The NHL Trade market is percolating and frothing like my grand mother's old fashioned aluminum coffee urn.
Credit to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman for his reporting of New York Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic requesting a trade to a Western Conference team.
Hamonic, 25, a native of St. Malo, Manitoba, has said that he would like to be traded to a Canadian team so that he can be closer to his family. Hamonic's wish to return to his native Western Canada makes the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks the desired target teams. Hamonic played junior hockey for the Moose Jaw Warriors and Brandon Wheat Kings.
According to reports, Islanders GM Garth Snow has talked to several NHL GMs about a trade since Hamonic requested the trade during the offseason. We are now eight weeks into the NHL season and Snow has not been able to find a trade partner to satisfy Hamonic's request.
Hamonic, 25, was a second round draft choice (53rd overall) at the 2008 NHL Draft. At 6'2” and 205 lbs. Hamonic can skate on the top D pair. He hits like a Mack truck and can make the quick up first pass with accuarcy. In six seasons of service with the Islanders, Hamonic has scored 18 goals and added 96 assists. In 342 career games Hamonic has amassed 367 PIMs.
He has three assists in 19 games this season
Hamonic is is three of his seven year, $27 million contract. He is a $3,857,142 AAV for this season and four more. His current contract expires in 2020.
Hamonic's age, salary cap hit and unique skill set make him very attractive on the trade market. There must be 20 NHL GMs calling Snow about Hamonic, however, he will only accept a trade to Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver.
TSN's Darren Dreger was a guest on AM Winnipeg 1290 onWednesday afternoon.
Dreger shed light on the sticky nature of Hamonic's trade request.
“It’s a curious one, to say the least. When you’ve got the stature of this player, mid-20s, who has good term on his contract and an acceptable AAV – to say the least, considering he’s a top-pairing defenseman – that is going to generate some noise. His availability, that is.
“ But hidden beneath the surface, there are reasons. We’re not privy to all of them, and probably shouldn’t be, considering there are family reasons behind Travis Hamonic requesting out prior to the start of the season. But as you guys know, he’s from Manitoba, not that far from Winnipeg, and he wants to be closer to home. So that’s Western Canada. That would be Winnipeg, then Calgary, then Edmonton, and I suppose Vancouver.
“There’s been an ongoing dialog, at least that’s been my understanding, between the representatives of Hamonic and Garth Snow of the New York Islanders. But in fairness to Snow, because of what I said – him being a top-pairing D and a good contract – this is a tough piece for the New York Islanders to move. I’m sure that they’re sensitive to whatever Hamonic’s issues or reasons are, but they’ve got to get a like player in return. Not a collection of draft picks. The Islanders are beyond that stage in terms of their want to challenge for a Stanley Cup.
“So the news is out now and it might get more complicated for Snow and Cheveldayoff and Treliving and Chiarelli and potential Jim Benning if that market is truly the one Hamonic wants to focus on.”
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So, is the St. Malo, Manitoba kid looking for a trade to Winnipeg, Manitoba?
Dreger:
“I would think preferred, yes, but I would say was preferred prior to the start of the season. Because things have dragged on a little bit – and again, I don’t think anyone is being critical of the process. When you’re talking about a player of this magnitude, it’s complicated, to say the least. It would have been less complicated, I suppose, if the acknowledgement had been made prior to the draft, because that’s an open venue for this type of wheeling and dealing and there’s more flexibility to get a deal like that done.
“But Snow needs a piece, or pieces, that make sense to make this deal happen. Does Winnipeg have those assets? Not sure of that. It depends on which player or players collectively we think the Jets could live without to add a piece like Hamonic. But there’s a ton of interest, obviously.”
Source: TSN 1290
Transcript: Chris Nichols
My Take:
Let's assume that Hamonic is eager to get home to Manitoba to play close to his family.
The Jets would have to shuffle their D corps considerably to find 22-24 minutes TOI per game and salary cap space for the aggressive right handed D.
In other words, the Jets would have to subtract a top four D so that they could import a top four D.
There is no way fiscaly possible for Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to make a Hamonic trade AND re-sign Byfuglien, Ladd, Trouba, Scheifele, and Lowry without off loading a contract or two now.
I call it Hamonic Convergence.
That's when the sun, the moon, the stars, and the players align to form the ideal NHL trade scenario(s).
The Peg D Corps:
Toby Enstrom: 3 years remaining at $5.75M AAV.
Tyler Myers: 4 years remaining at $5.5M AAV.
