The Ottawa Senators currently aren’t looking at the goalie market, but are looking at defense and forwards
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen: The Ottawa Senators don’t know when goaltender Linus Ullmark will return from his leave of absence, and they won’t be commenting on the situation, according to GM Steve Staois.
Despite that, and having the worst save percentage and penalty kill in the league, Staois currently doesn’t plan on looking at the goalie trade market. The Senators don’t have a lot of cap space to work with if they wanted to test the goalie market, but Staois did say that asking the NHL for special cap relief because of Ullmark’s situation hasn’t been ruled out.
The Senators have been looking to add a right-handed defenseman and some depth up front, but there aren’t a lot of sellers at the moment. Staois:
“It’ll be interesting. There’s been lots of dialogue, even leading into the holiday freeze there, but I sense that it’s a lot of teams are in the middle right now trying to continue to evaluate.”
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The Senators aren’t interested in trading defensive prospects Carter Yakemchuk and Logan Hensler. Defenseman Artem Zub has come up in talks with some teams. He’s got a year left at $4.6 million and no trade protection. Not saying he’ll get traded, but someone to keep an eye on.
Currently, the Senators are to forfeit their first-round pick as punishment for messing up a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights back in 2022. There hasn’t been any indication whether they’ll be getting it back or not.
The Calgary Flames have played themselves back into the playoff race, but…
Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun: The Calgary Flames’ play to start the season had them down the path to a good shot at a top pick in the 2026 NHL draft and the start of a potential rebuild. Hard work and piling on some wins have them back in the playoff hunt in the overall, weak Western Conference.
The Flames could use a shot at some elite talent that the top end of the draft could deliver. They have plenty of players who bring intangibles. They need top talent.
Now, the Flames are hovering around .500, and there is still time between now and the trade deadline to determine where they’ll be sitting in the standings. There is the fear of being stuck in the murky, mediocre middle.
Trading defenseman Rasmus Andersson and forward Blake Coleman would help drop the Flames in the standings. The Flames have to get a return for pending UFA Andersson. He’s on pace for career highs in goals and points, and should net the Flames a couple of assets, including a first-round pick.
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The 34-year-old Coleman has another year left, and contending teams are looking for players like Coleman.
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