Tanner Jeannot linked to Calgary Flames as potential trade target in 32 Thoughts podcast

Only a few years ago, the Calgary Flames had some high-end offensive weapons and were fighting for their chance at the Stanley Cup. Now, we are in the franchise’s “take a step back to take two steps forward” era. General manager Craig Conroy traded away some major pieces at the 2024 trade deadline, bringing in new, younger faces who can fill out the Calgary Wranglers roster and compete for a roster spot sooner rather than later. He also brought in plenty of draft picks as the cherry on top.

But from the sound of things in the NHL’s “rumour mill,” as one might call it, there are some players that Conroy could be looking to add to the squad. While there is still plenty of time for things to come to fruition, it’s always interesting to hear about and discuss the perceived value for certain players, especially ones who went from having incredible value to very low value within the span of a year.

On the most recent edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek were discussing the trade between the Nashville Predators and the Tampa Bay Lightning that sent Ryan McDonagh back to Amalie Arena. And because of the trade (and McDonagh’s salary), there are some serious decisions to be made about who stays and who goes during the off-season to try and free up as much cap room as possible to try and re-sign their captain, Steven Stamkos, as well as anyone else management believes could be helpful for their Stanley Cup aspirations.

For the two hosts, a name that immediately came to mind was Tanner Jeannot.

“One name we wondered about in one of our last pods was Tanner Jeannot,” Friedman said. “I got a couple of calls from people saying that’s going to be one to watch. His salary, which is about $2.6 million, Tampa can use the space. It really hasn’t worked out as well as everyone had hoped between him and the Lightning, but there are a lot of teams out there that see something. They think he’s more of the player he was in Nashville than he is the player in Tampa Bay. So, depending on everything Tampa is going to want to do, they’re going to have to consider it, and I think there are teams out there that are interested.”

Then Marek intervened, adding that he could see Jeannot moving to Calgary.

“I wonder if there could be a fit with Jeannot and the Calgary Flames,” Marek said. “That one always jumped out at me.”

It’s worth mentioning that Marek also included the caveat that he hasn’t “officially” heard anything, but he remarked that knowing how Jeannot plays and the style of hockey that is valuable within a market like Calgary could be a huge factor.

“Just knowing how [Jeannot] plays and how that style of play is valuable in Alberta itself,” Marek said. “It’s a young team, and Conroy has a lot of young players making their way into the NHL; I’m sure he would like to provide a security blanket [for them].”

It’s not as if it would cost the Flames much to do it, either.

Jeannot’s cap hit is $2.665 million, and his contract expires at the end of next season. Additionally, after scoring 24 goals and 41 points with the Predators in 2021-22, his production has fallen off the face of the earth, putting his value even lower than it already was with only one year left on his deal. The Flames have the cap room to do it, and he would provide that extra edge on the physicality side of things that Martin Pospisil provides but is otherwise not as prevalent up and down the forward lines.

At this stage, the Flames can afford to take on a reclamation project or two. Even some of the key contributors within their lineup in 2023-24 came from players looking for bounce-back seasons, the most prevalent being Yegor Sharangovich. At his best, Jeannot is a strong goal scorer with a knack for beating his opponents to a pulp with the gloves off and along the boards when the puck is in play. And if he doesn’t turn out the way you might like, there’s no need to keep him around after next season. As Marek stated, these two parties coming together this off-season makes plenty of sense, but it’s up to Conroy and his team to decide whether or not to pull the trigger.

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