Here is my 500th blog post, thanks for all your support and don’t forget to leave a comment, as today I give my opinion on some recent signings, and I also discuss a few recent trade rumours involving the Flyers, Flames, and Bruins.
Vincent Carchietta USA Today Sports
Hall out in Boston.
Could the Bruins move Hall in the offseason as a cap casualty as they have no space to keep him.
Now there are some people out there who think some big names on the Bruins roster are going to be moved because they don’t have a ton of cap space to use this offseason and they need to sign some players to fill out their bottom six and resign Swayman, so some think that there could be a few of the Bruins players available for trade this offseason and one of those players is Taylor Hall. Now Hall has been with the Bruins the past few seasons and had done alright as he had a solid 14 points in 16 games to finish up the shortened season with the Bruins after they acquired him and then they signed him to a 4 year deal and in his first year he put up some solid numbers getting 20 goals and 61 points which was his highest point total since his career year in 17-18, but last year only put up 36 points in 61 games and definitely had a down year for the Bruins and given the fact he is making $6 Million per year I could see why the Bruins may consider moving him. Now Hall has 2 years left on his contract at a $6 Million dollar cap hit and is still a pretty good middle six winger for the Bruins, but I think after his down year the team would be willing to move on from him especially if one or both of Krejci and Bergeron retire and they need to sign new top 6 Center’s, also they need to extend goalie Swayman, and there is a lot of talk that after fitting in so well post trade deadline that the Bruins would like to try and bring back all three of Hathaway, Bertuzzi and Orlov, and although Hathaway is a 4th line forward and wouldn’t be overly expensive to bring back, it would take a lot of money to bring back both Bertuzzi and Orlov, but after Bertuzzi fit in so well with the Bruins, if the team were to move Hall then they could bring back Bertuzzi to replace him in the top 6 which I think Boston would definitely consider. So in my opinion there is definitely a strong chance that the Bruins move on from Hall just given his $6 Million dollar cap hit and I also think they could get maybe a 2nd round pick and decent prospect in return as Hall is still a good player, but if the Bruins were to move any as a cap casualty, then I think it would most likely be Hall and especially if they want to keep Beetuzzi then Hall has got to go, but let me know in the comments if you think Hall will be traded this offseason.
Flyers considering Hart trade
Now could the Flyers trade young starting goalie Carter Hart in the offseason.
Now it doesn’t seem extremely likely that it will happen but we have heard some rumours over the past little while from different places and the most recent one was GM Daniel Briere saying on a radio hit that he views Hart as their goalie for the future but said he was willing to listen to anything, which might mean that he would at least consider a Hart trade. Now Hart ha improved a ton since his shaky performance in the shortened season, as after putting up a .877 SV% and a 3.67 GAA in 27 games in the shortened season, he has had a combined .906 SV% and a 3.05 GAA in 100 games in the two seasons since the shortened one and has definitely shown that with a little bit more work he could be a good starting goalie, and I don’t think it is to surprising to see the Flyers wanting Hart to remain the Flyers starter, but I think the decision may lie a bit more with Hart. Now Hart will be in the final year of his contract this season and will be a RFA next offseason, and there is a lot of talk that with the Flyers announcing they plan to go through a rebuild, would Hart really want to sign a long term deal to remain with the Flyers or would he only take a 1-2 year deal to get himself to UFA status, and I think if the Flyers are able to convince him to sign a long term deal then they would be more then happy to keep him and have Hart-Ersson as their goalies for the next few years, but if Hart makes it clear that he doesn’t want to remain long term with the Flyers then I would expect the Flyers to trade him, and I think there would be a couple of teams such as Pittsburgh, LA, Ottawa, Buffalo and Detroit amongst others who would definitely have interest in having Hart be their new starting goalie and I think the Flyers could get a big return if they were to move Hart and they have Ersson in the system who I think eventually could be their goalie of the future, so in my eyes it really does depend on if Hart is willing to sign with Philly long term, but if he isn’t and there is a trade package big enough for the Flyers to consider I think that there is a good chance that Hart could be moved this offseason, but I would like to hear your thoughts on if Hart will be moved in the comments section.
Sergei Belski USA Today Sports
Could Flames trade Lindholm for a top 10 pick.
Now here is another rumour that has surfaced over the past few days and that is could we see the departure via trade of Flames top line Center Elias Lindholm.
Now Elias Lindholm has been with the Flames for the past 5 seasons and has been a driving force for them offensively, as he has at least hit the 45 point mark in each of his 5 seasons there including hitting a career high point per game 82 points in 82 games two years ago when he was centring the Flames top line with Tkachuk and Gaudreau, but this year was a bit of a down year for him as he didn’t have Gaudreau and Tkachuk on his wings and didn’t play as well as he hit 20 less goals (only getting 22) and hit 64 points in 82 games so not a major drop off and probably still one of the top forwards for the Flames, but he did seem at least a bit upset this year as the team missed the playoffs, and there were some thinking the Flames may wind up moving him.
