2024/2025 Season trade rumours and speculation thread

[jg13]

I don't watch a ton of Buffalo Sabres but Cozens is leading the team in shots and averages the most powerplay time of any forward on the team. I expect things will turn around for him shortly.

[Bonded]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849164883205730750

Conroy has got some competition

[Jiri Hrdina]

I'm all aboard the Pinto train. Toot toot.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I'm all aboard the Pinto train. Toot toot.

I'm just not.

That's the Flames acquiring a Bennett without having a Barkov, and it'll significantly hurt their chances of ever getting a Barkov.

If they do it, it's just more typical Flames behaviour. They may cycle the GMs through the city, but the gameplan never changes. Zero patience.

The Flames time to rebuild was when Johnny and Matthew left, they didn't. The next best time was last season, and they started it. To cycle right back into grabbing whatever parts are available (at great asset cost, presumably)...just no, it's not a good plan. It doesn't work.

This team, have fun with it now. Let it build organically. If they miss, they miss - if they make the playoffs, then they did it on the backs of the players already here and then have two 1st round picks and two 2nd round picks in the Summer. Acquiring a Pinto, it's just pure impatience.

For once, just show some damn patience, Flames.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Bonded

https://x.com/i/web/status/1849164883205730750

Conroy has got some competition

Makes less sense to me for them to go after a younger C.

If anything they should be looking for somebody a bit older (24-26) with a bit more experience to help shelter Bedard.

They have Nazar, Moore, Boisvert as young guys that were drafted as centers that should fill their need for a younger center.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

I'm just not.

That's the Flames acquiring a Bennett without having a Barkov, and it'll significantly hurt their chances of ever getting a Barkov.

If they do it, it's just more typical Flames behaviour. They may cycle the GMs through the city, but the gameplan never changes. Zero patience.

The Flames time to rebuild was when Johnny and Matthew left, they didn't. The next best time was last season, and they started it. To cycle right back into grabbing whatever parts are available (at great asset cost, presumably)...just no, it's not a good plan. It doesn't work.

This team, have fun with it now. Let it build organically. If they miss, they miss - if they make the playoffs, then they did it on the backs of the players already here and then have two 1st round picks and two 2nd round picks in the Summer. Acquiring a Pinto, it's just pure impatience.

For once, just show some damn patience, Flames.

Depends...I wouldn't pull the trigger out of desperation or something but the Flames have to keep an eye on it because they need centers and aren't going to be able to draft all of them.

Flames potentially have already drafted well enough and have enough pieces to make it hard for them to pick top 3-5. Wolf alone might actually prevent against that if he keeps this up.

A true bottom out and pick top 3 might not be on the cards so they have to keep all avenues open (just don't move any of your own picks). Keep selling the aging assets, and keep accumulating the U-25 assets, as long as they stick to that strategy it will be fine.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Depends...I wouldn't pull the trigger out of desperation or something but the Flames have to keep an eye on it because they need centers and aren't going to be able to draft all of them.

Flames potentially have already drafted well enough and have enough pieces to make it hard for them to pick top 3-5. Wolf alone might actually prevent against that if he keeps this up.

A true bottom out and pick top 3 might not be on the cards so they have to keep all avenues open (just don't move any of your own picks). Keep selling the aging assets, and keep accumulating the U-25 assets, as long as they stick to that strategy it will be fine.

I think it should be a blanket ban on trading away any high picks. Adding mid-tier players at the expense of quality draft capital is just impatience in my eyes, and it makes it significantly more difficult to acquire the quality of player the Flames actually need.

I could maybe be convinced that if someone on par with a Jack Eichel is on the market, then get a seat at the table. That's an organizational shifting trade. That's not what Pinto, that's not what any of these rumoured names are.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

I think it should be a blanket ban on trading away any high picks. Adding mid-tier players at the expense of quality draft capital is just impatience in my eyes, and it makes it significantly more difficult to acquire the quality of player the Flames actually need.

I could maybe be convinced that if someone on par with a Jack Eichel is on the market, then get a seat at the table. That's an organizational shifting trade. That's not what Pinto, that's not what any of these rumoured names are.