Dustin Byfuglien: $5.2M AAV; Pending UFA.
Mark Stuart: 3 years remaining at $2.625M AAV.
Adam Pardy: 1 year reamining at $1M AAV.
Jacob Trouba: $894,166 remaining; Pending RFA.
Paul Postma: 2 years remaining at $887,500 AAV.
Ben Chiarot: 2 years at $850,000 remaining.
Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will have to be judicious if he wants to trade for Hamonic. I can see the Jets wanting the Manitoba kid, but how can they afford him right now?
Yes, they can. The Jets currently have $13.3 million in available salary cap space. However, several core players are coming due for fat paydays next season.
Cheveldayoff will have to reserve $7 million times 7 seasons for Dustin Byfuglien's contract extension. I cannot see Chevy trading Byfuglien to the Islanders. Big Buff is the spoon that stirs the Jets' drink and they would not be the same team without him in their lineup.
Captain Andrew Ladd is going to be UFA in July. He is earning $4.4 million this season. He will be looking for a long term deal in the $5.5 million range. Would Cheveldayoff trade the captain of his team in a deal for Hamonic?
Top four D Jacob Trouba will be RFA in July. Is Cheveldayoff all-in on re-signing Trouba to a long terms deal in the 4 years/$14 million range? Or, would he consider trading Trouba for Hamonic?
Top center Mark Scheifele will be RFA in July and is in line for five year, $18 million contract extension.
Energy winger Adam Lowry is a pending RFA and can be re-signed for team friendly term and dollars. I can see the Jets including Lowry in a trade to the Islanders for Hamonic.
The Jets have been scouting the Buffalo Sabres very intently for the past six weeks. Sabres GM Tim Murray is serious about trading for a left handed D who can play in his top four. The Jets' Director Of Scouting has been watching games in Buffalo for the past few weeks. In my experience with NHL trades, where there is smoke there is fire.
The Jets can trade Toby Enstrom to Buffalo clear $5.75 million and 22-24 minutes TOI for Hamonic to absorb. Enstrom has been paired with Tyler Myers as a top four pair.
Ostensibly, the Jets would have to move Enstrom or Myers to create the ice time and salary cap space to pay Hamonic.
I can see the Jets trading forward Bryan Little, goalie prospect Connor Hellbuyck and a second round pick to the Islanders for Hamonic.
Garth Snow loves him forward depth and goaltending depth.
The Islanders can accommodate both of Snow's needs.
I'm not sure if Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver can appeal to Hamonic and Snow the way that the Winnipeg Jets do.
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I wrote this piece before the Travis Hamonic news broke on Wednesday:
Tim Murray isn't disguising his intentions to make a trade for a left-handed, top four defenseman.
The Sabres need to fortify their blue line and infuse some high end skill in their D corps.
Murray has been patiently shopping for his lefty ever since early July when Johnny Oduya considered signing with the Sabres as a free agent then signed a lucrative UFA deal with the Dallas Stars.
When the Sabres host the St. Louis Blues on Monday night, the season will be one quarter of the way completed and Tim Murray now has his finger on the pulse of his team.
The Sabres are a .500-ish team right now that is having trouble scoring goals on a consistent basis. Granted, losing 30 goal man Evander Kane for 10 of the first 18 games of the season has definitely put a crimp in the Buffalo scoring. However, other forwards like Tyler Ennis, Matt Moulson, Zemgus Girgensons, Brian Gionta, Marcus Foligno have not picked up the slack created by Kane's three week absence from the lineup.
Bylsma and his coaches have been patient with the offense. However, how much longer will they have to wait for difference makers to deliver results game in and game out?
Ryan O'Reilly has 6 goals and 9 assists this season and has been the engine pulling Buffalo's offense. Eichel aso has 6 goals. Rasmus Ristolainen and Matt Moulson have have 4 goals. Samson Reinhart, Tyler Ennis and Jamie McGinn have 3 goals apiece. After that, the Sabres goal scoring column is littered with dashes and zeros.
We are 18 games into the Next Chapter and we rare now seeing the composite drawing of the personality of the Sabres.
They are a responsible defensive-minded team who create their offense from strong puck possession in the attack zone and by turning the mistakes of opponents into scoring chances. Bylsma loves to pressure the puck. He demands that his forwards and D play "North Hockey". When played to perfection, the Buffalo D quick up the puck to moving forwards who drive the enemy net with speed and numbers.
