2024/2025 Season trade rumours and speculation thread

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Easily.

If a PP specialist aged 35 gets 4x8 he will get it.

Off topic, but the NBA wouldn't allow 4x8 for a 35-year-old.

Someone should tell the NBA they can't tell NHL GMs what they can or can't do.

[sureLoss]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...-playoff-hunt/

Faced with the very real possibility Connor Zary will miss significant time with a knee injury suffered Tuesday, the need has only been heightened.

So, pray tell, does he feel like he is, or has been, close to landing the middleman he’s searching for?

“Not really,” said the Calgary Flames general manager in a wide-ranging one-on-one in California for a mid-season sum-up.

“Because of the age we’re looking for (he wants a 23 to 25-year-old), and where we’re at, it’s tough.

“Everyone feels like they're in the fight here, and that complicates the process. Every staff is asking, ‘are we adding or are we selling? What's the best path moving forward?’”

So, sitting just one point back of a wild-card berth, where do the Flames sit in terms of being buyers or sellers at the deadline?

“We're definitely looking,” said Conroy, trying to thread the needle between chasing a playoff spot while rebuilding.

“You're always looking to add and make your team better, but not for one year, not for four or six months.

"It has got to be a deal that makes sense moving forward and helps the organization.

“We’re just a point out of the playoffs, so I guess when we get closer to the deadline (March 7) we'll see.”

[blankall]

Originally Posted by stemit14

Could see the leafs going after Bennett in the summer. Would be such a Treliving thing to overpay to get the UFA player that’s performed well in the playoffs the last few years but is about to go into his 30s.

Bennett was clearly great in those last two Florida playoff runs. He also clearly played a young man's game. You can't keep up that level of intensity post 30, and no players ever do. Bennett isn't a huge guy (sub 200 lbs) and his skills and hockey IQ aren't anything special, in fact, he's sub-par in several aspects.

Bennett will be 28 this off season, so might have a couple of really good years left, but whoever signs him is likely ending up with a bad asset for a significant part of his contract. "18 year old Sam Bennett" is definitely not 18 anymore.

[Toonage]

^^ Well that was a whole lot of nothing lol. Thanks Francis.

[blankall]

I'm hoping that Conroy is saying a lot of those things to appease management. The thought of the Flames giving up futures to acquire assets is not good. Although it seems like Conroy has put such restrictions on any such trades that those trades are impossible. For example, what teams are giving up 23-25 current contributors. Those players are the kind of players you hang onto.

This team is one point out of a playoff spot, but also gets pummeled by a lot of the good teams. Unless they find a way to convincingly be good, I'm hoping for at least a 5 game skid, which then make it clear the Flames need to sell off at the deadline, not acquire.

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by Toonage

^^ Well that was a whole lot of nothing lol. Thanks Francis.

He did say rebuild

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by blankall

Bennett was clearly great in those last two Florida playoff runs. He also clearly played a young man's game. You can't keep up that level of intensity post 30, and no players ever do. Bennett isn't a huge guy (sub 200 lbs) and his skills and hockey IQ aren't anything special, in fact, he's sub-par in several aspects.

Bennett will be 28 this off season, so might have a couple of really good years left, but whoever signs him is likely ending up with a bad asset for a significant part of his contract. "18 year old Sam Bennett" is definitely not 18 anymore.

He's already 28 actually, so he will be 29 when this contract starts, but I don't think it's a given that it will be a terrible contract.

He plays a very similar game to Kadri - and Kadri has gotten better with age. Kadri has his career best season at 30, and his second best season offensively at 32.

Plays a similar game to JT Miller too, who really started to show his offensive talent in his 28 year season with a 99 point season, and had a 100 point season at 30.

Sometimes guys like that start to produce a bit better when they simplify their game and stop running around trying to be agitators on every shift.

Now I personally don't ever see Bennett having a 100 point season, or even a point per game season. But I don't think it's a given that he ages poorly in that contract.

If you can keep the AAV at $7M x 7 or below, and you get his 29-36 year old seasons then maybe that's not the worst.

I'd be wary of anything above $7M though because even though he's been better in Florida he's still best slotted as a guy that's going to put 50-60 points and can center your second line.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by Bonded

He did say rebuild

Francis did, Conroy didn't. Company man.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

He's already 28 actually, so he will be 29 when this contract starts, but I don't think it's a given that it will be a terrible contract.

He plays a very similar game to Kadri - and Kadri has gotten better with age. Kadri has his career best season at 30, and his second best season offensively at 32.

Plays a similar game to JT Miller too, who really started to show his offensive talent in his 28 year season with a 99 point season, and had a 100 point season at 30.

Sometimes guys like that start to produce a bit better when they simplify their game and stop running around trying to be agitators on every shift.

Now I personally don't ever see Bennett having a 100 point season, or even a point per game season. But I don't think it's a given that he ages poorly in that contract.

