Evander Kane still on the move?
The Flyers have long held interest in Winnipeg Jets left winger Evander Kane, and as we went over the other day, it’s for good reason. He’s a really, really good player and the idea of him next to Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux on the Flyers top line is enough to make you need to change your pants.
But the Jets announced earlier in the week that Kane has elected to undergo shoulder surgery, and many believed that would put an end to any trade speculation surrounding him. After all, you’re technically not allowed to trade injured players — but the Jets would be able to do so with Kane’s consent, and it’s clear after everything that’s happened with him in the last few months (if not years) that a trade is probably his preferred option.
That’s where Elliotte Friedman’s report picks up:
2) Don’t be surprised if some teams who are out of the playoff race/don’t need Kane now (but are interested in his services) see if they…
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 8, 2015
3) can get something done before teams who are in it to win it can afford to make a trade. Could see the likes of BUF, PHI maybe OTT trying.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 8, 2015
The Flyers were reportedly “very close” to acquiring Kane back in August, so this isn’t all that surprising. And while Kane obviously wouldn’t help the team this season since he’s out for the year after the surgery, he would surely be a great piece to have next season.
The concern we raised the other day when discussing this was the price. We assumed it’s going to be hard to acquire him given the Flyers salary cap situation, and given the price that the Jets will likely ask. But maybe the Flyers could kill two birds with one stone? That’s where the other part of this rumor comes in.
Defenseman on the move soon?
4) Also hearing PHI could be moving someone from its overcrowded blueline soon….
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 8, 2015
It’s not likely that a team is interested in some of the bad contracts on this Flyers team, like Vincent Lecavalier or Andrew MacDonald. But there are a few moveable pieces on the blue line. Braydon Coburn, Mark Streit and if healthy, Kimmo Timonen, all all top 4 defensemen on most teams and could all be trade chips here at the deadline. All would help clear some cap space for an Evander Kane trade — or really, any other move the Flyers feel they need to make.
We’re going to go into deep detail on each of these players between now and the March 2 trade deadline, but Coburn and Streit would both be pretty darn valuable to a playoff team that needs an extra piece to put them over the top before the postseason. We won’t begin to speculate right now on what the team could get back for any of these guys, especially this early before the deadline when the market isn’t really clear just yet. But we’ll be doing that as the deadline approaches.
Which defenseman would you like to see traded, and what kind of return would you like to see?
