NHL Rumors: Zach Hyman’s next contract, Flames shake up starts with stars, and Seattle Kraken trade possibilities
Anthony Scultore
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to want to keep Zach Hyman. Of course, what is it going to take to keep him? TSN’s Pierre LeBrun got on the case in the latest edition of Insider Trading.
Zach Hyman’s next deal likely in the $4.5 million range and up
Detective LeBrun spoke to several front office executives to get the lay of the land for Hyman’s worth. When he was done with his questioning, the verdict was a new deal in between $4.5 to $5.5 million AAV.
It’s part of that reaction that I saw from Leaf fans that inspired me to go out and ask half a dozen NHL front office executives from other teams, it’s a very simple question: What do you see as Zach Hyman‘s value on the open market or in a new contract? And what I will tell you is that the response I got varied anywhere from $4.5 million a year to $5.5 million a year. And a lot of that is based on player comparables of signings we’ve had here since the pandemic. Brendan Gallagher tops the list of course at $6.5 million a year. He’s 28 just like Zach Hyman by the way. And I will tell you that I think Hyman’s camp led by agent Todd Reynolds will definitely try to introduce that contract as part of the conversation after the season, but again I didn’t hear anyone give me a $6.5 million in a comparison.
Pierre LeBrun, TSN
Blowing up the Calgary Flames
I’m very self aware that writing up these NHL Rumor Roundups for years, some names seem to just come up over and over again. In the last few months, I feel like I’m always writing about Jack Eichel and Johnny Gaudreau to be traded. Of course, I’m not the only one as the Ottawa Sun touched on the subject. Don Brennan mentioned the Flames should start to change the team by moving Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. The next name, I didn’t expect.
Trading Tkachuk shouldn’t be at the top of the ‘to-do’ list, but if somebody is putting a package on the table for the 23-year-old, the Flames shouldn’t hesitate to look inside. It’s not like he should be viewed as the “untouchable” his kid brother Brady is. A simple eye test is all that’s need to know Brady is already better. That said, if you fancy yourself as a team that’s on the rise, and you really do believe you have a plethora of good prospects, maybe you should see what you can do to arrange for the Tkachuk boys to wear the same logo.
Ottawa Sun
I admire outside the box thinking. I also admire Brennan’s courage to write this, but there’s no way the Flames would remotely consider trading Mattew Tkachuk.
Seattle Kraken pre expansion draft trade options
Over at The Athletic, Pierre LeBrun and Ryan S. Clark tackled the Seattle Kraken and the upcoming expansion draft. Specifically, six teams that may look to make deals with them to guard against Seattle selecting unprotected players. Here are the teams:
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Colorado Avalanche
- Edmonton Oilers
- Florida Panthers
- Minnesota Wild
- Tampa Bay Lightning
All these teams may be forced to expose players that they don’t want to lose. The cost for such a deal is high, as Ron Francis would want a first round pick as a starting point. I’m not sure many of these teams would do that except for the Minnesota Wild who will be forced to expose a top four defenseman. Matt Dumba is a real possibility of being selected by Seattle if exposed. Another option is for the Wild to protect 8 skaters but that would expose Jordan Greenway. The Wild want to keep both, so to me they are the most realistic option for a side deal.