TSN Hockey Insiders break down how Ryan O’Reilly is officially in the game ahead of the trade deadline, how Max Domi is a trade target for teams with little capital, why the Sens might be open to buying and selling, and much more. more.
Gino Reda: They are the Insiders: Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger. Gentlemen, Ryan O’Reilly was drawing a lot of attention before he broke his foot, but the word is he should be ready to play again before the trade deadline. So is the conversation starting to heat up again, Darren?
Darren Dreger: Yes, I’d say that’s fair, Gino. The Ryan O’Reilly speculation started before the start of the NHL regular season and has continued, but the St. Louis Blues have reached the point in the regular season where they really want to gauge NHL interest in the pending star. . -forward unrestricted free agent. We know he’s injured, he’s out for a while and it’s still early because the Blues, like all clubs looking at the playoff picture, don’t know if they’re ready to go all-in yet. But Ryan O’Reilly’s request is going to be similar to what it would normally be for a player of similar stature: You’re talking about draft picks, you’re talking about a prospect, the draft pick could be determined by the quality of the prospect. Well, it’s still early days, but Ryan O’Reilly is officially in the game.
pierre lebron: Timo Meier, unlike Ryan O’Reilly, is not the prototypical rental player because he is not an unrestricted free agent on July 1.stHe’s technically a restricted free agent, but he also has a $10 million qualifying offer and that has some teams that really like him worried about how they can navigate that. That’s why some teams are hoping that if the Sharks give Meier’s camp, led by agent Claude Lemieux, permission to speak directly to them to see if that might be the kind of trade where the extension is part of it but that has not been so. happened yet, Lemieux has not obtained that permission. It’s also not out of the question that the Sharks are trying to sign him just yet, but they haven’t put an offer on the table for Timo Meier since the start of the season, so it doesn’t look very likely there. Obviously the contenders would make sense, Toronto would make sense, Carolina has some interest because again they see Meier as a long-term option, but also a team like the Buffalo Sabers approached San Jose, this could be the type of player that has interest. from teams that aren’t even sitting in a playoff spot, so it’s a unique case here with Timo Meier.
Chris Johnston: With so much salary cap congestion in the league as we approach this deadline, I think a lot of teams will be looking for value and where they might find it is in the Chicago Blackhawks and Max Domi. This season he has played at center showing some versatility moving from the wing as he has put up some pretty good numbers and perhaps the most important number of them all is three million because that is Max Domi’s salary cap for this year with an expiring contract , much cheaper than a lot of the other players that teams might be looking to hit in a top 6 or maybe a top 9 forward role. He’s done so well in Chicago that I think Max Domi would be happy to stay there and think about a contract extension, but with where the Blackhawks are, they have to gauge the market and they’re likely to walk away.
Gino Reda: Given the fact that the Senators aren’t really in the hunt for a playoff spot, it would be easy to see them as sellers, but could we see them buying too, Darren?
Darren Dreger: Yes, they could do a bit of both Gino. I know Pierre Dorion, the Sens’ general manager, is out west primarily for the CHL prospect game on Wednesday at Langley, but on the eve of the prospect game, Dorion will be in the Hawks and Vancouver Canucks game. . He’s still looking for a defenseman, who in a perfect world would be a defenseman with some term, but he’s interested in unrestricted free agents. Maybe there’s an opportunity to sign that player, or if he gets it soon enough, maybe trade that player before March 3rd.rd trade deadline, but Dorion is also scouting all of the Ottawa Senators’ unrestricted free agents, including goaltender Cam Talbot.
Gino Reda: It’s always interesting to talk about buyers and sellers at the trading deadline, but sometimes buyers can feel a little timid in the forex department. Is that the case in Tampa, Pierre?
pierre lebron: Yes it is, although the Tampa Bay Lightning has a way of trying to lower expectations outside of the trade deadline and then [the] last three years going out and getting players. But speaking to Julien BriseBois about an article I’m going to publish tomorrow in The Athletic, he doesn’t have a first-round pick this year, he doesn’t have a first-round pick next year, he doesn’t have a second-round pick and he says he doesn’t have the assets. to make a big splash, so he’s looking more of a Nick Paul-type acquisition of sorts. Remember, he got Paul last year at the deadline, but I asked him one thing: “the Leafs and the Bruins, what if they make a big splash?”, but he said he’s not going to let that affect his train of thought. before the deadline.
Gino Reda: Speaking of the Leafs, while they’re still shopping they’re also trying to take care of some internal business, Chris?
Chris Johnston: Yeah, just something to keep an eye on, they have some interest in extending Conor Timmins’ contract, he’s a pending restricted free agent, acquired in November from Arizona, he’s fit in well since coming to Toronto and been pretty productive in his time, so We’ll see if they can do something there.
Gino Reda: Alright, the Leafs are looking to buy and looking to take care of things within their organization. There is a lot going on between now and the deadline. They are the experts: Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger.
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