The first Thursday of November brings another helping of NHL Rumours with Last Word on Hockey. The offseason may be winding down, but teams are still making preparations and changes for the upcoming 2020-21 season. Regardless of whether your team is a Cup contender or a bottom dweller, everyone still has some work to do. Today, we look at the Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, and Anaheim Ducks.
NHL Rumours
Calgary Flames
Rumour: In a recent Q&A session with Sportsnet, Flames head coach Geoff Ward says he’s considering utilizing Elias Lindholm in the number one centre spot for next season.
Analysis: Calgary had a whirlwind season, to say the least. After finishing as the best team in the Western Conference in 2018-19, the team faced underwhelming play and controversy behind the bench en route to an eighth-place finish in the West. Their cause was not helped by Sean Monahan, the team’s top-line centre for the last number of years. His play dipped uncontrollably this season, seeing his point total plummet from 82 to 48 while playing in a comparable amount of games. It was his worst campaign since his rookie season, and while he may certainly bounce back next year, a shakeup is needed in Calgary.
Enter Lindholm. After being acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes prior to the 2018-19 campaign, he’s been a much-improved player and a staple in the team’s top-six forward group. In fact, Lindholm had mostly been playing on the top line centred by Monahan with Johnny Gaudreau on the left-wing. However, centre is indeed Lindholm’s natural position, and it’s what he played for most of his career in Carolina. There are a couple of points of concern here with moving Lindholm to centre. One would be the additional responsibility combined with the fact that his point totals in Carolina weren’t all that stellar. Would separating him from Monahan cause a dip in play for Lindholm? It’s a viable scenario, and Ward needs to keep this experiment on a short leash if he opts to go with it.
Dallas Stars
Rumour: A mailbag run for the Dallas Morning News by Matthew DeFranks included the prospect of stud defenceman Miro Heiskanen‘s next contract, on which the cap hit could fall between $8 and $9 million.
Analysis: Drafted third overall in 2017, Heiskanen has quickly become a franchise cornerstone for Dallas. The 21-year-old native of Espoo, Finland has averaged over 23 minutes a night during his two-season career. He’s collected 68 points in 150 games, but really took off offensively during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs (26 points in just 27 games). Dallas will get one more year of value on his entry-level deal, but Heiskanen is eligible to sign an extension anytime between now and next offseason.
There’s no question that Heiskanen will be worth the aforementioned cap hit, especially on a long-term deal. However, the financial implications are still serious. Dallas currently has over $23 million in projected cap space for 2021-22. That may seem like a lot, and it is. They don’t necessarily have any huge names to re-sign that offseason, either. They’ll look to fill the gaps in free agency. Players like Andrew Cogliano and Blake Comeau will find new homes or retire. The real crunch will come in 2022, when Alexander Radulov, Denis Gurianov, and John Klingberg will all be free agents. If Dallas plays their cards right, they may be able to maneuver this cap situation. But it isn’t a given.
Anaheim Ducks
Rumour: As things head south in Anaheim, NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz examines the possibility of a fire sale in Orange County.
Analysis: While the future is certainly coming for the Ducks, the present isn’t too pretty. Many members of the old guard remain, a sign that the Ducks haven’t quite embraced a full rebuild just yet. Many would suggest to Anaheim to not fall into the trap that the Chicago Blackhawks fell into with putting off the inevitable. It sounds like that may be the case.
Unluckily for Anaheim, moving a bunch of core pieces is easier said than done. The only high-calibre player on this team who would be available as a trade-deadline rental this year is Ryan Getzlaf. Everyone else with value has term left on their deals. The Ducks would likely have to retain salary on any potential Getzlaf deal, but that shouldn’t matter.
This does put Anaheim in a bit of a tough bind, however. Any selling moves they want to make will be tougher to engineer considering the term left on deals for Adam Henrique, Jakob Silfverberg, and Hampus Lindholm. They’re all at reasonable cap hits, but would a contending team be willing to take on an extra season of cash? What’s for certain is that Anaheim won’t be trending upwards anytime soon, despite their best efforts. They should be trending more often in NHL rumours, though!
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