2020/2021 Trade Speculation and Rumours

[sureLoss]

Merkley might be an interesting reclamation project

Chris Johnston @reporterchris
Martin Frk (LA), Nick Merkley (NJ) and Richard Panik (WSH) have been placed on waivers.

[Super-Rye]

This team is definitely not rebuilding. They'll try to do what Minnesota did. Shift the culture, make a few core changes and hope the team becomes a lot better for it.

[Tkachukwagon]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Merkley might be an interesting reclamation project

Chris Johnston @reporterchris
Martin Frk (LA), Nick Merkley (NJ) and Richard Panik (WSH) have been placed on waivers.

Merkley is also a Calgary boy

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/...php?pid=162310

[Monahammer]

Nick Merkley would definitely be interesting. Not sure why NJ waived him tbh, seemed to be having an ok season.

I was surprised Frk is already 27.

[Muffins]

Wasn't Frk the guy who had an absolute cannon of a slapshot at the AHL all-star game?

[shotinthebacklund]

I think flames should be putting in a claim for merkley myself.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Tkachukwagon

Merkley is also a Calgary boy

https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/...php?pid=162310

Does Merkley have injury issues or something? It looks like he never plays anything close to a full season.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Muffins

Wasn't Frk the guy who had an absolute cannon of a slapshot at the AHL all-star game?

Yes- at one time he was the star czech prospect and people were comparing Pasta favorably to him. I always thought he was going to surprise but he never put it together at the NHL level.

[Tacoman]

Merkley had a knee injury when he was in junior but nothing serious recently. Good Lake Bonavista, Calgary Buffaloes kid.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Richard Panik (WSH)

If he goes to a club, does that make it Panik at the Disco?

I'll see myself out.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Was.

Was elite.

He has 74 ES pts in his last 141 games. 111 in total. Alex DeBrincat and Victor Hedman have more. Jake Guentzel has 1 less.

No question those are good totals. They are not elite...at all.

His defensive acumen has always been average at best.

Now you have to figure in the whole contract situation and unless he signs an extension he HAS to be dealt. Think he would extend at 6.5 per? Cause thats all he is worth at this point.

Meaning no one in Canada is being "too tough" on him, but he has written his own lack of future here.

So he just woke up and forgot how to play then is what you’re saying?

It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact Gaudreau and Monahan were primarily a rush scoring tandem and now the opposition has taken that away because the Flames don’t have a puck carrying center who can navigate through the middle of ice and distribute more to the right wing leaving the left side (Gaudreau) to be triple teamed? That has nothing to do with it?

If I was you, I would start asking why, rather than just looking at some cherry picked numbers and jumping to rudimentary conclusions. If your assumption is that Gaudreau has somehow lost his game or forgotten how to be good, then I would ask you how a player like Eric Staal goes from scoring 13 goals as a 31 year old in Carolina to 42 goals as a 33 year old. Players have off years, just like Ovechkin too. It’s about figuring out how to adjust and rectify it.


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[genetic_phreek]

Merkley is interesting. His game is similar to Mangiapane but a bit better skater. This would be a great player to add and get a look for the remainder of the season.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Not recently. He's been bad for a while now.
And yes teams figure players out all the time. Sports is about adjustments and re-adjustments.

That coupled with him becoming far more tentative and more of a perimeter player and you have what you have now.

An offense only guy who doesn't produce 5 on 5.

I think it’s more so teams have figured out the strategy of the top line rather than the player itself. If the puck always funnels to a winger like Gaudreau, don’t you think it’d be easier for the opposition to defend because the ice gets cut in half on the breakout?

Gaudreau can’t go left, the boards are there. So his options are straight, where the defenseman is or right, which is being cut off by the F3. He can’t pass to Monahan because he’s either too far back in the play or F2 is covering that. Defenses are clogging up the left side and trapping Gaudreau because Monahan is no threat to carry the puck himself.

That’s the problem. It should be the centerman’s job to move, distribute the puck right or left whichever side has less pressure and to control the pace of the breakout so as to add his defensemen to the play. But if Monahan is always going to expect Gaudreau to do that part of his job, than no wonder they’ve been shut down for good.


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[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

The "since arrived" stats are meaningless.
What has he done for the last 2 seasons. That's the best predictor of what he's going to do in the future.

The best predictor of the future would be the past and Gaudreau’s past would suggest he’s one of the most talented and dynamic players in the league. He’s going to be just fine when he finds a center that can pull his own weight, then Gaudreau can play more off the puck, which I think would make him infinitely more dangerous because he can turn on a dime and cut well either side laterally.

It’s Monahan that’s going to be in trouble. He can’t create his own shot. His goal scoring career is predicated on someone passing him the puck in an opportune area, without that, he’s what we’re seeing today (3 even strength goals on the season). He’s basically the equivalent of James Neal at center. If he has no distributor, then he has no goals. Now to be fair, he’s vastly improved in the aggression and defensive effort side of his game, but I don’t think he’s ready for any type of 2 way, shut down role yet.


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[kyuss275]

Elklund saying Pittsburg and Columbus interested in Bennett.

[ForeverFlameFan]

If we could figure out the salary, I want to see how Domi would do under Sutter.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Elklund saying Pittsburg and Columbus interested in Bennett.

Phew for a second there I read it as Eklund

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Elklund saying Pittsburg and Columbus interested in Bennett.

Praise be to the Majestic Elk! Breaker of Trades!

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

But not for his lack of will. I tend to agree with Bingo that Giordano's playoff struggles are most likely because he is always playing in high-gear all the time, so when other elite players find another one in April, he cannot keep up.

Yep this is what I’ve been saying for a while. Gio’s best attributes are his hockey IQ and tireless work ethic. In a mundane 82 game regular season, you can do a lot of damage against your average workaday opponents. But in the playoffs, when everyone skates at 100%, Gio’s work ethic is no longer a strength. Throw in his undersized frame and he’s either getting pushed around or out skated.

But Gio has done more then what could be asked for undrafted 37 year old, it’s up to the organization to find someone who can fill his shoes and nobody has up to this point. Tanev I suppose is close, but without the offensive acumen, the Flames are still left unable to match up most nights.


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[Toonage]

Elklund >Dicklund>Eklund