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The NHL trade deadline is less than a week away and we still don’t know which direction the Calgary Flames are going to go.
I’m not sure GM Brad Treliving knows either.
The Flames have had little to no secondary scoring, and some stars have underperformed, yet they’re three points out of top spot in the Pacific and home ice for at least two rounds.
Calgary is also the only playoff team with a negative goal differential and they’re just one point away from falling out altogether.
This puts Treliving in a predicament. As much as he may believe in the team, he’s essentially in a place where he can only trade for players with term, or cheaper rentals, because of the range of outcomes.
Pierre LeBrun linked the Flames to a player that fits each criteria in a recent post at The Athletic. Excerpt below.
One player I like as a fit is 24-year-old winger Ondrej Kase. The Ducks aren’t really that keen on moving him I don’t think. But on the other hand, Anaheim GM Bob Murray is disappointed with his team’s season and listening on some players who are signed past this year. Kase has another year on his deal at a bargain $2.6 million cap hit before becoming an RFA in the summer of 2021.
The Flames have their top three draft picks for this year and next, which would appeal to Anaheim.
I also believe Wayne Simmonds would be of interest to the Flames in the right deal. They’ve inquired on him in the past. I believe Calgary is on Simmonds’ eight-team no-trade list but I also think he would waive it for a chance at playoff hockey with the Flames. I don’t think that would be an issue.
Kase has somewhat of a concerning injury history but I absolutely love the player and think he’d be an awesome get for the Flames.
Kase has scored 5v5 goals at a 1st line rate, and produced points at a 1st line rate, since the beginning of 2018-19. The Flames need all the offense they can get in that gamestate.
Much like Tyler Toffoli, his on-ice numbers are also *really* strong even though he plays for a bad team.
I’d have no problem cashing in a couple of draft picks for a player like Kase. He’s early in his prime and would address a lot of needs for Calgary.
I’m not surprised about potential interest in Wayne Simmonds – he plays a style teams always covet around playoff time – but I’m not sure how much of an impact he’d make.
He has not only lost a step in terms of speed, but his hands are also leaving him. Simmonds has scored three 5v5 goals this season. Of 157 forwards with 700+ minutes in that game state, only Joe Thornton (1) has scored fewer goals.
Accounting for all regulars, Milan Lucic and Tobias Rieder are the only Flames with fewer 5v5 goals.
Sure, Simmonds would bring some physicality but the Flames already have Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Zac Rinaldo (yeesh), and Lucic for that.
Devils interim GM Tom Fitzgerald has already said he’s not giving Simmonds away, and I don’t think he moves the needle enough to warrant giving up any assets of real value.
If the Flames really want to add a low/mid-tier rental, they’d probably be better looking elsewhere.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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