When, operative word "when", Bylsma's pot luck offense is on and scoring 3 to 4 goals per game the Sabres generally win. When then score a goal or two they have to claw, punch and scrape in order to escape the Hangman's Noose. The Sabres offense and defense have combined to score 41 goals for in their 18 games played this season. However, the team has allowed 49 goals against. Bylsma and Murray are not content for their team to be -8 in goal differential at this juncture of the season. All things considered, the goaltending has been spot on. The commitment to reducing the number of goals against by all members of the roster is evident. It's the offense that is undermining the ability to put opponent's away in close games. It would help the Sabres if they could have stayed onside for three goals that were over turned by the NHL as a result of being offside. Oh, well. Life goes on.
The goaltending of Linus Ullmark and Chad Johnson has already surpassed the expectations of Murray and Dan Bylsma. The Sabres are 8-9-1 right now due in large part to the outstanding battles that Ullmark and Johnson have put forth.
We saw last night and in recent weeks that Dan Bylsma's defense-first philosophy can slap restrictor plates on the carburetors of high octane offenses like Dallas and Tampa Bay.
When Murray hired Bylsma last summer, he did so knowing that he and his new head coach would be constructing a big, tough, fast, skilled team that would be difficult to play against.
In their first 18 games, the Sabres have struggled to play a heavy brand of hockey on a shift-by-shift basis. Seemingly, when they win, they start fast and strong and don't relent on the sixty minutes of aggression until the final horn sounds. It also appears that in the games that they lose they start slow and that makes it easy for opponents to win battles without exacting a physical toll on them. Once in a one or two goal deficit, the team gets its collective act together and amps up their urgency and tenacity as they stalk the equalizing goal.
I chalk a lot of their early season struggles up to the facts that the Sabres are one the youngest team's in the NHL (average age: 21 years old). They have a lot of kids on the bench who are learning on the job.
That's why Tim Murray has been actively looking for a veteran left handed D-man who can add grit and structure to the Buffalo lineup.
At what price left D-man?
Here are my trade proposals:
Winnipeg Jets
Are mired in a 3-6-1 slide due to poor D zone coverage and inconsistent scoring.
In 19 games, the Jets have scored 50 goals while allowing 62 goals against. Sorry, folks. Teams that are -12 in goal differential struggle to make the playoffs let alone win the Stanley Cup. The Jets know what their shortcomings are and are aggressively pursuing a trade for a top six forward to help them kick start their suddenly sluggish offense.
Matt Moulson is not a player that the Jets would covet right now. In his career, he is a slow starter and a fast finisher. There is no way in H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks that Tim Murray would risk freaking out 19 year old prodigy Jack Eichel by trading away his mentor, friend and landlord Matt Moulson.
Brian Gionta is a nice guy and a solid veteran, however, he is not the top six forward trhat teh Jets are looking to add to their lineup right now,.
Tyler Ennis is the perfect storm for the Jets right now. The 20 goal scorer has been on Kevin Cheveldayoff's radar since Last February's Tyler Myers-Drew Stafford trade that saw Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian land in Buffalo.
Ennis is a slick play maker and can pop 20-30 goals a season. He is earning $4.6 million this season and for the next thee seasons .
Why would Buffalo trade away their 2014-15 leading scorer for left D Toby Enstrom?
The more that Dan Bylsma continues to pound his drum for his player's to play "North Hockey", Ennis seems to be regressing to his river hockey ways that served him well under Ron Rolston and Ted Nolan. Meaning, Ennis could improvise and water bug all over the ice during the past two tanking seasons, however, Bylsma's system require pace, patience and execution. Lately, Ennis has been free wheeling too much at the enemy blue line like Max Afinogenov had done back in the day. Max played east-west hockey while Lindy preached north-south hockey. Bylsma and Ennis are at the same place philosophically right now. Ennis is capable of playing the D-first style, however, you take away a lot of his water buggy play making when you ask him to check first and create offense off of turnovers and loose pucks.
Also, because the Sabres have right wing depth in AHL Rochester with rookies Evan Rodrigues, Justin Bailey and Nick Baptiste performing well in the 585. Rodrigues and Eichel know each other like the back of their hands from having torn up Hockey East as line mates at Boston University last season.
In 361 career games in Buffalo, Ennis has scored 92 goals and popped 130 assists. 222 points in 361 games played is not bad production. Bylsma skated Ennis a season high 22:09 TOI vs. Dallas. He skated 20:09 vs. San Jose, 15:35 vs. Florida, 13:22 vs. Tampa and 18:04 vs. Vancouver.