Now the Flames have got a new GM in Craig Conroy who during his press conference said that he doesn’t want another situation like the Flames had last offseason with Gaudreau where he left for free agency and the Flames were not able to get him signed and lost him for nothing, so it sounds like he wants to get all the players in the final year of their deal’s (including Lindholm, Toffoli, Hanafin etc) dealt with before the start of next year, so any player willing to sign with Calgary should be resigned before the season starts, and any players who doesn’t want to remain long term in Calgary may be moved this offseason and I think Lindholm is at the top of that list. Now if Lindholm wants to remain in Calgary I think they would work out a extension at some point in the next 4-6 weeks and keep him as I think having Lindholm as their number 1 Center for the next few years would be good, but if he doesn’t want to remain then I think they would have to trade him at that point, and some think that he would be more likely traded if the Flames could get a top 10 pick in return.
Now I have seen some people saying that the Jackets, who are looking for a top 6 Center, could deal the 3rd overall pick to Calgary in exchange for Lindholm, and I think Columbus would be crazy to deal what could be a franchise Center they get at 3 in most likely Carlsson or Fantilli for Lindholm even though Lindholm is a good Center so I don’t see the Jackets moving that pick but maybe if they were to try and acquire Lindholm they could use the Kings 23rd overall pick in a package instead, and two teams who I think would be bold enough to move a top 10 pick for Lindholm would be the Blues or Caps, as the Blues have been looking for players who are around 25-26 years old and Lindholm is only a couple years older then that and I think they would be willing to move 10 if it got them Lindholm, while the Caps could move Kuznetsov and have Lindholm be their 2nd line Center behind Backstrom and could really speed up the Caps retool and I would think Washington would be willing to pasty with 8th overall for Lindholm, but those are the only two teams I could see part with a top 10 pick, and I think if Lindholm wants to be back he will, but I think if he doesn’t have a extension in place at some point in the offseason the Flames may be forced to move him and if they could get a high level pick in return I think they would do that.
So in my eyes if Lindholm won’t resign then he should definitely be traded and I think there would be a long list of teams interested in the top line Center, so this is another situation we are going to have to watch over the coming weeks leading up to free agency and the draft, but I would love to hear your thoughts on Lindholm down in the comments.
Here is a list of all the NHL signings that I never got around to on my YouTube channel from between APR 3rd and MAY 1st.
Metro
Carolina
The Hurricanes have signed undrafted Goaltender Yakov Perets to a 2 year entry level contract that will have a AAV of $.805 Thousand dollars and the deal will begin at the start of next year. Now Perets has been playing in the NCAA over the past few years and had actually been very productive as he had a 1.17 GAA and a .939 SV% in 31 games in the 21-22 season and then followed that up with a 1.49 GAA and a .931 SV% in 41 games this past year do he has been putting up some great numbers over in the NCAA and I think that maybe after a year or two developing in the minors, he could challenge for the backup role in Carolina as I don’t think he is ready yet for the NHL but he definitely looks like a solid goalie prospect and I think in time he should be a good NHL goalie, but in my eyes he will probably not be ready for another year or two which is why he should continue to grow in the minors, but definitely a good signing by the Canes to get a good goalie prospect for the next two years.
Atlantic
Florida
Now the Panthers signed undrafted Center Ryan McAllister to a 3 year entry level contract that will have a AAV of $.897 Thousand dollars and the deal will begin at the start of next year. Now McAllister has been playing in the AJHL up until last year and had one pretty good in his final year there putting up 139 points in 60 games and then went to the NCAA last year where he was over a point per game with 49 points in 39 games and played well enough to earn his ELC from Florida. Now he also got into 4 AHL games and put up 5 points so he looks like he could be a NHL forward eventually, but for now I would think he plays at least one if not a couple of seasons in the minors with the AHL panthers before getting a NHL opportunity, but in 2-3 years I could see him maybe get a shot at the NHL level and in time I could see McAllister play as maybe the Panthers 3rd line Center, but for now I would expect him to play a couple of years in the minors with McAllister possibly getting an NHL opportunity after that.
Now the Panthers signed undrafted Left side defensemen Uvis Balinskis to a 1 year entry level contract that will have a AAV of $.870 Thousand dollars and the deal will begin at the start of next year. Now Balinskis has been playing over in Czechia the past few years and has done quite well as 2 years ago he had 9 goals and 23 points in 42 games played, and this year had 11 goals and 35 points in 50 games and looked really good as a defensemen, so with Balinskis being older than most players signing ELC’s and the Panthers not having the greatest D-Corp I could see him get a opportunity at the NHL level as early as next year and could see him compete for the 3rd pair spot, but I could also see him start out in the minors especially if the Panthers get a little better on the defensive side, so whether he starts in the NHL or AHL next year, I do think he was a good signing for the Panthers and should give them a bit more depth for next year on the defensive side.
Pacific
Seattle
Now the Kraken signed undrafted Center Logan Morrison to a 3 year entry level contract that will have a AAV of $.870 Thousand dollars and the deal will begin at the start of next year. Now Morrison has been playing over in the OHL the past few years after not being drafted and has been a force in the OHL the past couple of years as two years ago Morrison had himself a season putting up 100 points in 68 games and helped the Hamilton Bulldogs get to the memorial cup final, while last year he had a solid 40 goals and 94 Points in 56 games this year and has been a extraordinary forward in the OHL. So I expect the undrafted forward to play a year or two in the AHL as I think he could definitely use another year or two developing in the minors, but after that I think he could be a solid middle six forward and challenge for a regular spot in the NHL roster, so a good signing for the Kraken and I would expect Morrison to eventually be a regular in the NHL.
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