NHL Rumor Mill – October 30, 2024
Could Connor Bedard’s frustration over the Blackhawks’ slow start force the club to seek help in the trade market? Are there some potential blueline trade options for the Oilers and Senators? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
SPORTSNET: During Monday’s “32 Thoughts: The Podcast” episode, Elliotte Friedman observed Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard’s frustration over his club’s slow start to this season.
Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (NHL Images).
Friedman dismissed any suggestion that Bedard is unhappy in Chicago and wants to be traded. However, he thinks the rebuilding Blackhawks might want to consider short-term roster improvements to keep Bedard happy without derailing their long-term plan.
According to Friedman, the Blackhawks attempted to acquire Jake Guentzel in the offseason before he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who signed him to a long-term contract. That shows they’ve tried to land a high-caliber star to play with Bedard.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Chicago has added veterans to their young roster over the last two years, bringing in Taylor Hall, Nick Foligno, Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, TJ Brodie, Alec Martinez and Laurent Brossoit.
The Blackhawks have plenty of trade bait in prospects and draft picks to make a competitive bid for a star. They’ll also have plenty of salary cap space to pursue one in next summer’s free-agent market.
Finding a star in their playing prime, however, is a difficult task. Most don’t want to join a rebuilding team that could be years away from contender status.
It’s believed the Blackhawks would like to add a second-line center, with some observers wondering if Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras could be available. It will take time to address that issue and might not occur during this season.
THE ATHLETIC: Allan Mitchell recently looked at five righthanded defensemen who should be trade targets for the Edmonton Oilers. One of them is Rasmus Andersson of the Calgary Flames.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Mitchell acknowledged the notion of the Flames trading Andersson to Edmonton is slim at best but felt he’d be the ideal option for the Oilers. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that trade to go down.
Meanwhile, Julien McKenzie examined some potential defensive trade targets for the Ottawa Senators. They included Timothy Liljegren of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Cam Fowler of the Anaheim Ducks.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Liljegren’s reportedly been available for nearly a month but his $3 million cap hit and lack of playing time hurts his trade value. Fowler has a four-team trade list but he’s reportedly willing to expand it to double-digits. Whether the Senators would be among his preferred destinations is another matter.
What do you expect Connor? The team traded away the bulk of their talent so they could sabotage their season to better their chances of picking you.
It’s going to take time to rebuild from that.
I guess he is in win-now mode……😉
hahaha, this exactly.
Then they tried to immediately surround him with slow experience guys thinking this would be the formula.
It’s the exact formula that failed Pittsburgh right after they drafted Crosby. They didn’t really start building as a team until after those old guys were traded away or let go.
sens are thin on the back especially on the right, but they only have 300k in cap space. they would have to get rid of a quality player to create enough space. who would go? i think jbd has looked pretty good coming in, but if another rd goes down it would be interesting to see who in the system would fill the void. personally if i’m the sens i hold pat, and play this out. they are playing pretty good so would be hesitant to shake things up too much especially considering all the talent that is out injured atm.
owen, I agree that trading for a Liljegren or Fowler is definitely not in the books, for a variety of reasons, not the least which is cap-related.
Ottawa’s current right-side depth consists of Zub, Jensen, Bernard-Docker, Hamonic, Yakemchuk, Matinpalo, Guenette. The problems start with Zub, who seems to be one of those who will struggle with concussion issues as the years go by. At the start of next season he’ll turn 30. Right now he’s not in the line-up … but neither is he on IR.
Hamonic is a UFA at season’s end and it’s unlikely he’ll be re-upped – certainly not at his current $1.1 mil. His roster spot – or Zub’s – will almost assuredly be taken up by Yakemchuk … but let’s be careful here. Shining in pre-season may be encouraging, but that’s a far cry from the everyday pressures of seasonal play, and while there’s no reason to think this kid isn’t going to be a good one, they have to be careful he doesn’t cave under unrealistic expectations. In other words, don’t put him out nightly as part of the # 1 pairing. Ice time on the 2nd and 3rd pairings until they are absolutely certain he can handle the pressure should be the norm.
But that doesn’t help them now, anyway. Could Liljegren help on the 3rd pairing with Kleven? Maybe, but they’re not going to be paying a 3rd pairing $3 mil per – and right now he’s not appreciably better – if at all – than Jensen, Zub (if he’s healthy) and even Bernard-Docker, who seems to be more than holding his own on the first pairing, although they’d be much more comfortable if he was back play ing with Kleven as the 3rd pair. And right now, he’s only costing $805,000 off the cap.
Fowler, for a couple of seasons, would be a solid addition paired with Sanderson – but where the heck do they clear the $6.5 mil need to accommodate him? Assuming he’d even agree to come here? Even finding a way to clear the cap room to take on Liljegren’s $3 mil is problematic.
Allan Mitchell, why even waste your time thinking the Flames would trade Ras to Edmonton? Your two best prospects were offer sheeted and are currently ripping.
Anyway, the point is moot. They just dealt Liljegren to the Sharks for a conditional 3rd in 2025, a 6th in 2026 and journeyman veteran RD Matt Benning, whose cap hit is 1,250,000 per.
So, if their intention is to keep Benning on the major league roster they still will need to clear cap space when those LTIRs start returning.