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Dougie Hamilton assisted on all three of his team's goals in Calgary's 3-2 win at Detroit on Sunday night.
Three apples in one game will certainly amplify the trade chatter surrounding Hamilton.
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In the past six months, Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving made wholesale changes to bolster his roster. He's signed his young stars to king's ransoms. He's rebuilt his goaltending department. He's added trusted veterans and he fired his head coach.
Treliving signed star young center Sean Monahan and sniping scoring winger winger Johnny Gaudreau to lucrative, long term contract extensions.
Treliving over hauled his net situation by blowing out goalies Jonas Hiller, Joni Ortio and Karri Ramo. He made a bold move to add a proven NHL starting goalie in Brian Elliott. Treliving also added a legit back up via unrestricted free ageny in former Buffalo Sabre Chad Johnson.
Treliving imported veteran role model winger Troy Brouwer.
Perhaps Treliving's biggest, boldest move was firing head coach Bob Hartley and replacing him with former Dallas Stars coach Glen Gulutzan.
Treliving's objectives was to retirn the Falmes to playoff contention.
Earlier this week, Treliving delivered the bitter news that Gaudreau would be lost to six or more weeks with a broken finder, courtesy several slashes from Minnesota's Eric Staal on Tuesday night.
It's U.S. Thanksgiving week. Say hello to pumpkin pie, the Dalas Cowboys, Detroit Lions and NHL trade rumors. It's the annual review-preview period for hockey industry suits. NHL general managers met in Toronto last week, Treliving has to feel disappointed that his team is mired in the same mediocrity that undermined the success of the 2015-16 Flames.
In 19 games played this season, the Flames have scored 44 goals while allowing 63 goals against. Their minus 19 goal differential is second worst in the NHL. Vancouver are -20 in goal differential (41Gs for, 61Gs against). The Flames and Dallas Stars have a lot in common. Dallas has already allowed an NHL worst 64 goals against this season.
The Flames score 2.26 goals for per game while surrendering 3.26 goals per game.
The Flames, 3-7 in their last 10 games, are one point better than Western Conference cellar dwellars the Arizona Coyotes.
The Flames are not in a good place right now.
The flickering Flames are in Motown tonight and will travel immediately to Buffalo for a Monday night match up with the Sabres,
Where did it go wrong for the Flames?
Last season, Calgary began their season with a 3-8-1 record. They ended the s season with a 35-40-7 record.
No playoffs.
Earlier this week, Treliving put it out there that he is actively looking for trades that can help correct the course of his club.
“If there’s things out there that make sense for us or help us be better, we’ll obviously look at it. But a lot of times you can’t trade yourself out of issues,” Treliving said. “You have to find a way to get people playing to expectations, but that doesn’t stop you from, in the manager’s job, you’re always looking.”
It's holiday shopping time.
Is it a coincidence that defenseman Dougie Hamilton's name is crackling through the NHL rumor mill?
Hamilton is in his second season with the Flames. Last season, he scored 12 goals (3 GWG) and added 31 assists. Hamilton popped 5 power play goals while skating 19:46 TOI, the fifth highest TOI amount on the Flames D corps. This season, Hamilton's average TOI has been reduced to 18:41 TOI, which is fourth most TOI on the team. In his past five games, Hamilton has skated 21:10, 20:31, 16:24, 14:39, and 15:56 TOI, respectively. Hamilton has yet to score a power play goal this season and has just one game winner. Hamilton has scored 2 goals and added 4 assists in 19 games played.
Something isn't right with the Niagara Ice Dogs alum and Toronto native. Is he longing for a return to the Eastern time zone?
There's a hot debate burning in Calgary:
To trade Hamilton or not?
Random observers wonder aloud and on Twitter why Treliving would consider trading Hamilton just 100 games into his Calgary career. Others say Hamilton hasn't improved the Flames' D corps in his time there.
Treliving hasn't said that he is pursuing a trade of Hamilton. What he has said is that he will consider all serious offers and inquiries he receives for the 6'6”, 210 lb. Right shot D, who was Boston's first round choice in 2011. In 279 career NHL games spanning four plus seasons, Hamilton has scored 36 goals and 96 assists for 132 points. For whatever reason, Hamilton hasn't been able to make the profound impact in Calgary that Treliving thought that he would.
Have the Flames seen the best of what Hamilton can offer them? If so, maybe it's time for a trade. Several NHL teams are reportedly interested in acquiring Hamilton. Among them are Pittsburgh and Arizona. Makes sense. The Penguins need a righty to slot into their top four group. I also appreciate the Coyotes and their need to add a veteran presence to the blue line.
Pittsburgh and Arizona are lacking for salary cap space and would have a tough time creating the package needed to trade for Hamilton, who carries a $5.75M AAV for the next five seasons.
The Pens would naturally want to send goalie Marc Andre Fleury and his $5.75M AAV to Calgary in exchage for Hamilton. However, the Flames already have $4.2 million committed to Brian Elliott ($2.5M) and Chad Johnson ($1.7M). Elliott and Johnson are pendjing UFAs and will hit the open market on July 1, 2017.
