TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joins Gino Reda to discuss the likelihood that Nazem Kadri gets traded by the Flames following his milestone night, whether the Leafs are primed to make a move, Logan Thompson’s case for a spot on Canada’s Olympic roster and how different the Canadian roster will look compared the the 4 Nations Face-Off.
GINO REDA: A big celebration in Calgary last night, game No. 1,000 for Nazem Kadri. He scored, Flames won, a great night overall.
But Dregs, with the Flames struggling as badly as they have so far this season and Kadri looking like a great deal at $7 million a year, the trade rumors just heated up that much more intensely.
What are the chances we see Kadri moved out of Calgary?
DARREN DREGER: Well, I think they’re slim at this point, Gino, but you never say never, right? Some of the greatest players, historically, have been traded.
I do know that this was an important milestone for Nazem Kadri, his family, and for the Calgary Flames family, by and large. So, the milestone has passed and the speculation perhaps will start to fade. But I think it’s important to note that Nazem Kadri loves Calgary. He wants to win in Calgary, so this is more of a supply and demand issue.
It’s been well-documented that teams out there across the National Hockey League are looking for a No. 2 centre, and that is essentially what Nazem Kadri is at this stage of his NHL career. But I also know that Murray Edwards, the owner of the Calgary Flames, is telling people that he has no interest in trading Nazem Kadri. In fact, he doesn’t want to trade Nazem Kadri. He loves the core of this team.
So, there’s a lot of hockey ahead, a lot of hockey left in this regular season for the Flames, but it doesn’t sound like Flames ownership has any intention of trading away their veteran forward.
REDA: Speaking of trade talks, Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz, both back in the Leafs lineup means no room for Easton Cowan. He’s in the minors.
Are the Leafs primed for getting something done to move some bodies right now?
DREGER: Well, it depends who you ask. If you talk to the coaching staff, perhaps they would say, ‘Hey, we have too many bodies. We’ve got to start doing something to move these guys out’. If you talk to management, there’s a different perspective in all of this.
Brad Treliving would remind that at varying points of the regular season, certainly towards the end and going into the playoffs, depth is a luxury. You need depth players. But the depth of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the fact that they don’t have numbers on their side is the very reason why rookie Easton Cowan is with the Toronto Marlies.
Now he goes to the Toronto Marlies with something to prove, with an excellent attitude. He’s going to learn with bigger minutes playing in the American Hockey League.
But as you know, Gino, the eye test shows us that Easton Cowan is ready to be a full-time NHL player. You have the David Kampf situation, a veteran forward within the Leafs organization contemplating his future, but Brad Treliving simply doesn’t want to give players or assets away.
At this stage, the only thing being offered is a bad contract coming back the other way, so depth is going to be on the side of management even though it’s impacting, influencing player decisions with the Maple Leafs.
REDA: Dregs, a historic night in Washington last night while Jordan Binnington was trying to steal the puck from Ovi’s historic 900th goal.
Logan Thompson was at the other end of the ice, trying to steal the starting job for Team Canada for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Was there a pretty clear message sent in last night’s head-to-head between Thompson and Binnington?
DREGER: Well, how about the video that was posted by the Washington Capitals postgame, where we had Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery talking about the win and describing the win for Logan Thompson as a statement game?
You can see in that video, Gino, that Logan Thompson didn’t want any part of this and he’s probably thinking about the connection, the opportunity that, maybe, is ahead of him with Team Canada at the Winter Olympics.
When you look at the crease from a Canadian perspective, yes, I look at Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues. He had an off night on Wednesday. The season hasn’t gone the way that Binnington and St. Louis was expecting or hoping, but he looks to me to be a lock for Team Canada.
Logan Thompson’s numbers are sparkling to this point of the regular season, so he’s making a good case that he should be part of the tandem, or at least part of the trio, but beyond that you have some question marks.
Sam Montembeault has struggled for the Montreal Canadiens. Adin Hill is hurt with the Vegas Golden Knights. So, maybe you throw Darcy Kuemper into the equation?
But we also know that Team Canada brass is meeting this weekend in Toronto – Sunday and Monday – and the hope is that they’ll get their roster pared down to about 35 names.
So, it’s going to be interesting to see beyond Logan Thompson and Jordan Binnington, what the goaltending situation looks like for Team Canada.
REDA: The 4 Nations last year, we kind of looked at that and went, “This is an audition for the Olympic team. This is a way to prove that you want to play for Canada. You’re willing to go to the 4 Nations.”
Do you think there are going to be a lot of changes, or just a few changes from who we saw representing Canada at the 4 Nations versus these Olympic Games?
DREGER: Yeah, I would side on there being fewer changes.
Why would you try and fix something that isn’t broken? The 4 Nations win was a measuring stick for Team Canada, but I think that they overall like the blend. They like the mix of these players. So, I don’t think we’ll see a lot of changes.
Defensively, the defensive core could be very similar to what we saw at the 4 Nations with a tweak here or there, and injury always plays a role in the decisions that the Canadian brass is going to have to make.
Up front is also curious, you know? You think of the veteran voices like Brad Marchand. I can envision a place for Marchand on Team Canada’s Olympic roster.
And then you look at some of the guys who have played their way into the mix to this point.
I think of Tom Wilson with the Washington Capitals. What about Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets? Nick Suzuki is having a tremendous year, and Macklin Celebrini, Gino, just simply will not go away.
So these are good decisions and conversations that Canada, undoubtedly, is going to continue on Sunday and Monday in Toronto.
REDA: And the auditions continue, which is fun for us to watch them all battle for these jobs.
That’s the early IT, the full version of Insider Trading with Darren, C.J. and Pierre is coming up later today on the early edition of SportsCentre.