Mailbag: Deadline options for Kings, Hoffman's future with Senators
NHL.com's Dan Rosen answers weekly questions
What do you think the Los Angeles Kings do at the deadline? Would general manager Rob Blake trade a first-rounder if he felt he can keep a player beyond this season, like Evander Kane? -- @MHulicius
This question was asked Monday. The Kings delivered their first answer Tuesday, when they acquired defenseman Dion Phaneuf and center Nate Thompson from the Ottawa Senators in a trade for forwards Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore.
Getting Phaneuf, who is signed through the 2020-21 season, addresses the Kings' desire to get some help at defenseman. It remains to be seen how effective 32-year-old Phaneuf can be and for how long, but the Kings clearly think he's an upgrade. They lost 7-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. The Kings, though, are lefty heavy with Phaneuf, Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez and Derek Forbort, so one of them will have to move to the right side and someone is coming out of the lineup. Paul LaDue and Christian Folin played against Carolina. It's not clear how that will be handled.
I also expect the Kings will look to add secondary scoring help on the wing. They will not give up a first-round draft pick to acquire it, though. Gabriel Vilardi, the No. 11 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, was the Kings' first first-round pick since Adrian Kempe in the 2014 NHL Draft (No. 29). Prior to that it was forward Tanner Pearson in the 2012 NHL Draft (No. 30). The Kings have picked in the first round three times in the past seven drafts. They traded the other four, including the 2015 pick for forward Milan Lucic and the 2016 pick for defenseman Andrej Sekera. Each was entering or in the final year of his contract, like Kane. Neither re-signed. The Kings can't keep trading first-round picks to patch holes with the hope that maybe that player will re-sign with them.
Given all that has happened with this team this season, what is your take on the Philadelphia Flyers and where can they go, have they exceeded expectations? -- @mac_attack54
Another thing happened Tuesday when the Flyers announced goalie Brian Elliott would be out 5-6 weeks following core muscle surgery. If that timeline is correct, he should be back between March 20-27. General manager Ron Hextall said the plan is to ride Michal Neuvirth and use Alex Lyon as the backup, but it's certainly possible the Flyers try to add a veteran goalie before the NHL Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET, Feb. 26). Hextall doesn't want to add a goalie with term left on his contract, which makes Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek and Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner options since each can become a restricted free agent July 1. However, the price could be higher than what Hextall wants to pay, especially if he believes Elliott will be back. It's also possible the Flyers eventually recall veteran Dustin Tokarski, who is playing for Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. He's 12-5-1 with a 3.13 goals-against average and .899 save percentage there this season.
As for the Flyers, they've exceeded my expectations this season, but not those of coach Dave Hakstol, who said prior to playing the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday they're a couple of points behind where he thinks they need to be at this point. Hakstol didn't talk in specifics, but his point makes sense. Entering Tuesday, the Flyers were on pace for 95 points, which is the minimum it took to get in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season but wouldn't have been enough to get in the previous two seasons. The difference is there have been four 100-point teams in the Metropolitan Division the past two seasons; there might one or perhaps none this season. My point is, the Flyers are in decent position to get into the playoffs, but it's far from stable, especially with Elliott sidelined.
How much of the Arizona Coyotes' and Buffalo Sabres' problems are due to those two teams being poor trade locations for players with no-trade clauses? What can be done to make these teams more desirable to potential free agents and trade targets? -- @briantodd34
I've never once thought the Coyotes and Sabres are struggling because players with no-trade clauses don't want to play for them. One has nothing to do with the other. A player, or, technically his agent, negotiates a full or modified no-trade clause into the contract to give the player some say in where he is willing to go in a potential trade. If a team is struggling, like the Coyotes and Sabres, why would a player agree to go there? If a player has a say in where he could be traded, he's going to want to play for a team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup. The Coyotes and Sabres must start winning to pique the interest of other players around the NHL. The Coyotes have a distinct plan to grow with youth supplemented by a smattering of veterans to build sustainable success. If it works, eventually they'll start winning more, which will put them in the market to add players who might have an NTC or a modified NTC. The Sabres had a direction under former general manager Tim Murray, but it wasn't working. They're in their first season under GM Jason Botterill and coach Phil Housley. As much as it's painful for the great fans in Buffalo, it's almost like the rebuild has started over, with the obvious exception of having a huge piece in place, center Jack Eichel.