Personally, I cannot see the Coyotes trading Oliver Ekman-Larsson nor Max Domi to Calgary in exchange for Hamilton.
You see, trading for Hamilton is a difficult feat for most NHL teams because of the NHL salary cap. Eyes become bigger than stomachs. Every NHL GM wants to add a 6'6” sky scraper who can dominate all three zones on the ice. However, the math has to work. In order to trade for Hamilton, the trading GM would have to do a “dollars in, dollars out” deal. In other words, a team with little to no salary cap space would have to not only trade a package of assets to the Flames that answered their immediate organizational need, which is goal scoring. The player(s) would have to be at or near Hamilton's $5.75 AAV, or less, it's an act of futility.
The moral of the story is that it will take a good old fashioned hockey trade to land Dougie Hamilton.
Dollars in. Dollars out.
Don't sleep on Tim Murray and the Buffalo Sabres. He has been searching high and low for puck moving PP QB who can ad immediate vlaue to the Buffalo top four group.
The Buffalo blue line has been ravaged by serious injuries to Zach Bogosian (knee) and Dmity Kulikov (mid-body/back). Murray has been playing veteran Josh Gorges on his top pair next to Rasmus Ristolainen for the past few weeks, Gorges is holding his own, however, the additional grind and TOI is starting to wear him down. If there were no injuries to Bogosian and Kulikov, Gorges wiuld be on the second pair. He's grinding out top pair minutes now because of the difficult injuries. Youngster Jake McCabe has been outstanding and has earned the respect of Dan Bylsma. McCabe being paired with veteran Cody Franson is an issue though. McCabe is better serbed playing alosngside a fleet footed partner, say Zach Bosogian. But that is not an option right now. Bylsma has found lightning in a bottle with his Rochester Amerks call ups on the third D pair. Justin Falk and Taylor Fedun have played nobly and effectively in the face of adversity, however, neither is a long term solution.
Tim Murray is asking Bylsma to stay the course and to hold on until Bogosian and Kulikov return. Do more with less, Danno. Both veteran D are listed as week to week. Neither has been placed on long term injured reserve. Yet. That bridge hasn't been crossed. Yet. Murray and Bylsma are hopeful that Bogosian and Kulikov will be healthy enough to return to the lineup in early December. What if they don't return until mid or late December?
Ristolainen is already playing 26:04 TOI. How many more minutes per game can Bylsma pack onto Ristolainen before he starts to make mistakes and get exhausted? Franson is alreay showing signs of distress in his game playing elevated minutes. Franson is a 12-14 minutes TOI per game. He's getting sloppy and getting beat in his own zone. If he keeps playing at this TOI pace, he will continue to make mistakes which will end up in the back of his net. I'm okay with McCabe now averaging 20:26 TOI. However, I don't like that Gorges is averaging 19:24 TOI and Franson 18:01 TOI. I'd like to see their minutes reduced so that they are fresher in third periods. I'm okay with Fedun skating 14:41 in his temporary call up. If I had a magic Bauer Vapor twig, I'd wave it and make Falk go back to Rochester rather than play him 12:45 TOI in Buffalo.
If he hasn't done so already, Tim Murray should be face to face with Brad Treliving. If I'm Murray, I want Dougie Hamilton in Buffalo. Murray has tried unsuccessfully to lure top four puck distributors Cam Folwer, Jacob Trouba, and Ben Hutton to Buffalo. If at first you don't succeed, try and try again, eh, Tim?
Don't worry about Hamilton being a right shot D. He's a defenseman who plays the right and left sides. Tim Murray has a simple rule: Make the deal and wor out all details later.
Ristolainen, Bogosian and Franson are all right shot D. Trading for Hamilton would mean that someone would have to play out of position. Hell, Hamilton could play left instead of right D and still succeed. The Niagara Ice Dogs star would feel right at home playing in Buffalo which is a ,mere 30 minutes away from St. Catherines and only 85 minutes away from Toronto.
Treliving needs a 25-30 goal power forward to plug and play while Johnny Hockey's surgically repaired digit heals. The Flames find themselves one point out of the Werstern Conference basement today. They need to win games and stack points in order to remain competitive in the Western wild card race. Evander Kane would infuse immediate truculence, pugnacity and point production to the Calgary attack. Brain Burke loves players of Kane's pedigree: big, fasy, nasty, tough, fearless and hard to play against. Kane drags his teammates into the battle. Kane would assist veteran leaders Mark Giordano, TJ Brodie,and Michael Folik, and Troy Brouwer in motivating and invigorating younsters Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett, Matt Tkachuk, and Johnny Gaudreau when he returns to better health.
Tim Murray needs to add a legit top four to preserve the integrity of his brilliant goaltending that Robin Lehner and Anders Milsson have been providing.
