Mailbag: Maple Leafs' priority before Trade Deadline; Savard's market
NHL.com's Dan Rosen answers weekly questions
© Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images
What area(s) in the lineup do you think the Maple Leafs should try to improve this deadline and how could they make it happen i.e. cap issues, lack of assets, etc.? -- @uber_XL5
Defense.
The Toronto Maple Leafs need a big, physical yet mobile, shot blocking, penalty killing, warrior-type on their back end. They probably need more than one, but let's start with one. That is and should be their focus in advance of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline on March 8.
The fixation is likely with Calgary Flames defenseman Chris Tanev, who is in the final season of a four-year, $18 million contract ($4.5 million AAV) and can become an unrestricted free agent. Tanev played under Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving the previous three seasons in Calgary, when Treliving was Flames GM and signed Tanev on Oct. 9, 2020. Treliving loved him then, and even though he's 34, there's zero reason not to think he could be a perfect fit for the Maple Leafs now. He is averaging 19:42 of ice time and leads the Flames in blocked shots (142) and short-handed time on ice per game (2:40) in 47 games.
To acquire Tanev, it might cost the Maple Leafs their first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, especially if they're going to need the Flames to retain some salary. They do not have a second-round pick. The problem is they also don't have a first- or second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Do they really want to put themselves in a position to potentially not have a pick in the first two rounds of the next two drafts? It's a price you pay if you think you can win the Stanley Cup this season, but Tanev doesn't put them over the top.
The Maple Leafs still need their forwards to defend better. They still need to play a more attentive game at times. Their goaltending is still a mystery. Even with Tanev it's hard to think they can win a bruising Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Boston Bruins or Florida Panthers, but they have to try, whether it's with Tanev or someone else. Their window is open. Their stars are in their primes. They need help on defense.
What is the current market looking like for David Savard? -- @JoeyJoJo1131
Right now, it's uncertain because the Montreal Canadiens are not actively looking to trade the defenseman. General manager Kent Hughes made that clear in his media availability Friday when discussing the trade of center Sean Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets. He said they're not shopping the 33-year-old who is signed through next season ($3.5 million AAV), but they're not hanging up the phone on teams calling about him either.
Savard is not a pending UFA, so his price is different, but the Canadiens don't need to set the market on defensemen with him. They can wait to see how it plays out first with Tanev, if/when the Flames trade him, and potentially Noah Hanifin, another Calgary defenseman who could become a UFA. The Canadiens can hold firm on any price they have in mind for Savard because the option to trade him in the offseason or next season is also available. So is, of course re-signing him, and let's not discount that as a possibility.
Savard is a valuable player for Montreal, a veteran helping to guide a young defense group. The Canadiens should start pushing the pace on their rebuild by making some moves in the offseason to improve their chances of being a playoff team next season. Savard could still fit into their plans when they try to take that next step.
Dave Pagnotta talks the Trade Deadline
If none of the current teams with interim coaches decide to renew their contracts, which one is the most desirable job and why? -- @punmasterrifkin
The three teams currently with interim coaches are the Ottawa Senators (Jacques Martin), St. Louis Blues (Drew Bannister) and Los Angeles Kings (Jim Hiller). The Blues and Kings might be closest to playoff contention and have the most proven players, but if one coach had his (or her) choice among the three, the job in Ottawa is and should be the most coveted.
The new coach in Ottawa will be backed by an owner, Michael Andlauer, who is focused on bringing stability and a winner to Canada's capital city. Andlauer has been Senators owner since September and he's initiating change. The new coach will be handpicked by a fresh and focused hockey operations staff led by president and general manager Steve Staios that has no ties to or baggage from the Senators' past. Staios was Andlauer's first major hire as president of hockey operations and he took on the title of full-time GM on Dec. 31. The new coach will get to grow with a team that has a young core loaded with potential, led by 24-year-old captain Brady Tkachuk and on through forwards Drake Batherson, 25, Josh Norris, 24, Shane Pinto, 23, and Tim Stützle, 22, and defensemen Thomas Chabot, 27, and Jake Sanderson, 21.
The new coach will have a chance to wipe away the struggles of this season by implementing change in systems and style of play. It'll be a fresh start with a team right there in its development to take the next step. With the right coach and the right approach, the Senators should be a playoff team next season and the new coach will come with the full support of Andlauer and Staios because this is going to be their first chance to pick theirs.
Is Elvis Merzlikins a likely goalie to get traded despite his no-trade clause after apparently losing his starting job? -- @MatthewWil5345
Trading Merzlikins before the deadline could wind up being too great of a challenge for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The goalie wants to be traded. He has gone public with his request to the team to be traded.
But there are issues playing against the Blue Jackets:
1. There is not a great history of No. 1 goalies who are acquired by the deadline having instant success as a No. 1 on their new team. It worked for the Edmonton Oilers with Dwayne Roloson in 2006. It backfired on the Blues with Ryan Miller in 2014.
2. Merzlikins went public with his request, which more than likely negatively impacts the Blue Jackets' negotiating stance, especially in such a specialized position where there are only a few teams that could be actively searching for a goalie before the deadline.
3. Merzlikins is signed for three more seasons with a $5.4 million AAV, but he's been closer to the bottom in most statistical categories among No. 1 goalies in the NHL since the start of the 2020-21 season. He has 51 wins, a 3.33 goals-against average and .902 save percentage in 145 games. That puts him tied for 27th in wins, tied for 35th in GAA and tied for 24th in save percentage among the 39 goalies who have played at least 100 games since 2020-21.
4. He wants to be traded from the team that signed him to a five-year, $27 million contract Sept. 21, 2021, but hasn't been an answer for that team. In fact, he's been as unreliable as anyone else in Columbus. That's not a good look.
Merzlikins might get traded, but short of an overpay by a team acquiring him there's a better chance he's moved after the season.
CBJ@STL: Merzlikins shuts the door on the Blues, blocks all 21 shots faced
Do you believe the Blues could do some damage if they make the playoffs? The team is loaded with veteran presence of guys who have gone on deep playoff runs. -- @SeanMikey23
They could if their power play is hot and goalie Jordan Binnington is at his best. Short of that, it's hard to buy the Blues even with their playoff experience. They're not a particularly fast team and not all that dynamic. In 21 games since the coaching change from Craig Berube to Bannister following a 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 12, they're averaging 2.86 goals per game and 27.0 shots per game, putting them 22nd and 28th in the NHL, respectively. They've relied on a power play that's 24.2 percent. Their 5-on-5 play offense has not been good (34 goals). Defensively, they've been solid, allowing 40 goals at 5-on-5, but their penalty kill is 78.0 percent, albeit with three short-handed goals for.
All this is to say that the Blues can defend, which will keep them in any postseason series, but if they get in it'll be as a wild card, and they will struggle to keep up against offensively gifted teams like the Vancouver Canucks, Colorado Avalanche or Dallas Stars. It's doubtful they'd be able to score enough to win in a series against the Winnipeg Jets or Vegas Golden Knights.
