Until every pending free agent is traded or the trade deadline passes, all eyes in the NHL are on the Calgary Flames. In particular, teams around the league – along with fans and pundits – are wondering what will happen with the Flames’ blueliners.
One defender in particular, Chris Tanev, became a topic of conversation on Friday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek.
Following a half-joking discussion between Marek and Friedman about everybody getting nervous every time Tanev blocks a shot or goes down the tunnel, the conversation turned to the market around Tanev.
Here’s Friedman:
“There’s a lot swirling around this guy right now. There’s Toronto. There’s Dallas. There’s Tampa Bay. Vancouver, although I don’t think they can do it. I think they at this time, at least, I think they like him. There’s Ottawa. There’s been more and more talk about Edmonton, which I think is possible. Some people say they wouldn’t be surprised if Colorado is there, too. I just wonder if this one ends sooner rather than later. I’ll tell you this: Toronto is not the only team that doesn’t want to do a first for a rental.”
Friedman and Marek also discussed NHL clubs’ willingness to move their first-rounders more broadly before the Tanev chat, noting a perception among scouts of a drop-off in this year’s first round crop after the top 20. Friedman also mentioned that if a team is moving a first-round pick they may want to get more than one asset back in the trade, mentioning the Leafs’ prior discussions with the Flames regarding Nikita Zadorov and Tanev (before Zadorov went to Vancouver) that likely had their first-rounder in play.
Reportedly, the Flames’ asking price for Tanev’s services is a second-round pick (and perhaps a bit more). As the season wears on, teams will continue to suffer injuries – Tampa Bay recently lost Mikhail Sergachev to a broken leg, for example – and that probably drives Tanev’s price up. But there’s always a risk of injury with the way Tanev plays – the dude blocked a shot with his face – and at a certain point, there may be a ceiling on what the Flames can get back for his services.
The NHL’s trade deadline is 1 p.m. MT on March 8, less than a month from now.
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