It really depends on the trade.

Moving something like the Devils pick for a Pinto, Cozenz, Mercer type would be perfectly fine.

There should be no blanket rules against anything, that's where you get yourself into trouble. Every situation has to be assessed on its own.

I know it's not your preferred outcome but this team is always proving again that a bottom 5 finish is probably not in the cards. Worst case is probably that 7-12 range again I think.

They are going to have to be creative with how they fill this void at C. They have to hope they do have a chance to draft the top line guy at some point but a trade for a C shouldn't be something they avoid either.

And I think what we actually haven't talked about is what if the piece they'd be willing to move is actually something like Coronato but get a similar piece that is a C instead of a winger.

[SeanCharles]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Yeah I have a hard time seeing Mercer too - if they were going to trade him it would have just happened as part of the Markstrom trade.

Was more just rambling that if a forward did go back the other way the guy they would want wouldn't be Kuzmenko, it would be Coleman.



Of the "more proven" guys that could move this might be the most likely.

Big cap hit (And the Sabres are struggling to draw fans and may want to shed salary).

Has not lived up to expectations and the fan base is really turning on him too.

Only thing is they already moved Mittelstadt, so not sure they'd want to move on from another center now. They are bought into having Thompson, Cozens, and McLeod as their top 9 centers for the long term I think and likely don't want to sell low on Cozens unless the owner gets involved somehow.

I really don't understand why Buffalo made that trade.

They have Dahlin, Power and Samuelsson all LHS and all locked up to long-term contracts. Dahlin on PP1, Power on PP2.

Why did you trade for Byram?

Byram has the talent to be a top D but needs better deployment.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

I'm just not.

That's the Flames acquiring a Bennett without having a Barkov, and it'll significantly hurt their chances of ever getting a Barkov.

If they do it, it's just more typical Flames behaviour. They may cycle the GMs through the city, but the gameplan never changes. Zero patience.

The Flames time to rebuild was when Johnny and Matthew left, they didn't. The next best time was last season, and they started it. To cycle right back into grabbing whatever parts are available (at great asset cost, presumably)...just no, it's not a good plan. It doesn't work.

This team, have fun with it now. Let it build organically. If they miss, they miss - if they make the playoffs, then they did it on the backs of the players already here and then have two 1st round picks and two 2nd round picks in the Summer. Acquiring a Pinto, it's just pure impatience.

For once, just show some damn patience, Flames.

The guy has 73 career points, he would not move the needle on where they finish this year

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I also love Pinto.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

It really depends on the trade.

Moving something like the Devils pick for a Pinto, Cozenz, Mercer type would be perfectly fine.

There should be no blanket rules against anything, that's where you get yourself into trouble. Every situation has to be assessed on its own.

I know it's not your preferred outcome but this team is always proving again that a bottom 5 finish is probably not in the cards. Worst case is probably that 7-12 range again I think.

They are going to have to be creative with how they fill this void at C. They have to hope they do have a chance to draft the top line guy at some point but a trade for a C shouldn't be something they avoid either.

And I think what we actually haven't talked about is what if the piece they'd be willing to move is actually something like Coronato but get a similar piece that is a C instead of a winger.

The last part is what I’ve been saying for a while. Trade laterally in terms of age, but switching positions.

[saillias]

They could just play Zary at center. I don't think burying him with the defensive role of the Backlund line is a good use of his talents anyway.

[Badgers Nose]

I don’t like the comparison of Flames to Florida, Chicago or any other recent rebuild. Pinto is not Bennett. We may not need a Barkov to win the cup. These team chemistry experiments are unique and resemblances are only superficial. Stats can be made to support any argument - statistical analysis says you need this and this and that. Thats why forum hockey enthusiasts have cracked it and no one else has. LOL

Let Conroy do his job and forget the past. Judge him on what he does and what his team achieves.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

It really depends on the trade.

Moving something like the Devils pick for a Pinto, Cozenz, Mercer type would be perfectly fine.

There should be no blanket rules against anything, that's where you get yourself into trouble. Every situation has to be assessed on its own.

I know it's not your preferred outcome but this team is always proving again that a bottom 5 finish is probably not in the cards. Worst case is probably that 7-12 range again I think.

