Flyers are a tough one, they have a good thing going, they're pretty stacked on LW and they'd need to send salary back, and I don't think anyone here wants JVR as part of the return for Gaudreau. As much as you want to believe Konecny is in reach, I really don't see it, and then there is Frost. To me he'd be the perfect piece because:
1. He's got top 6 C upside
2. He's pretty much NHL ready
3. He's expansion draft exempt
...but with Nolan Patrick's future in limbo Frost is pretty important for the Flyers future down the middle.
To me New Jersey makes a lot of sense, as long as they are confident they can re-sign him. They've already drafted their Cs of the future, have multiple 1st round picks and they clearly need help on the wings, especially left wing. They also have a lot of cap space and future cap flexibility.
Buffalo has two pieces that as a Flames fan you'd love to get your hands on, Cozens and the 8th overall, but the Sabres already have Skinner and Olofsson on LW. Their biggest needs on forward match our biggest needs on forward, so even though Gaudreau would be their best LW, I imagine they'd rather move those pieces to add a good 2C or top 6 RW.
Carolina is another team that I could see wanting Gaudreau if they think they can extend him, but they'd also want to send salary back, and the most attractive piece for the Flames (Martin Necas) is probably teetering on complete unavailability much like Konecny in Philly. They do have some nice prospects though, like Bean, Suzuki and Bokk.
And as always, the Rangers are the type of team that is always in the mix for star players, but they already have about $18 million AAV committed long term to their top 2 LWs in Panarin and Kreider. Unless they shift one of them to RW trading for Gaudreau makes no sense. They have a lot of attractive pieces though.
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