Interesting article on Tanev from Lebrun his morning (the Athletic). He thinks they could get a 1st from Toronto:
Chris Tanev’s injury is of the day-to-day nature, the Calgary Flames announced Tuesday, which is a relief on many levels.
It’s also a reminder of the Catch-22 any team poised to sell ahead of the March 8 trade deadline is facing.
As I reported last week, the Flames have indicated to teams with interest in Tanev that they’re in no hurry to make a decision on that front. The veteran blueliner means a lot to them both on and off the ice, and there’s a lot of hockey still to be played this season.
That approach also allows for the market to further develop for him and for interested teams to be in a better position to accommodate his $4.5 million cap hit. The closer to March 8, the easier that is.
There is a team that could make that move now, though, the Toronto Maple Leafs having lost John Klingberg for the season and whisked away his $4.15 million cap hit onto long-term injured reserve. And, well, Leafs GM Brad Treliving, as many have indicated before, is all too familiar and very much interested in Tanev, having brought him to Calgary from Vancouver in the first place.
But again, the Flames are in no rush. Heck, in a perfect world, I suspect they trade Tanev later this season for a much-needed future asset then try to bring him back July 1 as an unrestricted free agent.
It’s a good thought, although you don’t see it work out that way very often.
The question is, what would it take for the Leafs to force the issue ahead of time? A first-round pick, that’s probably what.
I think if the Leafs were willing to move their June first-rounder, they could potentially entice the Flames into getting this done sooner rather than later. Too rich a price? Maybe. But Ben Chiarot, a similar type of defenseman who was also a pending UFA, went for a first-round pick two seasons ago from Montreal to Florida. David Savard, another rugged, physical, shot-blocking defenseman, also went for a first-rounder from Columbus (via Detroit) to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline in 2020-21, so I don’t think it’s completely greedy for the Flames to be thinking first, even if they end up settling for a second and/or a prospect instead.
Notably, the Habs waited on that Chiarot deal. He played 54 games for them in 2021-22 before getting dealt to the Panthers in March. General manager Kent Hughes decided he needed to wait for more teams to have room to take him on, to create a bigger market, and obviously, it worked out perfectly in that case, netting a return that surprised many.
Like with Tanev, or pending Canadiens UFA forward Sean Monahan now, there was an inherent risk of Chiarot getting hurt at the worst time. That’s true for any player potentially on the trade market, but what you love about Tanev as a player is also what most concerns you: He’s an absolute warrior who will put any part of his body in front of a puck to block a shot and whose physical, demanding style takes a toll.
It’s also what has made him such a likable and desirable player. You look at how a big, physical Vegas Golden Knights blue line put up a fort in front of their net last spring en route to the Stanley Cup, and Tanev fits right into that type of mold, all the more why the Leafs or another playoff contender would desperately want him.
I also get why the Leafs might be reluctant to spend another first. Their 2025 first-round pick is already gone from the Jake McCabe deal with Chicago. They also don’t have second-round picks in the next three drafts. Previous Leafs GM Kyle Dubas spent a lot of draft capital going for it, which is what Cup-contending teams do.
But it’s left the Treliving in a bit of a pickle. Tanev is a great fit, but at a cost. The longer it plays out closer to March 8, the more teams will be in the bidding. It’s fascinating theater, to be sure.
|