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Kings and Sabres Talking Trade? |
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The LA Kings are actively searching for a top four defenseman to take the place of Slava Voynov in their lineup.
Kings GM Dean Lombardi confirmed to the LA Times that he is in fact looking high and low for a top four difference maker. He said that he is not in panic mode to find his man. He is patient and will not just rush into the market to make a trade for the sake of making a trade.
“I think we’re OK right now in terms of numbers,” said Lombardi.
“The other thing, it’s not just we’re going to go out and blow the cap space to blow it. It still has to be the right guy. … Let’s get real. Finding top-four defensemen, they’re not available. Because a lot of times to be able to do that you’d better have a guy to replace him because top-four guys are so important to each other’s teams.”
Lombardi is said to be interested in adding a right handed D to replace Voynov whose days with the Kings appear to be over.
Keep an eye on the Kings and the Buffalo Sabres. Lombardi has made deals with the Sabres the past two seasons to acquire D. Robyn Regehr was added in 2012 and Brayden McNabb was added last season. Regehr and McNabb are each playing key roles in LA's top six right now.
Tyler Myers is a right handed D who may be just the man that Lombardi is looking for. Myers is a $4 million cap hit and would easily fit into Voynov's cap space. Myers is currently playing 24 minutes and change per game and can more than handle PP, PK and 5 on 5 duties. Voynov was skating 23 minutes TOI per game when he was in the Kings' lineup.
Myers has been linked to the Detroit Red Wings trade rumors but it appears that Ken Holland is not willing to trade top forward prospect Anthony Mantha to the Sabres as part of a trade package for the 6'8" 230 lb. Myers.
The Anaheim Ducks have also been linked to Myers trade speculation as well. Bob Murray's defense corps has been rocked by long term injuries and the mumps virus this season. The Ducks are said to be seeking a top four D can play big minutes in all phases of the game. Myers fits that bill.
Darryl Sutter's blue line currently consists of the incomparable Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Robyn Regehr, Matt Greene, Brayden McNabb, and Jamie McBain. Alec Martinez is nursing a broken finger.
So, lets assume that Tim Murray and Dean Lombardi agree that they want to make a deal for Myers. What assets will the Kings have to agree to part with in order to land the Kelowna Rockets star?
Word out of LA that Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson are off limits, as is Jeff Carter.
I've heard that Lombardi may be willing to deal Jordan Nolan, Nick Shore and a 2015 first rounder to Buffalo for Tyler Myers.
Jordan has been a healthy scratch for the Kings for the past three games and has been mentioned in trade chatter lately. Ted and Jordan know a little something about one another. Jordan can add immediate value to Buffalo's third and fourth line and is very familiar with his former Manchester Monarchs teammate Nic Deslauriers who was traded to Buffalo with Hudson Fasching for Brayden McNabb at the 2014 trade deadline.
Nick Shore (22 years old, 6’0” 195) plays a 200 foot center game. He shoots right and was a 3rd rounder 2011 (82nd overall) out of University of Denver.
Shore is currently leading scorer for the Manchester Monarchs. Murray and the Sabres scouts are familiar with Shore having seen him play in the AHL.
Lombardi may have to include his 2015 first rounder to offset his unwillingness to trade one of his rock star young forwards in Toffoli or Pearson, who will become RFAs this summer and will be due performance bonuses this year. Each will require a bump up in pay this summer.
Perhaps Lombardi will have to trade Mike Richards before the NHL trade deadline to create cap space.
Lombardi also has to be prepared for the chance that Voynov may be reinstated from his long term injury.
".... as far as the idea of replacing Voynov, it’s not like you get the cap space and there’s something there right away. Let’s get real. Finding top-four defensemen, they’re not available. Because a lot of times to be able to do that you’d better have a guy to replace him because top-four guys are so important to each other’s teams.
“Again, we’re 20 games in and who can make that type of arrangement? I don’t see it. But you never know.”
Lombardi told the LA Times that the NHL and NHL Players’ Association’s agreement to let Voynov be classified as LTIR gave the Kings some flexibility. The Kings are still paying Voynov, but his $4.167 million in salary-cap space has been freed up.
"The only thing this has done is that at least now it gives us the clarity of what we can do,” Lombardi said. “I think the most frustrating thing for the past month was not only did you have what was going to happen to Slava drag on, but obviously the cap issue. But at least we got clarity on that.”
Lombardi will continue to pursue his top four D. He's correct when he says that not many teams are willing to trade top 4's once they have them. However, Buffalo may be the rare exception because they are confident that they have capable D prospects in Mark Pysyk, Jake McCabe and Chad Ruhwedel who can fill the void that a Myers trade could create for Ted Nolan's D corps. Nolan can also increase the TOI of youngsters Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov, as well as increasing the responsibilities of Josh Gorges and surprising find Tyson Strachan.
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Josh Gorges manned the blue line for the Montreal Canadiens for seven seasons. He was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in July. One door closed and another opened for the Kelowna, BC native.
On Tuesday, the Buffalo Sabres D-man patrolled his D post during practice. A great sign for Ted Nolan's suddenly streaking Sabres, who have won three games in a row for the first time in this tumultuous season.
Gorges has been a spectator to the winning streak. He was injured on November 11 in St. Louis. The initial prognosis called for Gorges to miss "weeks" as he recovered from his lower body ailment.
Gorges raised eyebrows when he practiced with the team for the first time since the injury occurred. He participated in drills and was paired with Andre Benoit as the fourth D pair. Gorges skated on his own on Monday and was only expected to take the ice for a few minutes on Tuesday.
The Sabres and Canadiens will kick off a home and home deal in Buffalo on Friday night. Gorges is taking his injury day by fday.
Who knows, maybe he will make his triumphant return to the lineup when the Sabres skate into Montreal on Saturday night. Gorges is no stranger to the NHL grind. He's been injured before. He knows his body and knows his physical limitations. He's working towards the goal of showing his former employer that they made a big mistake by trading him away so that they could create a roster spot for their kids Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi.
“As a player and as a competitor, you want to be out there. There’s nothing worse than sitting on the sidelines, watching your team go to battle without you,” he said. “To be able to go out there and get back into practice and do some drills – and just be out there with the guys – was encouraging for myself and we’ll push forward and push for tomorrow. We’ll see how things go then.”
nor Nikita
Lets assume that Gorges will be good to go against the Canadiens on Black Friday. Which defenseman will Ted Nolan sit in order to insert Gorges into the lineup?
Certainly not Rasmus Ristolainen nor Nikita Zadorov. Not Tyler Myers nor Tyson Strachan. Not Mike Weber. That leaves Andrej Meszaros as the scratch, in my opinion.
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Gorges told Sabres.com that he sees a distinctly different demeanor in his team's play during games in the past two weeks that he has been off the ice.
“From what I can see, the hesitation has gone away,” he said. “We’re not sitting back, waiting for things to happen, to see what the other team’s going to do and then chase the game after that.
“We’re aggressive, we’re jumping on pucks, we’re forcing plays. We’re making the other teams try to adapt to what we want to do and I think that’s something we’re going to have to continue doing if we want to be successful.”
The "aggression" that Gorges is noticing was created when St. Louis Blues D Ian Cole perpetrated this d-baggery on Sabres center/winger Tyler Ennis.
Nice of Cole to bounce his face of Zadorov's fist.
Since November 11, the Sabres have become a harder team to play against. They are not as easy to push off pucks and they refuse to lose battles. They are sticking up for one another and are a more unified team.
Steven Tyler of Aerosmith was right:
"You've got to lose before you can win"
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