Gino Reda is joined by TSN Hockey Insiders Darren Dreger, Pierre LeBrun, and Chris Johnston to discuss where the trade situations are with Connor Hellebuyck and Simon Edvinsson, what to expect from Brady Tkachuk’s return to Ottawa, the status of some struggling teams, and more on Insider Trading.
Gino Reda: We know Connor Hellebuyck’s suspension with the Winnipeg Jets is over on Friday and he starts getting paid, but what then?
To discuss that and much more here are the Insiders Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger.
Do we have any clarity on what to expect next in Winnipeg?
Darren Dreger: Unfortunately not, at least not 100 per cent clarity from the Jets’ perspective. They are having ongoing discussions with the National Hockey League.
Of course, the biggest question is what happens after Friday’s deadline with Hellebuyck? Does he automatically get inserted back into the Jets’ payroll? What if the Jets don’t want Hellebuyck back? Are they willing to pay for him to stay away?
So, there are questions that require some answers here and there will be ongoing talks with the NHL, who continue to advise. I’m told the NHLPA is monitoring the situation, but ultimately, it’s going to be up to the Jets through their legal representation to decide what direction they want to go with Hellebuyck.
Option A is the most obvious one and that’s why general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff continues to grind and find a trade. It’s easier said than done, but that’s the focus still with Friday’s deadline looming.
Pierre LeBrun: Going from one unresolved situation to another with the Detroit Red Wings.
Simon Edvinsson, the restricted free agent defenceman, still does not have a deal. He met face-to-face with Red Wings interim GM Shawn Horcoff and his agent J.P. Barry last Thursday and Friday.
Everyone was laying their cards on the table with no resolution, of course, otherwise we wouldn’t be talking about it right now.
But it’s a clear understanding, especially where the player is. He feels this has dragged out so long that the most logical option for him is probably a trade. He stopped short of making an official trade request like his teammate Dylan Larkin did.
Horcoff still wants to sign him and is still holding out hope there, but he continues to have trade talks. There are up to 10 teams that continue to be involved in these talks, and I’m told the San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins are among the teams that are interested. We’ll see where this goes.
Some trade comparables to keep in mind:
Noah Dobson, Mikhail Sergachev, Bowen Byram, and Simon Nemec. There were multiple assets in those packages and that’s the kind of deal that it will take to convince Detroit to part with Edvinsson.
Reda: There’s a ton of anticipation surrounding the return of Brady Tkachuk to Ottawa on Wednesday night. What seemed to be a nice idea at the time, may be something that is cause for concern within the Senators’ organization?
Chris Johnston: It’s certainly enough for Tkachuk to have some concern that he might be walking into a bit of a storm when he returns to the Canadian Tire Centre.
He has decided to donate any Tkachuk sweaters that get thrown on the ice to The Boys and Girls Club. Obviously, this was meant as a good thing, but I think there is tightened sensitivity that this could be a pretty hostile atmosphere.
We’ve seen a lot of return games over the years, but very few with some of the vitriol from the fanbase heading into this one. Tkachuk spent eight years in Ottawa, was the captain before he told the organization that he wasn’t going to sign beyond his existing deal and was ultimately traded back in June.
This will be an interesting night on Wednesday for certain in the nation’s capital.
Reda: When a team gets off to a rough start, the finger pointing follows quickly. But, pointing the finger behind the bench in Calgary would be a mistake?
Dreger: Yeah, it’s unfair. It would be absolutely unfair at this point. I think we need to declare that.
Tough start for the Calgary Flames. It’s somewhat expected, but not this poor. The team is not playing well enough; I think that’s abundantly obvious.
Their goaltending has not been average; it’s been below average. Structurally, they haven’t been good enough and they haven’t created enough offence.
But [head coach] Ryan Huska is not on the hot seat. The team played slightly better in a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes [on Sunday].
So, management is hoping they continue to play on that sort of trend moving forward.
LeBrun: In the meantime, in Los Angeles, they’re the last team in the league without a win and no one is feeling more pressure than them now that the Philadelphia Flyers have finally gotten a couple of wins.
There’s no easy fix here.
There are a lot of people looking at the goaltending, but the reality internally for the Kings is that their higher concern is their lack of scoring.
They’re 31st in the league as they embark on this five-game road trip that they started on Thursday night. The power play has struggled as well, that’s where the Kings feel internally that they need to improve.
They’d love to get into the Larkin trade conversation, but Los Angeles is not on the list of teams under consideration by Larkin. They batted the idea around of free agent [forward] Patrik Laine, but I’m not sure they’re going to end up going there. But it’s an idea.
They really need Kevin Fiala back. He may start practicing with the team over the next couple of weeks.
Reda: Could we be ready to see NHL history made by the Florida Panthers?
Johnston: That would be Cooper Black, all 6-foot-8 of him, according to the NHL’s official measurements. He was called up by the Panthers with Jacob Markstrom injured.
The Panthers do intend to give him a start in the near term, which would make him the tallest goaltender in NHL history. There’s been a handful of guys at 6-foot-7, including the likes of Ben Bishop and Mikko Koskinen over the years.
Black is a good story. He was signed out of the NCAA, Roberto Luongo pitched him on signing with the organization. He’s developed in the past few years, and the Panthers do feel he’s ready to fill in.
Reda: They are the Insiders, Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun, and Darren Dreger.