Last week’s trade
of Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks to the Minnesota Wild sent
a jolt through what had been a mostly stagnant trade market.
The move renewed
trade speculation regarding Rasmus Andersson of the Calgary Flames.
Eligible for UFA status next July, the
29-year-old is no closer to a contract extension and is expected to
be dealt by the March 6 NHL trade deadline.
TSN’s Pierre
LeBrun reported the Flames received an increase in calls regarding
Andersson following the Hughes trade. He indicated the Toronto Maple
Leafs attempted to acquire the Flames blueliner at last season’s
trade deadline and have recently revisited their interest.
LeBrun wondered if
the Flames would move Andersson as a playoff rental player or attempt
to pull off a sign-and-trade for a better return. He claimed the
Maple Leafs are among the clubs the veteran defenseman is willing to
sign with, provided a trade could be worked out.
The relationship
between Andersson and Leafs GM Brad Treliving might have
something to do with that. Treliving was GM of the Flames when they
chose Andersson in the second round of the 2015 NHL draft, and he
signed the blueliner to his current six-year contract.
Kent
Wilson of the Calgary Sun
considers Andersson to be the top defenseman in the trade market now
that Hughes is off the block. He doesn’t expect the Flames to get
something comparable to what the Canucks received for Hughes (three
young NHL players and a first-round pick), but Andersson should still
fetch a good return.
That would still
make it difficult for the Maple Leafs to land Andersson. They lack
sufficient depth in trade assets such as draft picks and prospects to
outbid other clubs.
The Sabres’ Next Move Should Be To Fire Lindy Ruff — And Hire Peter DeBoer
Forget making a trade; now that Jarmo Kekalainen has been hired as the Buffalo Sabres GM, his first order of business is to hire a coach who can get the team back in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the
Buffalo Sabres’ replacement of Kevyn Adams as GM with
Jarmo Kekalainen raised questions about the club’s efforts to sign
Alex Tuch to an extension.
The 29-year-old right winger is completing a seven-year contract with an average annual value of $4.75
million and will seek a substantial raise on his next contract.
Kekalainen told
reporters he intends to “take charge” of the Tuch negotiations.
“We appreciate, we like him. We want to get him signed,” he said.
It could prove
expensive to sign Tuch. According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the
previous negotiations stalled because his camp sought over
$10 million annually.
LeBrun’s
colleague, Darren Dreger, reported the Tuch camp is seeking a
deal worth slightly more than what Adrian Kempe received from the Los
Angeles Kings. The 29-year-old Kempe signed an eight-year deal last
month worth an average annual value of $10.625 million.
The Hockey News’ Adam Proteau thinks if Tuch’s camp doesn’t budge on the cap hit, the Sabres should trade him, suggesting he’s not worth that value.
The Sabres won’t
lack for trade partners if Kekalainen decides to move Tuch before
March 6. Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek believes the Dallas Stars could
lead the pack. The Stars are in “win-now” mode this season, and
Marek suggested that Tuch would be a good addition to their lineup.
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