Tolvanen a trade piece for Nashville and Montreal to move a forward as well as Waiver and signing news.
Today I give my opinion on some recent signings, an update on some more Waiver news as well as a few trade rumours involving the Predators, Canadiens and Senators.
The Predators may use Eeli Tolvanen as a trade chip.
The Nashville Predators have had a pretty bad start to the season and are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff race and even though it is early they haven’t looked like a good team so far this year and if this keeps up and they need to improve I do wonder if former forst round pick Eeli Tolvanen winds up becoming a trade chip for them. So the Predators currently have a 5-7-1 record on the season but won their opening two games of the season overseas against the Sharks so take out those two games and they are 3-7-1 in their last 11 games and not playing well as their defence I think it their biggest problem as their offence is playing well on most nights but their defence hasn’t been the best this season as their top six forwards and three best defensemen are producing well but I think the defence needs a upgrade and they probably need a top 4 right side defensemen who can be a good defensive defensemen. Now almost no teams are able to make the playoffs when they have 7 points or less in their first 10 games and that is exactly what the Preds had in their first 10 games so I think it will be a uphill battle to make the playoffs but I think they have what it takes to turn their season around but I think they need a defensive top 4 right side defensemen as Fabbro is still playing well with Josi but Lauzon isn’t a top 4 defensemen and where Carrier had 30 points in 77 games last year as a defensemen, he doesn’t have even 1 point in 11 games this year so getting a more experienced defensemen might be able to help them and I think Tolvanen could help them get a good defensemen. Now Eeli Tolvanen had back to back good seasons over the past couple year getting 22 points in 40 games in the 56 games season and hit a career high 23 points in 75 games last year and started out pretty well this year having a 3 game point streak to begin the season but he hasn’t been able to get a point since as he is pointless in 5 straight and has been a healthy scratch in 5 games this season as well but with him falling out of favour in Nashville I think trading him to get a fresh start would be smart, because in my eyes the kid is a good top 9 forward with Middle six potential and a pretty good shot that could help score goals so he should definitely be a consistent NHL player but if he has fallen out of favour in Nashville and can’t get into the lineup consistently then I think a fresh start would be good for him and with the need for a defensemen in Nashville then I think moving Tolvanen to help get a more experienced defensemen might help the Predators now and in the long term.
A decision on Formenton has to be made soon.
The Senators are the only team left with a RFA on the books and that is Alex Formenton and with December 1st being the deadline for RFA’s to sign to still play this year this is another situation to watch for in the next few weeks. Formenton is coming off a good season last year playing middle six minutes and putting up some great point totals of 18 goals and 32 points in 79 games and after having such a great year coming off of his ELC he was probably hoping to have a pretty good pay raise this season but hasn’t even gotten a contract signed yet. Now some people say that Formenton hasn’t been signed due to the possibility of being linked to the hockey Canada scandal but for the time being I don’t think that is the case as to my knowledge he hasn’t been proven guilty so in my opinion that isn’t what is holding back this contract but rather Formenton’s position in Ottawa. Now the Senators have made a lot of improvements to their roster since missing the playoffs last season and where Formenton was playing a lot of top six minutes last year, this year on this team he would be lucky to get 3rd line minutes after the additions of Giroux and DeBrincat solidified their top 6 and at best I would say Formenton would be a 3rd line forward in Ottawa but even Motte has played well their so I think the problem is that he doesn’t have a real top six opportunity on this team that he did last year and he may want to play somewhere where he could actually be a consistent top 6-9 forward for a team. Now the Sens definitely have enough cap space to sign Formenton and with the two sides sounding like they aren’t even talking I definitely think that this is due to his lack of a role in Ottawa and I think that Ottawa could very well find a trade for Formenton before he can’t play anymore this season. Now I think if the Sens could get a 2nd or 3rd round pick in return and there was a NHL team who was looking for a younger winger coming off a good season and could be a decent middle six forward for their team then I think a trade could happen but it definitely doesn’t look like a signing will come to fruition before the DEC 1st deadline with the Senators and if Formenton wants any chance of playing this year or having a consistent top 9 role then getting a fresh start may be the best for Formenton and a Formenton trade is something we should keep an eye on before December 1st.
The Canadiens still want to move a forward.
Montreal has been rumoured to be trying to move a forward for some time now and they haven’t been successful to this point but it does sound like they may be getting close to finally moving one of their forwards and helping their roster and cap a bit. Now according to a few reports the Canadiens still want to move a forward or two in the near future as they could use a couple of roster spots and some more cap space to help the team and even though the Canadiens may move Slafkovsky down to preserve the first year of his contract they still have a stacked offensive group with a lot of top 9 forwards and they recently had to risk losing Rem Pitlick after they put him on waivers and I don’t think they would want to risk another player being put on waivers so I think moving a forward is probably in the cards for the Canadiens. Now I would say that the most likely candidates to be traded are once again Hoffman as well as Drouin and Dadonov as Hoffman had a slow start but has picked up his game in the last few weeks and if the Canadiens could retain a bit of salary I think a team would be interested in acquiring Hoffman who can still be a good middle six point producing forward and I still think that he is the best trade chip out of all the players who could be moved by Montreal, and for the other two it may be more realistic to trade them closer to the deadline as both haven’t been very productive with Drouin having 2 points and Dadonov having none and both occasionally being healthy scratches but with both players in the final year of their deal and Montreal probably willing to retain some salary I think there would be some interest in them as good 3rd line veterans who could still produce at a respectable pace but definitely keep an eye on the Canadiens forward group as a trade could happen anytime to give them Roster and Cap flexibility.
