TSN’s Hockey Insiders discuss the Flames and Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman as a potential fit for the Habs, the struggling Devils, Canada’s Olympic reserve list and what really happened with Jordan Binnington.
James Duthie: A pair of Insiders for you today, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger. Now that we’re into the new year, TradeCentre starts coming at your fast in terms of weeks now, not months. Eight weeks away. And we start to stare at teams at or near the bottom of the standings. Calgary is one of those. Dregs, does a Nazem Kadri deal still seem like a distinct possibility?
Darren Dreger: Yeah, I would describe it as a possibility. And you’re right, I mean the calendar has flipped, we’re into the second half of the NHL regular season. You’ve got another roster freeze that is looming with the Olympic break, and then you’ve got the March 6 NHL trade deadline. My sense with Nazem Kadri is this – that if an opportunity was presented to go to a top contender in the NHL, then he’d be willing to listen to that.
I mean the man is 35 years old and he wants to win a Stanley Cup. Now, he’s not going to push it, and we know that the Calgary Flames have other pieces that are probably drawing more of the attention from Craig Conroy’s perspective. But the intensity around Kadri is definitely heating up.
Pierre LeBrun: Yeah I’d say one of those pieces that continues to draw a lot of attention is Blake Coleman. We’ve talked about him before, but in this sense here I would say he’s a guy that’s pretty high up on the list of the Montreal Canadiens as they start to assemble their trade target list ahead of March 6. You know, Coleman brings some of the skill set that perhaps the Habs feel they’re missing in terms of his physicality, his versatility, his leadership. He’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion and so on.
I do believe the Habs end up playing into those conversations. And nothing imminent, for a couple of reasons. One, I think the Habs want to get to the Olympic break and see where they are in the standings and see where they are health wise before they decide whether or not to jump in on something like that. And certainly Calgary hasn’t given up on the season either despite where they are in the standings. So, this is not something I think is imminent.
One final thing on Coleman. He has a modified no-trade. He can say no to two-thirds of the league basically, so he would certainly have a say. And lots of teams have interest in Blake Coleman if and when Calgary makes him available.
Duthie: The Devils’ 9-0 loss to the Islanders a couple of nights ago, one of those moments or scores that can incite panic, anger or potentially change. What’s the latest from New Jersey?
Dreger: Well, you’re right, I mean the New Jersey Devils are floundering. That’s plain and simple. And there are some in that market that are screaming for change. Both the general manager Tom Fitzgerald, maybe the future of Sheldon Keefe as head coach in question as well. But look, job security isn’t a primary concern for Fitzgerald. It just isn’t. I mean, he talks to ownership on a weekly basis. They know the path that the general manager is trying to take with this team.
But it’s also abundantly clear that some form of change has to come if they don’t turn this around immediately. And he is trying to shake things up, and shake things up in a significant way. He’s looking to add a forward. A top-six piece that can help them in the goal scoring department. The problem is as we all know that the market from a trade perspective is a little thin and quiet right now. But Fitzgerald is wanting to be aggressive.
Duthie: When Team Canada announced its Olympic roster they said they clearly have a reserve, but they didn’t really say who is on it or how big it is. Just how big is it, how many potentials there?
LeBrun: Well, according to the rules, if they wanted it could be everyone who’s left from the original IOC longlist that had 90-plus names, so in theory it could be 60-plus names. Well it’s not 60-plus names, obviously that’s not realistic, so Team Canada went ahead and shortened that. They have about 15 names I’m told on their reserve list right now.
All of those players have been advised of that and made sure that they’re comfortable staying in the IOC drug testing protocol. None of the Canadian players on that list have opted out to this point. So 15 or so gives them flexibility. Some guys might get hot, some guys might get cold. And depending on the injuries Doug Armstrong said on your panel, James, after naming the team, you know, that will affect which guy is called depending on the injury. Some of the forwards we know are on it, Sam Bennett, Connor Bedard, Wyatt Johnston, Mark Scheifele, Seth Jarvis, Travis Konecny are all a part of that reserve list up front.
Duthie: Lastly, one of the wildest pieces of hockey video we’ve seen in a while comes out of the St. Louis game last night where Jim Montgomery seemed to be signaling for Jordan Binnington to come out, Binnington doesn’t come out, and then you get Joel Hofer peeking out from the dressing room. Apparently the reality to what happened wasn’t as salacious as it looked?
LeBrun: No, there is in fact an explanation. And this wasn’t Jordan Binnington doing Jordan Binnington things. In fact, he was ready to come out. But in talking to the Blues today, what happened is Joel Hofer was half geared up. He wasn’t ready to come into the game. He was in the dressing room in Chicago. That’s not a great rink for the visiting team where the backup goalie goes. And by the time he got communication that it was time for him to come in, the puck had already dropped by the time he got his gear on. The trainer was whizzing around trying to get his gear. So when Binnington realized Hofer wasn’t coming he said well, I guess I’m going back in. And that’s exactly what happened.
Duthie: If nothing else Hofer has created a great meme that will likely last for years.