What would it take for Buffalo to trade for Mike Hoffman? -- @NickDoes41
I don't think the Ottawa Senators should trade Hoffman. He's part of the solution. Even if they are trying to change some of the core pieces for a refresh, I wouldn't move Hoffman, who is 28, signed for two more seasons and appears to have chemistry with linemate Matt Duchene. That said, for purposes of your question, it's hard to determine price without full knowledge of what the market is showing, but let's look at a comparison. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported Monday that Ottawa wants to get three pieces, including a first-round pick, in a trade for center Derick Brassard, who is 30 and signed for one more season. If the Senators want that much for Brassard, it makes sense to think they'd want at least a similar return for Hoffman.
The Sabres can be sellers and buyers at the deadline. Kane and perhaps goalie Robin Lehner could be traded and in return the Sabres could get some quality prospects and high draft picks, maybe a first-round pick for Kane. They could then use some of those assets to get Hoffman, or another player signed beyond next season, such as Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Galchenyuk. That, at least, is what I would be looking to do.
Can the Pittsburgh Penguins repeat if they don't fill the third-line center hole? -- @Cris\No\H
Don't you mean three-peat? They can contend again if they do nothing, but my sense is general manager Jim Rutherford won't stand pat because he knows their chances obviously improve if he finds a center to play behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The window is still wide open for the Penguins.
Riley Sheahan is solid in a bottom-six center role, but I think the Penguins could use another center who plays a reliable two-way game the way Matt Cullen and Nick Bonino did the past two seasons. Edmonton Oilers center Mark Letestu is an ideal option. He likely won't cost too much in a trade and he's a rental. He can take and win face-offs in the defensive zone. He's not going to light up the scoreboard, but he can center a line that gives the Penguins another scoring threat. He can play on either special teams unit. He also knows Pittsburgh, having started his NHL career there (2009-11). I'd also look at Brassard and Jean-Gabriel Pageau from the Senators, but each is signed beyond this season, so the price to acquire either would be higher.
If the Chicago Blackhawks fail to make the playoffs, do coach Joel Quenneville or general manager Stan Bowman end up jobless? Do you see them following a similar path or retool as the New York Rangers, or are the big contracts immovable? -- @k_corpstein
I try not to speculate on the job security of coaches and GMs in this mailbag, but if Chicago wanted to make coaching and GM changes in the offseason, they'd have to find people who are better at their jobs than Quenneville and Bowman. Good luck with that. There aren't many better at what they do than those two.
The Blackhawks are struggling. Their odds of making the playoffs aren't good. But this could be a blip for them because their young players are developing and their big-money players are still good, even if they're all not having good seasons, other than forward Patrick Kane. I wouldn't do much if I were the Blackhawks except some tinkering here and there with the depth. I wouldn't overreact to this season. I would expect and work with forwards Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad so they can be better next season. It could be changes in offseason training programs. It could be changes in personnel around them. I would add at defenseman to take some of the load off Brent Seabrook. The Blackhawks are not the team they used to be, but they're not that far off from being a contender again. They might do more harm than good by making big changes.
What is Nathan MacKinnon's likelihood of coming back from injury and being a front-runner for the Hart Trophy given the Colorado Avalanche make the playoffs? -- @NickLaPoint
The playoffs part is huge. I can't see MacKinnon being a front-runner for the Hart Trophy, which goes the NHL MVP, if the Avalanche miss the playoffs, even though his value to them is showing now. They're 3-3-0 since he went out with an upper-body injury. Two of the wins have come in overtime. Two of the losses are by three goals or more. However, if MacKinnon returns soon, which is certainly a possibility after he practiced in a non-contact jersey Tuesday, and he picks up where he left off and the Avalanche get into the playoffs, he'd have to be among the favorites for the Hart Trophy. He's third in the NHL in points per game at 1.24 (61 points in 49 games).
