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The NHL trade deadline is just over a month away and the Calgary Flames are expected to be buyers. Understandably so.
Only 10 teams have won more games since Geoff Ward took over behind the bench. As a result, the Flames now sit just one (1) point behind Vancouver for top spot in the Pacific Division.
Let’s take a look at a few potential trade targets should they find themselves in a similar spot a few weeks down the road.
Quick note: this is a mix of players I think the Flames *should* be interested in and players they *could* be interested in.
RW - Tyler Toffoli
Contract status: UFA after season, $4.6M cap hit
Toffoli is the perfect target for the Flames. He is a very efficient point producer at 5v5, where they could certainly use a boost. His goals/60 and points/60 rates would immediately slot him 1st on the roster this season.
Toffoli’s on-ice numbers are very strong; he is someone who can help tilt the ice in the team’s direction. He is also a natural right wing and would provide the Flames with another much-needed right-handed skill player.
I don’t know where he’d end up playing but, as an added bonus, he used to ride shotgun with Sean Monahan on the Ottawa 67’s. He’d have some familiarity there.
The rumored asking price is a 2nd round pick and a prospect, which he is well worth. I’d trade for Toffoli with the intention of extending him.
LW/RW - Jason Zucker
Contract status: UFA after 2022-23 season, $5.5M cap hit
The Flames almost landed Zucker at this time last year. His name has continued to pop up in trade rumors and Calgary hasn’t netted the scoring winger they’ve long been after. I’d be ignorant not to recognize the possibility of talks opening back up.
The Wild are seven points out and,
according to Dom Luszczyszyn's model at The Athletic, have only a 29% chance of making the dance. If they’re out of the race I could definitely see him being moved.
Zucker is quietly producing at a 1st line rate – he sits tied for 81st in points/60 at 5v5 – so there isn’t any reason for Calgary’s interest to have evaporated.
RW - Ondrej Kase
Contract status: UFA after 2020-21 season, $2.6M cap hit
If I’m Anaheim I am not trading Kase. I’m not even really listening. He has long been one of the NHL’s most efficient scorers and chance generators at 5v5 and, at just 24, still figures to be very good for years to come.
His name has routinely surfaced in trade rumors, though, and there was a lot of talk about him potentially being traded to Carolina for Justin Faulk prior to the deal with St. Louis.
If he really is available, the Flames should be all over it. His injury history is a little concerning but he’d provide a big spark to the team’s 5v5 offense, add another play-driving dimension, and his cap hit is *very* affordably.
The Ducks aren’t heavy into analytics and GM Bob Murray definitely likes physical hockey. Perhaps a package centered around Sam Bennett would get the job done. It shouldn’t, but maybe.
RW - Wayne Simmonds
Contract status: UFA after season, $5M cap hit
Let me preface this by saying *I* wouldn’t make a play for Simmonds. He has really declined over the last couple of years and I don’t think he provides much value at this point of his career.
That said, he is a physical, playoff tested player who all of his teammates love. He also plays a position of weakness for the Flames. If they strike out elsewhere, I could see them trading peanuts for Simmonds in hopes of him providing some edge and the occasional net-front goal on PP2.
Word is he’d prefer not to be traded by New Jersey, though it’s worth noting he doesn’t have any protection.
LD - Brendan Dillon
Contract status: UFA after season, $3.27M cap hit
This has Flames written all over it. They don’t seem to have much faith in Oliver Kylington on the 3rd pairing and Dillon has the physical, ‘playoff brand’ game that GM Brad Treliving has an affinity for (hello Troy Brouwer, Lance Bouma, Milan Lucic, Michael Stone, etc.).
Unlike those guys, I think Dillon is actually an above average player at his position. Of the six defenders to play 800+ minutes at 5v5 with the Sharks since the beginning of 2018-19, Dillon ranks 1st in attempts against/60, expected goals against/60, and actual goals against/60. He is excellent defensively at 5v5 (and on the penalty kill).
His presence would allow the Flames to run something like this:
Giordano - Brodie/Rasmus
Hanifin - Hamonic
Dillon - Rasmus/Brodie
Though he needs a new contract, he’d probably come cheaper than Hamonic and would bring a lot of the same elements. Perhaps Dillon could be more than a rental.
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