If you can keep the AAV at $7 x 7 or below, and you get his 29-36 year old seasons then maybe that's not the worst.

I'd be wary of anything above $7M though because even though he's been better in Florida he's still best slotted as a guy that's going to put 50-60 points and can center your second line.

he has never hit 50 points...he has 27 this year so possible but most of those were in the first 2 months.
-16 on the Florida Panthers. I have a feeling his retirement contract won't age well.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by stemit14

Could see the leafs going after Bennett in the summer. Would be such a Treliving thing to overpay to get the UFA player that’s performed well in the playoffs the last few years but is about to go into his 30s.

I love Bennett. But his human-missile style of play is rarely sustained into a player’s 30s.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by dino7c

he has never hit 50 points

Because he's never played 82 games.

55 points in his per 82 game pace over his time in Florida, and he's on pace for 55 this year.

Kadri in his 25-28 year old seasons put up 195 points in 286 games for 0.69 PPG

Bennett in his 25-28 year old seasons so far has put up 157 points in 243 games for 0.65 PPG.

If he actually stays healthy and plays all 82 games this season they will put up very similar numbers in their 25-28 year old seasons.

Now I don't really want the Flames to go chase him as a UFA, but it's possible that Bennett's game could age fine in his 29-36 year old seasons, much like Kadri's game has and has actually improved. The flip side is his injuries continue to pile up and he becomes a bit of a liability, you never really know which way it will go.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Because he's never played 82 games.

Which kind of makes it a mug's game to expect that he will start playing 82 games at this point in his career.

[dammage79]

That's almost the same exact thing Conny said back in October.

Part of me thinks now that the Flames Center depth is being tested, other GMs are going to raise the price on players they've already had discussions with Calgary about.

Hopefully Zarys going to be just a couple weeks with a big ol' charlie horse. I have my doubts though. But, if you're a fan who wants that tumble down the standings into top tenth draft pick territory, this is going to help. No guarantee a Kerins makes jump, but it'll be fun to watch him try.

One more center injury away from chaos.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Because he's never played 82 games.

55 points in his per 82 game pace over his time in Florida, and he's on pace for 55 this year.

Kadri in his 25-28 year old seasons put up 195 points in 286 games for 0.69 PPG

Bennett in his 25-28 year old seasons so far has put up 157 points in 243 games for 0.65 PPG.

If he actually stays healthy and plays all 82 games this season they will put up very similar numbers in their 25-28 year old seasons.

Now I don't really want the Flames to go chase him as a UFA, but it's possible that Bennett's game could age fine in his 29-36 year old seasons, much like Kadri's game has and has actually improved. The flip side is his injuries continue to pile up and he becomes a bit of a liability, you never really know which way it will go.

I think you can assume he'll never play a full season.

He reminds me of Dave Bolland.

Good in the season.

Spectacular in the playoffs.

Fell off the board way to early.

[dammage79]

I'm still praying that there's legs to the Shane Wright rumor.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by D as in David

Someone should tell the NBA they can't tell NHL GMs what they can or can't do.

https://www.novasportslaw.com/post/t...ging-all-stars

I am already thinking about the next lockout lol.

Need to start capping things like these contracts. I know they have tghe bonus clause for 35 plus, but they need to shorten deals as well.

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by blankall

Kadri seems to buck the trend with many NHLers these days, in that he seems like he prefers a Canadian city and location where he can be involved in the local community.



I wouldn't rule out a return to Toronto. The GM who let him go is gone. We don't know what Kadri's relationship with the rest of the organization was like. Kadri vetoed various trades in an attempt to stay in Toronto in the first place.



If the Flames can recoup a 1st (maybe with retention or taking a bad contract back), that undoes at least part of the damage done by Treliving on the way out.

I'm sure he'd be okay moving back here to Ontario. His love is for London where he grew up and still has family there.

[Calgary4LIfe]

If you want to win a cup, prioritize players that play well in the playoffs. Give me a Claude Lemieux. If you look at his counting stats, Bennett is simply 'fine'. He is one of those players that has the type of intangibles that teams pony up for, and are really hard to find. He will never wow you with his production, but he produces well in the playoffs usually, and consistently becomes a notable player every post-season all over the ice and in different ways. I still love that player, and I hope that the Flames find a couple of similar players to him through this rebuild (Pospisil is one, though I worry about him like Ferland with the concussion issues).


Pospisil in the playoffs - I imagine - would become an even more loved player on this team.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by dammage79

I'm still praying that there's legs to the Shane Wright rumor.

If we could land Wright in a trade, we could stop worrying so much about losing our shot at a top 10 pick this year, and march along. It would still be important to crash out next year for another shot, but this would be a huge roster building and set up move for us.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by blankall

The thought of the Flames giving up futures to acquire assets is not good.

It depends what those assets are. Aging assets that are only meant to be around for a year or two wouldn't be good. Younger assets that fit the long-term plan are fine.