Lehner has a 2.53 GAA and .919 save percentage. In his past three starts, Nilsson has made 123 saves on 126 shots faced. In his past three games, Nilsson has a .976 save & and .97 GAA. Buffalo goalies have a combined 2.44 goals against average. The Achilles heel of the Sabres is that the forwards and D are not burying the prime scoring chances that they are creating. Buffalo is averaging 1.78 goals per game. Their forwards and D are undermining their excellent goaltending. Murray needs a puck distributor of Dougie Hamilton's ilk to move the rock to the streaking forwards with pace and purpose.
What currency does Tim Murray have to make a trade with Brad Treliving for Dougie Hamilton?
Evander Kane's $5.25 million AAV for Dougie Hamilton's $5.75M AAV.
Murray can sweeten the deal with a second rounder or a D prospect.
It's time for Murray to turn his attention to Calgary and turn back on Vancouver, Minnesota, Winnipeg and all other suitors.
Murray needs to throw his players a bone for holding the fort and remaining competive while they have had to recover from serious injuries to Jack Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly, Tyler Ennis, Nic Deslauriers, Zach Bogosian, Dmitry Kulikov.
Bylsma's nightly lineup features multiple Rochester Americans players.
I commend the Buffalo veterans and kids for blocking out the outside noise and despair and continuing to play for the man on his right and left on the bech and in the room.
Murray needs to reward his players and coaches now. They are five poinst out of a wild card berth. That's is a miracle considering their season appeared to be lost when Eichel, O'Reilly and the other key contributors left the lineup.
Hamilton told the Calgary Herald that he has heard the trade buzz.
“I saw it, for sure."
“You can’t think too much into that stuff. Just try to keep playing hockey.
“It’s part of the game. I think every deadline, every draft and all that stuff, there are always rumours. There are so many rumours and stuff, and I don’t know how much of it is true or anything, right?
“I’m happy here and I want to keep helping try to turn this around for the Flames, so I can’t look into that stuff. It’s just a distraction, if anything".
The Flames visit the Sabres on Monday night.
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Keep an eye on Arizona Coyotes left winger Anthony Duclair.
Sportnet's Nick Kypreos said Saturday night that the Desert Dogs may be willing to trade away the skilled young winger in exchange for a more established scoring forward.
In 2015-16, Duclair exploded on the scene as an electric scorer and play maker.
Having played together for Team Canada previoulsy, Duclair and Max Domi bonded immediately, forming a prolific scoring duo that gave opponents fits with their speed and skill.
In his rookie NHL season, Duclair scored 20 goals and added 24 helpers in 81 games played, Duclair scored 8 PPG and 2 game winners.
Domi popped 18 goals (3 PPG) and 34 assists.
This season, Duclair is understandably being held to higher expectations.
Duclair is experiencing a serious sophomore slump.His offensive point production has plummeted this season.
In 17 games played, Duclair has scored just one goal and two assists in 13:33 TOI per game.uclair has zero power play goals and zero game winning goals. Duclair's buddy Domi is in a similar slump having scored just 2 goals and 11 assists in 17 games played.
Duclair and Domi were expected to score more than just 3 goals amongst themselves in the first eight weeks of the NHL season.
Dave Tippett and Coyotes management are still waiting for the offensive explosion to occur.
Arizona finds itself in the basement of the Werstern Conference standings with just 14 points. The Coyotes are struggling to score goals (-12 goal differential) and would benefit from the addition of a proven NHL 20-30 goal scorer.
Kypreos said on Hockey Night In Canada that Duclair “could be had for the right price”. Coyotes GM John Chayka is not actively accepting trade proposals for Duclair, however, he is considering any and all inquiries.
Duclair was a third round pick of the New York Rangers in 2013 and is is in the final year of his entry level contract. Duclair carries a very cap friendly $772,500 AAV. Duclair will become a restricted free agent in July.
It is important to note that Duclair has a playing chemsitry alongside Buffalo center/winger Samson Reinhart.
The Duclair-Reinhart-Domi trio dominated the 2014 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships. The Duclair-Reinhart-Domi line stole teh show at the WJC tourney from start to finish. The trio created 29 points in just 7 games played. Reinhart scored 5 goals and 6 assists. Domi scored 5 goals and 5 assists. Duclair scored 4 goals and added 4 assists.
Imagine a world in Buffalo where Duclair played left wing for Jack Eichel and Samson Reinhart.
Duclair is a slicky skilled play maker and finisher. He is a wonferful power play producer who thinks the game at anb above average level. In my opinion, Duclair could be the winger that that tees up great scoring opportunities for Jack Eichel and Samson Reinhhrt. Eichel might be returning from his high ankle sprain in the next two weeks. Reinhart jasn't been heard from since October 12 when Eichel left the lineup with his high ankle sprain.
Tim Murray would be wise to inquire about Duclair's availability. The Sabres are averaging 1.78 goals per game. They need help in the goal scoring department. Duclair would add a jolt to Buffalo's stagnant offense.
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