Here is what has happened with the waiver wire over the past few days.
On Waivers
Chicago
Dylan Wells G (1 year left $.750 Thousand dollars)
Montreal
Rem Pitlick LW,C (2years left $1.1 Million dollars)
Cleared Waivers
Nashville
Kiefer Sherwood RW,C (1 year left $.750 Thousand dollars)
Buffalo
Riley Sheahan LW,C (1 year left $.950 Thousand dollars)
Claimed off of Waivers
Nicolas Aube Kubel RW (1 year left $1 Million dollars) was placed on Waivers by the Maple Leafs and was claimed by the Capitals.
Analysis: so not too many surprises with the few players that have been placed on waivers over the past few days. So I don’t really think that the Sabres and Preds were at much risk of losing their players on waivers as Sheahan had only gotten into a few games for the Sabres as he started on IR and has been mostly a spare player for the deep and young Sabres and even though he is a experienced forward and is on a pretty cheap deal I do think that he would clear as I couldn’t see him getting a roster spot on another team and for Nashville I am a bit surprised that Sherwood was waived as he has done pretty well with the Preds to start the season and even though he wasn’t in all of the Preds games he was a decent bottom six forward but even though he has been a pleasant surprise for Nashville I didn’t think he would be able to get claimed and given another opportunity and even though I thought he would’ve been claimed a lot more then Sheahan I still thought the most likely outcome was him clearing and that is what happened but I think see NHL tile again with Nashville, as for the one claim, I was confident that once Aube-Kubel was placed on waivers that he would be claimed as he is a really good 4th line forward and if there was a team who was dealing with a lot of injuries or was lacking a bit of depth and could use a serviceable 4th line forward like Kubel who can help on the PK and also produce a bit would definitely be interested in him and the Capitals are definitely one of those teams as they are definitely battling a slew of injuries right now and adding a guy like Aube-Kubel should help as he can help the Caps on the special teams and in a bottom six role so while I probably wasn’t picking Washington to claim him I definitely thought he was going to be claimed and he should definitely help the Capitals, and as for the two players who are on waivers today I think one could be claimed but most likely both wind up clearing as Wells was recently signed to a NHL contract by Chicago due to the fact that Stalock and Mrazek were injured and they didn’t have anyone else in Net on a NHL contract but given he is 4th stinger in Chicago I find it very hard to believe that another team would view him as a upgrade on their current goalies so I think he clears and goes down, while for Rem Pitlick I do think that he is a possibility to be claimed as he has shown over the past year that he has what it takes to be a good bottom six forward in the NHL and I think a younger team like Arizona or a banged up team like Philadelphia could definitely have interest in Pitlick coming off 26 points in 46 games with Montreal last year but he hasn’t done too well this season and is signed for 2 years and I think if it was 1 year then he may be a bit easier to claim but with the extra year I think it might put teams off and while I do think there is a possibility he is claimed I think the more likely scenario is that he clears and is sent down but definitely interesting waiver news and I can’t wait to see who is placed on waivers next.
Here is a list of all the NHL signings that have happened between OCT 16th and OCT 20th.
Metro
Atlantic
Pacific
Left Winger Lucas Ciona who was a 6RD pick in the 2021 draft by the Calgary Flames has come to terms on his 3 year entry level contract with the Flames and the deal has a AAV of $.849 Thousand dollars and the deal is two way. Ciona was a ôter round pick but still seems to have some pretty good value as he is coming off a good season with Seattle in the WHL putting up 35 points in 53 games and has started this season off quite well to as he had 20 points in 12 games and he will continue to play in the WHL this season and maybe one more and maybe a year in the AHL but in 2-3 years I think he could challenge for a spot in the NHL and I could see him be a good bottom six forward for the Flames in a few seasons.
Central
Goalie Matt Murray and the Dallas Stars have agreed to a 1 year contract that will carry a AAV of $.750 Thousand dollars and the deal is two way. Murray has been with the Stars AHL affiliate since late last season when he signed with their AHL affiliate in Texas following finishing his career in the NCAA and was also playing there this year as he put up a 2.00 GAA and a .926 SV% in 5 games in the AHL and with Oettinger getting injured and not having enough cap space to call up Khudobin they needed a good goalie and with how Murray played in the minors he seemed like he could backup in the NHL for a few games and I think he will compete with a guy like Adam Scheel this year to be the third stringer and if Dallas continues to run into injuries then he could also get into some NHL games as well.
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