They are going to have to be creative with how they fill this void at C. They have to hope they do have a chance to draft the top line guy at some point but a trade for a C shouldn't be something they avoid either.

And I think what we actually haven't talked about is what if the piece they'd be willing to move is actually something like Coronato but get a similar piece that is a C instead of a winger.

It sure is looking less likely the flames will have a bottom 5 finish. Still early of course but these days, teams that finish bottom of the league rarely have stretches where they get 10 of a possible 11 points at any point in the season let alone to start the season. We’ll see how it goes. Wolf has proven himself to be a star player very quickly at every level he plays and he could be doing that in NHL right now as well. Even the worst teams can be floated out of the bottom 10 in the league with quality goaltending.

I’m still in the camp that I would rather the flames keep their high picks for now and just see how the season goes with the players they have. If the flames continue to surprise and are firmly in a playoff spot at the deadline, I would be fine with them choosing not to trade some of the upcoming UFAs as a way of rewarding the team for their play. Especially since I don’t think they would get very much for Mantha or Kuzmenko (a 2nd round pick for Kuzmenko at most and a 3rd round pick for Mantha at most IMO).

Trading for a center might be the best option eventually but I think it’s better to wait for the offseason for that move. For a few reasons:

1. After the season ends, draft picks are at their highest value while players under contract are at their lowest value. It’s the opposite right now. I think the moves Conroy should make should be focused on long term gains rather than short term gains. That means buying low and selling high.
2. After the season, the flames will know where the Devil’s first round pick will end up as well as where their other first round pick will be (either Florida’s or their own pick). They will also have an idea of what players might be available in the draft with those picks… they might really like some of those prospects and they could be centers with high ceilings.
3. While the flames are doing well, most of their success is coming from their veteran players. That’s not a bad thing… it’s awesome to see this team surprising everyone and playing so well. But it’s hard to assess how good this team will be in 2-3 years considering most of their top producers right now are the veterans and several of them are in their late 20s/early 30s/mid-30s. That could be an indication they haven’t bottomed out yet and they may not for another year or two. Kadri, Backlund, Huberdeau, Weegar, Andersson, Coleman, Mantha and Kuzmenko are still looking good (even great). But it’s already asking a lot of Backlund and Kadri especially to be the top centres on this team at the age of 34-35… even more so when they are 37. So trying to bring in centres through trades to make the team better right now and in the near future seems risky. Think of trading a first round pick to get Pinto only to have Kadri and Backlund both regress next year.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Five-hole

Not sure why people keep bringing up Necas as a possibility. More than a PPG and playing 17+ minutes a night. Why would CAR move him?

Because he doesn't want to be there. He doesn't like the coach and he wants to play centre.

[Sofa GM]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

Because he doesn't want to be there. He doesn't like the coach and he wants to play centre.

I don’t see Necas as a fit here but who knows.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

Would love for it to be Pinto but I don’t think it is. If we are going by what the guy on twitter said the player is unhappy because he has gone down the lineup because of a trade. I don’t remember Ottawa trading for anybody in their top 6. The krebs theory checks all the boxes on what was posted on twitter. That said I’m not high on krebs being anything better than a bottom 6 player.

Yeah you're looking at a 25-30 point center going off what we've seen in parts of a few seasons..

Kirkland could already bring that for all we know.

If you're going to send assets make it for a guy that's shown more flashes and upside.

Pinto seems a much better fit.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by saillias

They could just play Zary at center. I don't think burying him with the defensive role of the Backlund line is a good use of his talents anyway.

I agree to an extent but it also doesn't hurt to learn what it takes to be an effective 200ft center in the NHL either.

To me Zary is a center but his center slot is currently occupied by one of the two 34+ year olds.

Plus, once Conroy does pull the trigger on a Center, that new player is taking Pospisils spot at C and there's going to be a logjam at wing again. And we haven't even seen Sharangovich yet.

And I don't think either Zary or Coronato deserve to be demoted to the farm either.

[dammage79]

Also, I don't think Connor McMichael is going anywhere anytime soon. Kids en Fuego with the caps in a limited role.