Ennis already has instant chemistry with Drew Stafford and Tyler Myers. He would be a solid play maker for Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd, Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little, Nicolai Ehlers and the rest of the struggling Jets forward group.
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks have been downright putrid at times this season.
Having scored only 35 goals while allowing 49 goals against in 19 games played. The Ducks are 6-9-4 this season and 5-3-2 in their past ten games.
They are team in need of a shake up right now.
On Tuesday night, Ducks GM Bob Murray and his Player Personnel Director were watching the Sabres-Stars game live in person.
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It wasn't the first time in the past two months that the Ducks have flown into Buffalo to watch games live in person.
The object of Tim Murray's desire in left shooting D Cam Fowler. The 23 year old top four D is tailor made for the Buffalo roster: he is young, fast, skilled, can eat 23 minutes TOI per game and can play in all situations.
My intel tells me that Tim Murray and Bob Murray had discussions about Fowler and goalie Freddie Andersen at or before the NHL Draft. Nothing materialized so Tim called Uncle Bryan and traded the 21st overall pick to Ottawa for Robin Lehner. Then, Murray traded Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, JT Compher and the 31st overall pick in exchange for Ryan O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn.
Bob Murray may have said no and Tim Murray found his trade partners.
Five months later, Bob Murray still needs an injection of talent and skill in his top six. He traded Emerson Etem to the Rangers for Carl Hagelin, who has been a bust thus far for the Ducks.
The Ducks are 19 games into their season of high expectations and their offense is a joke. It's upside down. The grunts are performing and the stars are slacking.
Grinders Rickard Rakell, Chris Stewart, Shawn Horcoff and Mike Santorelli have 3 goals apiece
While difference makers Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Carl Hagelin, Andrew Cogliano, Patrick Maroon, and Jiri Sekac have just seven goals between them. Jakub Silfverberg has zero goals.
Corey Perry has a disappointing 5 goals in 19 games played.
Bob Murray gave head coach Bruce Boudreau the dreaded vote of confidence three weeks ago. Since then, the Ducks are a middling group of under achievers.
Murray likely will continue to back Boudreau and then make a trade or two to shake up the hen house.
I can see Tim Murray trading Tyler Ennis Josh Gorges, and a second rounder to Anaheim for Cam Fowler and power forward prospect Nick Ritchie, who was recently recalled from the AHL.
Why trade Gorges?
Because he has been playing exceptionally well this season alongside Rasmus Ristolainen. The Ducks allowed veteran D Francois Beauchemin to skate away to Denver in free agency and are in need of a left hander who can help anchor one of the top two D pairs. Trading Fowler will require that a left hander move back the other way. The Ducks now can afford to trade Fowler because of the emergence of youngster Shea Theodore who according to my scout contacts, is ready for the NHL. Gorges could slot in as a top 5/PK/PP man in Anaheim's D corps.
Tim Murray is not going to wait for the NHL trade market to open to address his needs.
I expect a trade to happen any day now.
Calgary Flames
Brad Treliving has been looking for trade partners for the past two months.
He desperatly needs D help, goal scoring and goaltending.
There is enough blame to be passed around in Calgary right now where the Flames are 7-12-1 in their first 20 games. They are a -26 goal differential having scored only 48 goals while surrendering 74 goals against. Woof!
Left D Kris Russell is earning $2.6 million this season and will be UFA come July.
It's more and more likely that the Flames will trade rather than re-sign him.
Tim Murray may be interested. He has Johan Larsson and a second rounder to work with.
Murray may also want to get his mitts on Flames energy winger Michael Ferland.
Josh Gorges may be a variable for the Flames.
Chicago Blackhawks
Trevor Daley's name has been in the NHL trade mill for the past two weeks.
Perhaps Tim Murray and Stan Bowman can work out a trade for the 32 year old left hander in the weeks to come.
Daley has two years remaining at $3.3 million.
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Look for Evander Kane to return to the Buffalo lineup when the Sabres play in St. Louis on Thursday night. Kane spoke after practice and said that he feels like he is ready to go. Kane said that he suffered same injury to his right MCL last season in Winnipeg and missed 3.5 weeks of game action. This time around, Kane's left MCL has healed in the same 3.5 week time frame.
Good thing Kane is a fast healer.
He will skate with Jack Eichel and Samson Reinhart in STL.
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Dan Bylsma said that Zemgus Girgenson will not be making the road trip to St. Louis and Dallas.
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