It has been a busy 24 hours in the NHL. From the Calgary Flames firing their coach and replacing him with an unexpected name, to Brent Seabrook hanging up his skates and notifying Chicago Blackhawks fans of his decision to leave the game, there’s been no shortage of topics to discuss. The Boston Bruins have been identified as a team that could be a fit for P.K. Subban, the Anaheim Ducks learned they can’t trade a potential asset, and the Vancouver Canucks need to get down to business with Tanner Pearson.
Could the Bruins and Subban Make Sense?
According to Scott Burnside of The Athletic, the New Jersey Devils are willing to move Subban in a trade and the scribe wonders if the Bruins would be a fit. Noting he spoke with a source that said the Devils are open to move any piece that isn’t part of a very young core they’ve identified as their future, the Bruins have a huge holes on their blue line.
Burnside writes:
The Bruins have more of a need on the left side but the Bruins, or any team for that matter, could acquire Subban and then expose him in the expansion draft. Having a player with a big personality and Subban’s skill set might be an attractive add for the first-year Kraken.
source – ‘NHL trade deadline: 12 more players not on our trade board who could move’ – Scoot Burnside – The Athletic – 03/05/2021
If a trade is possible, New Jersey would either need to take money back or retain a good chunk of Subban’s salary.
Brent Seabrook Announces He’s Leaving NHL
Seabrook hasn’t officially “retired”, but the defenseman used almost every other word to tell Blackhawks fans he was leaving the NHL after being unable to recover from numerous injuries. The team placed him on LTIR Friday and the blueliner spoke to the media about what led to his decision.
Seabrook noted that he has basically no cartilage in his right hip. “I told my body to screw off for 15 years, it finally turned around said, well, I’m not gonna do it anymore.” He added in his official statement that he was proud to have played his entire 15-year career in Chicago with the Blackhawks. “It was an honor to play the game that I love, with teammates I love, in front of fans I love, in a city that my family and I have grown to love.”
Related: Canucks Can Get Prospect Dmitry Zhukenov’s Career Back On Track
Canucks Need to Start Talking Contract with Tanner Pearson
TSN’s Darren Dreger noted during the most recent Insider Trading segment, that Canucks GM Jim Benning has pegged his business with Pearson as a priority. Dreger notes that Pearson is a pending unrestricted free agent making $3.75 million this season and says, “Benning wants to get that process well underway before the April 12 trade deadline.”
The thought is that Vancouver needs to see if there is a contractual fit for the player and the organization and if Benning can’t make Pearson’s contract work, a trade is the likely next step. Dreger argues that Benning has to get something for Pearson and can’t just let him walk for nothing.
Ducks Potential to Trade Lindholm Gone
It’s not that the Ducks were absolutely going to trade defenseman Hampus Lindholm, but recent news of an injury that will keep the defenseman out six weeks means the team won’t be able to move him prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, even if they wanted to. Lindholm would have been an interesting player to watch, but he suffered a fractured left wrist.
The Ducks are still going to be a team to keep an eye on as they have players like Rickard Rakell, Ryan Getzlaf, Adam Henrique, Cam Flower and Jakob Silfverberg that could all be discussed in trade talks.
Taylor Hall “Open to Anything”
NHL.com recently published an article that cites forward Taylor Hall saying he’s “open to anything” as it pertains to his future. The Buffalo News reports that Hall is willing to sign another contract with the Sabres despite a disappointing performance, both by the team and himself personally.
That said, it also sounds like he understands that the Sabres might deem it best to move him. He noted that he never treated signing with the team for only one year as a one-and-done situation.
Flames Decision Made About Ward Prior to Win
The Calgary Flames shocked a lot of people when they hired Darryl Sutter to replace Geoff Ward as the team’s head coach. What was interesting about the timing was that the announcement came about an hour after the Flames handily beat the Ottawa Senators 7-3.
This means the team had already decided to go another direction prior to the game and it’s believed GM Brad Treliving thinks this team is too soft and too inconsistent and that Sutter is the guy to come in with a hard-nosed approach and offer a bit of a wakeup call.
The Flames will have to play their game against the Edmonton Oilers Saturday without Sutter. John Shannon notes that the Flames are still determining when Sutter can get behind the bench again. Ryan Huska will run the bench this weekend.
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