be minor trades from the Oilers before the deadline that will include the likes of Nikitan, Purcell, and maybe Pouliot. I don’t think that Schultz will be moved as nobody will want him and even though he is a RFA it will take a team to qualify him at 4mil which will not happen.
Also I don’t believe Hall will be traded. You can not trade a player who is in the top 15 in points, who also spent the majority of the season in the top 10, and get equal or better in return. I am a big RNH fan, but he is the best fit to be traded. IMO the Oilers untouchables are McDavid, Hall, Nurse, Klefbomb, and Draisaitle. Eberle I believe is close to being an untouchable but could be traded if the right offer comes up.
Kev, sound analysis there but I don’t see how you get a top pair D that you need for RNH. It might have to be that top pick or some combination of pieces.
I know, that is why the 1st round pick will not be traded before the deadline.
Habs would have to throw in some stuff (I’m open to suggestions) but perhaps a deal based around:
To MTL
RNH
Nikitin (salary dump)
To EDM
Emelin
Desharnais (poor #1 centre, pretty good #3 centre)
Pick(s)/Prospect(s)
The Oilers need a top pairing D man that can anchor the PP. I don’t think Emelin is that and Nikitin is a UFA after this season so no real need to dump his salary. Also with McDavid and Draisaitle the Oilers are set at center on the top 2 lines and a 4.1mil cap hit is a bit much for a 3rd line center, also Deshanais has a NTC.
Emelin has the NTC not Davey.
Well it’s always nice to have hopes & dreams.
Emehin would help but Edmonton isn’t moving RNH for that quality of Dman regardless of what other assets may move. What use could Edmonton possibly have for Desharnais?
Haha, yeah, I had a hunch it wouldn’t work. I was thinking Oil dump a terrible salary (Nikitin) for a bad one (Desharnais) but with Nikitin having no term left, it makes even less sense.
I think Emelin IS the kind of d-man they need, but agree that he wouldn’t be the one they’d take in any kind of RNH package, regardless of what other moving parts there are.
I’ll start by saying I’m not a Leaf’s fan. All this talk about who plays C, don’t you guys already have Stamkos signed?????
I’m a Leafs fan and generally optimistic, but I just don’t see it from his perspective. The Phaneuf trade and the fact Lou is now getting 17/18 picks back (suggesting those are rebuild years too), all of it tells me a true rebuild is underway and Stamkos would just be burning his remaining youth on a terrible team.
With Phaneuf and Polak gone young Rielly had better stock a lot of energy drinks! Who plays D in front of Reimer/Bernier the rest of the way? Talk about trials under fire.
Ive really liked Corrado and Marinicin of late. Theyv looked better than polak and Phaneuf imo. We will see about how they look getting more minutes tho youre right.
And Percy coming up, who has looked good in limited stretches previously. Saw Loov in his first game this season live and paid close attention to him; he looked good positionally. Obviously, not a good D, but I’m looking forward to watching these young guys.
You may be hiding your eyes before the final siren goes Dan.
Kadri, Bozak, Hunwick and Reimer won’t be moved. They are pillars of Babcock’s current team and dealing them will make big holes in the support system for incoming prospects and young players. The only “maybe” of the bunch is Reimer, who has says that if traded, he’d still be open to returning as a free agent.
I think you will see Parenteau moved, and likely get a weak second round pick in return.
Holland could go if the return makes sense, he’s a tough player to replace because of his versatility and the fact that there have been flashes of what made him a first round selection. Lou won’t want to trade hi now, if they can still coax out that top 6 forward.
Boyes and Grabner are the only other two that stand a chance of moving, and I think they would be somebody’s “Plan B” on deadline day.
Reimer could move, sure, but where to? Friedman made the comment that really only SJS and NSH have a need for improvement in their backup goaltending position. I couldn’t claim to have an informed view on it, but if the market is that thin the return could be underwhelming.
On Holland, Simmons reports a scout said this:
“You look at him and you think: ‘This guy is going to be something.’ And every once in a while you see that, he does it and then he goes back to being Peter Holland. You think there’s more there but really there’s not.”
I think that sums up Holland pretty accurately.
Almost forgot Bernier on Toronto, he could still be moved, but the return right now is going to be pretty low. A team dealing for him is taking a big gamble that he can rebound to where he was a year ago. Calgary is the best bet for Hiller and a prospect. Montreal might roll the dice on him as a #2 if they feel that Condon and Scrivens have too low a ceiling.
Bergevin has seen him at his best and might role the dice to move out a prospect that is taking too long to develop. But honestly, I bet most GMs will choose to wait on the off season unless Bernier shows a strong game this week.
I bet that he sees more starts that Reimer in the next 7 days as they showcase him and try to get a good effort for the scouts.
I don’t think there is any chance of the Habs trading for Bernier, even if he has an ultra-heroic week. They would have to free up 3 mil to take his contract on, and then they would be paying 4 million next season for a guy who is probably only going to play a handful of games.