Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours! Christmas is right around the corner and the wish lists are piling up. We’re almost at the midway point of the hockey season and teams will look to make moves to address their needs. Today’s Rumours focus on the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens.
NHL Rumours
Calgary Flames
Rumour: Pierre Lebrun from Insider Trading discusses the trade talk surrounding Elias Lindholm
It is not a matter of if but when Elias Lindholm is on the move. With the amount of expiring contracts, Craig Conroy is going to be a busy man this trade deadline. One player is already out the door, and the futures of Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, and Lindholm are in limbo. Lebrun has two teams in mind for Lindholm and a timeline.
Lebrun thinks that Lindholm will be dealt closer to the trade deadline, which is March 8. Lindholm is not having the best season production wise, as he has seven goals and 20 points. The two teams linked for his services are the Boston Bruins and the Colorado Avalanche.
Boston has been linked to centres since Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired. However, the position has played well enough this season and the emergence of Matthew Poitras has softened the blow. Lindholm would fit right in and slot to the top of the depth chart but Colorado also could use him.
Colorado is relying heavily on their top end talent for production. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen have carried the load offensively. The link to Lindholm is warranted due to Ryan Johansen having a tough season. He has ten goals and 12 points this season and also had one goal in his last five games.
The loss of Gabriel Landeskog hurts but ever since the departure of Nazem Kadri, Colorado has yet to recover from his absence.
Montreal Canadiens
Rumour: Pierre Lebrun on Insider trading links two teams to Candiena goalie Jake Allen
The next set of NHL Rumours keeps us in Canada. Let the goalie carousel begin. There are numerous teams who are looking for help in net and for the right reasons. The Edmonton Oilers have been searching for a goalie since Jack Campbell got sent down. Los Angeles saw Phoenix Copley go down with injury as well as a pair of Detroit Red Wings netminders. However, a pair of contending Metropolitan Division teams are in desperate need of help in the crease.
The Carolina Hurricanes have talked to Montreal regarding Jake Allen. Frederik Andersen has been cleared medically from his blood clotting issue but is still not ready to return to game action. Pyotr Kochetkov has emerged as a number one starter and has been sensational recently in net. However, Carolina need help in net, as they have the 31st ranked save percentage (.878). They are not alone, as the New Jersey Devils also are interested in Allen.
Allen is familiar with Martin Brodeur, who was in St. Louis with him. Lebrun says they have discussed Allen internally and with the connection to Brodeur makes this shoe fit. New Jersey has had a tough time in net. Both Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid have not been good and the Devils are struggling because of it. The need is there but is Allen worth it?
Allen is a steady veteran who has been around the league a long time. His experience would benefit both these clubs, who need juice in the crease. This season, he has a .904 save percentage and a 3.43 goals against average. In addition, Allen has 2.0 goals saved above expected and has been strong in net for the Canadiens.
Time will tell where things go, but the Canadiens will be a team to monitor given the three guys in the fold.
Main Photo: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
