Mailbag: Canucks go for it with Toffoli trade; Predators' deadline plans

Here is the Feb. 19 edition of Dan Rosen's weekly mailbag. If you have a question, tweet it to @drosennhl and use #OvertheBoards.

What's your opinion of the Vancouver Canucks trade for Tyler Toffoli? Seems like Vancouver is making a push for the postseason, but what's their motivation? Do you think they're actual contenders for the Stanley Cup or is this just further development for their young team? -- @Paxton_Stover
The Canucks acquired Toffoli, who can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings on Monday for forward Tim Schaller, unsigned forward prospect Tyler Madden, Vancouver's second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Schaller also can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. That still looks like a lot to give up for a rental forward, especially since I've read and heard only good things about Madden, who is playing at Northeastern University. But the Canucks' motivation is to go for it right now, to seize the unexpected opportunity in front of them. They recognize the Pacific Division is wide open and they're taking on the 'Why not us' mentality. I like it, especially when you consider center Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes still have another season on their entry-level contracts. Those two are going to get paid in a big way on their next contract, so the Canucks are operating in a window of this season and next season to make a splash before they run into some potential NHL salary-cap hurdles.
Toffoli is a strong addition. He scored 18 goals for the Kings this season, including four in his past two games, notably his hat trick in the 2020 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Saturday. He's shooting 10.9 percent, up from an NHL career-low 5.8 percent last season, when he scored 13 goals in 82 games. If his last two games with the Kings is an indication of what's to come, Toffoli could be quite good for the Canucks, which is necessary now that Brock Boeser might be out for the rest of the season with a rib cartilage fracture. The forward, who had 45 points (16 goals, 29 assists), hasn't played since Feb. 8.
It's possible we'll eventually look back on this trade as a big miss for the Canucks. What if Toffoli doesn't produce? What if the Canucks miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or make it and lose in the Western Conference First Round and then Toffoli leaves as a free agent? What if Madden becomes a top-six center for the Kings? Those are the risks the Canucks are taking to try to seize the opportunity in front of them now. They're going for it. Who could blame them?
Did the Tampa Bay Lightning overpay [for forward Blake Coleman]? Do you think it was a knee-jerk reaction? -- @Hockeyjohn15
A knee-jerk reaction to what? The Lightning have won 11 straight games and 23 of 26 since Dec. 23 (23-2-1). Acquiring Coleman, a forward, in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on Sunday for a first-round pick in the 2020 or 2021 NHL Draft and forward prospect Nolan Foote, who was Tampa Bay's first-round pick (No. 27) in the 2019 NHL Draft, isn't being reactionary. That would be a lot to give up if the Lightning were concerned about picks and prospects. They're not. Their goal is to win the Stanley Cup this season, next season and the season after that.
This trade is about the Lightning being progressive and thinking ahead. It's the Lightning showing they're not satisfied with their success, which is a change in philosophy from how they operated at this time last season, when they stood pat in advance of the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline. They were on their way to a historic regular season, tying the NHL record with 62 wins and finishing with 128 points, fourth in NHL history. But it was fool's gold. They were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference First Round and are guarding against history repeating itself, which is why the Coleman acquisition is important and made more valuable because the 28-year-old is signed for next season at a favorable $1.8 million NHL salary-cap charge.
Coleman can score, evidenced by his 21 goals in 57 games this season. He also led the Devils in hits (166) and takeaways (42) and was first among forwards in blocks (40). Oh, and he kills penalties, averaging 2:47 of shorthanded ice time per game.

Do you think the Nashville Predators will make a move? If so, who do you think is a good fit for a Stanley Cup run? -- @andrevianna06
I want to say yes, and I want to say Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen is the perfect fit even though he's missed eight games with a lower-body injury sustained Feb. 1. However, there may not be a team in a more intriguing position with the trade deadline approaching than Nashville.
The Predators are three points behind the Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes for the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference with games in hand on every team around them in the race. They have players, forwards Mikael Granlund and Craig Smith, who could be valuable on the rental market if they were to trade them, but they have a lineup that should be good enough to make the playoffs if they keep everybody. They are supposed to be a Stanley Cup contender, and that's without adding anybody prior to the deadline. However, they're not in a playoff position, and if they want to get to one, their need would be at defenseman. Ryan Ellis could soon return from a concussion sustained in the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1. If he comes back, the Predators could theoretically view the defenseman as a trade deadline acquisition without having to give up anything to get him. But it's a concussion, so you really can't be too sure.
All that said, the Predators are typically one of the more aggressive traders and not one to sit on the sidelines. So even with Ellis potentially returning, Nashville should try to make a move to improve the right side of its defense, which is why Vatanen is an ideal candidate if his injury is not a deterrent. It also helps that Vatanen and Predators coach John Hynes know each other well, with the former playing for the latter in New Jersey as recently as Dec. 2.
Did the Bruce Boudreau firing surprise you? Where do the Minnesota Wild go from here? -- @TJRinger1
The decision didn't surprise me. I figured general manager Bill Guerin would eventually want to hand pick his coach. The timing caught me off guard. Boudreau was fired Feb. 14, with the Wild 7-3-1 in their previous 11 games. I thought if Boudreau didn't get the Wild to the playoffs they would cut ties after the season. But the 4-3 shootout loss at home to the New York Rangers the night before didn't sit well with Guerin, especially after the Wild had a 3-1 lead going into the third period.
The Wild have 24 more games to see if coach Dean Evason can be a full-time replacement. His tenure started inauspiciously with a 2-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Guerin also has more time to evaluate potential candidates, including some who may not be coaching in the NHL. I think the Wild need a coach with more of a developmental background because they are trying to go younger. What the Wild are doing compares to what the Rangers started two years ago, when they recognized it was time to get younger and build up their prospect base. New York let Alain Vigneault finish the 2018-19 season, firing him about an hour after its final game, and hired David Quinn out of Boston University about a month and a half later. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Wild follow a similar model.

With the injury to Philipp Grubauer, what do you think a return would look like for a package of Chris Kreider and Alexandar Georgiev? -- @Lundynation
The Colorado Avalanche need help with injuries to forward Mikko Rantanen (upper body, out for weeks) and Grubauer (lower body, out indefinitely). If the Rangers trade Kreider, who has 42 points (23 goals, 19 assists) in 57 games, I feel they need a high draft pick and a player they can put in their lineup right away. So if it was just Kreider to the Avalanche, New York could try to get Colorado's first-round pick in the 2020 draft and forward Tyson Jost, who hasn't fulfilled his potential as the No. 10 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft but can play center or wing and turns 22 on March 14. Jost, who has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 55 games this season, can be a restricted free agent July 1.
Looking at the trade that sent goalie Jack Campbell from the Kings to the Toronto Maple Leafs, I think a second-round pick, or a prospect and a third-round pick, would be a reasonable return for Georgiev (14-12-1, 2.98 goals-against average, .912 save percentage). The Kings got forward Trevor Moore, a third-round pick in the 2020 draft and a third-round pick in 2021 from the Maple Leafs for Campbell and forward Kyle Clifford, who is a pending unrestricted free agent.
Put it all together and if the Rangers trade Kreider and Georgiev to the Avalanche, it's reasonable to consider a potential return resembling Jost, a first-round pick and either a second-round pick or a third-round pick and a prospect. The Avalanche, though, do not own their second-round pick in 2020, having traded it to the Washington Capitals in the deal that brought forward Andre Burakovsky to Colorado.
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