Mailbag: Lightning, Flames, Ducks on Deadline week
NHL.com's Dan Rosen answers weekly questions
© Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images
Which defenseman do you see the Lightning realistically going after since they can go over the cap by Mikhail Sergachev's salary? Rental or not? -- @Linda80364560
It was reported by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, and it makes sense, that the Lightning want Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames and Hanifin wants the Lightning. He is available as a pending UFA. He would re-sign with the Lightning, but do the Lightning have enough of what the Flames want to make the trade happen? Tampa Bay could still sign Hanifin on July 1, but getting him for a playoff run this season, which is the idea, is challenging when other teams likely will be able to offer the Flames more than the Lightning could.
Tampa Bay doesn't have its first- or second-round picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, or its first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The Flames got a second-round pick from the Dallas Stars in the trading involving 34-year-old defenseman Chris Tanev. They should be able to get a first-round pick in the trade package for Hanifin, who is seven years younger, more versatile and plays more minutes than Tanev. The Lightning could include Isaac Howard, the No. 31 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, in the trade as the first-round pick. The 19-year-old forward developing at Michigan State University. There are also defenseman Nick Perbix and Jack Thompson, both right-handed. They're intriguing. Ethan Gauthier, a 19-year-old forward, was the No. 37 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and could be involved in the trade. The Lightning have options, but do they want to deplete their prospect base when their draft pick capital is already gone to acquire a player who they can sign on July 1? The Lightning have to believe they can win the Stanley Cup this season to do that. I'm not sold.
If they don't get Hanifin, other options include Matt Dumba from the Arizona Coyotes, Alexandre Carrier from the Nashville Predators and potentially David Savard from the Montreal Canadiens. Savard is signed through next season. He won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2021.
First time, long time: Do you see Sean Walker getting moved out of Philadelphia before the deadline? -- @MarkNutt1987
UPDATE: Walker was traded to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, after the mailbag initially posted here. The Flyers got a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft and forward Ryan Johansen from Colorado. They also sent the Avalanche a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
I thought the Flyers might try to keep Walker and re-sign him, but the fact they traded him makes it clear that his asking price was too high for their liking. And that's fine. But now the question is will the Flyers do something else to both help them immediately replace Walker AND benefit them in the future too? There were some reports Wednesday after they traded Walker that the Flyers are interested in defenseman Jakob Chychrun from the Ottawa Senators. A player like Chychrun in Philadelphia makes more sense than Walker. Chychrun is 25 and signed through next season with a $4.6 million AAV. Walker is 29 and at the end of a four-year contract that carries a $2.65 million AAV. He's four years older and could double his AAV in his next contract, which would be more than Chychrun makes. That's the type of move the Flyers should be looking at. They aren't punting on this season by trading Walker.
With all the talk about Anaheim selling pieces I've seen nothing about Jakob Silfverberg. Any word if there's interest in him (twice retained) to any playoff team? -- @LandellLinus
It's been quiet when it comes to Silfverberg. There's no doubt in my mind that the Ducks would trade him if they could since he's a pending UFA and it's not likely he will re-sign. In fact, a highly reliable Swedish media member told me that Silfverberg is hoping to return home to Sweden to play after this season. But the problem is NHL teams can retain salary on a maximum of three contracts in a season, and the Ducks are already doing so with Ilya Lyubushkin after trading him to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Adam Henrique after trading him to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday in a three-team deal involving the Lightning. They likely want to keep the retention option open for other trade targets like Frank Vatrano, which hurts Silfverberg's value right now. Vatrano is signed through next season. Retaining on him could boost what they get in return if he's traded. If they retain on Vatrano, they can't do it on Silfverberg too. We'll see how it plays out. If the Ducks don't get what they want for Vatrano they may pivot and try to move Silfverberg, retaining salary to sweeten the deal.
Now that Evgeny Kuznetsov has gone through waivers and is assigned to Hershey, who do you think should primarily center Alex Ovechkin for the future? -- @strider0891
The Washington Capitals should give rookie Hendrix Lapierre a good run on the top line to see if there's a fit and some chemistry with Ovechkin and, ideally, Tom Wilson on the right wing. That's the line they've been rolling with for the past two games. That's too small of a sample size to know if it can work long term, but that's what the Capitals need find out in the last quarter of this season.
Lapierre is 22 and he was Washington's first-round pick (No. 20) in the 2020 NHL Draft. He is fast. He has some size (6-foot, 180 pounds). He should understand the need to get Ovechkin the puck. If it works, it'll be significant for the Capitals going into the offseason and could, or will, allow them to focus on other areas. If it's not Lapierre, maybe it's Connor McMichael, who is 23 and was Washington's first-round pick (No. 25) in the 2019 NHL Draft. He's played a handful of minutes with Ovechkin too.
The point here is the Capitals have two young centers who should be given the opportunity before they look at options available in potential trades and free agent signings. That may be what they do anyway, but for now, at least the rest of this season, they should see if Lapierre and/or McMichael can handle the job.
How much of an impact does the Coyotes' arena situation have on what they do when it comes to trades and free agents? They really have some nice young pieces. -- @punmasterrifkin
Free agents consider the arena situation and the Coyotes future in Arizona before signing. They want to know where they're going to be, have some certainty, and since the Coyotes can't give that to them right now it has to have an impact on what they do. It's the same with players who have no-movement and/or no-trade clauses in their contracts. They're in control and if the Coyotes are interested, they weigh the arena/future home situation in making their decisions.
However, the arena situation has zero to do with the philosophy the Coyotes are using to build their roster with the hopes of sustained future success. They are building primarily through the draft and supplementing with veteran players who are willing to buy into what they're doing. They signed forwards Alex Kerfoot and Nick Bjugstad to two-year contracts, and forward Jason Zucker, and defensemen Mathew Dumba and Troy Stecher to one-year contracts. The Coyotes have six players on their roster who they drafted, including three since 2021 (forwards Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther, and defenseman J.J. Moser). They made 12 picks in the 2023 draft after making 10 in 2022 and nine in 2021. They have 13 picks lined up for the 2024 draft, 11 that belong to them in 2025 and already 10 in the 2026 NHL Draft.
They won't use all those picks, but they are currency for the Coyotes to continue to build their team. They have first-round picks Victor Soderstrom (No. 11, 2019), Conor Geekie (No. 11, 2022) and Maveric Lamoureux (No. 29, 2022), signed to contracts. Josh Doan (No. 37, 2021) is the leading scorer for Tucson in the American Hockey League. None of that has to do with the business operations. What happens with the arena and their future home is not the purview of the hockey operations department. As general manager Bill Armstrong said last summer, "I don't build rinks, I build teams."
