The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames started the season with high expectations. Given the current the standings, could they make great trade partners right now?
We find ourselves at the quarter-mark of the NHL season; struggling teams need to act now to salvage their seasons. Otherwise, they won’t have enough time to turn things around and make the playoffs. Can the Boston Bruins take advantage?
Usually teams that underperform through 20 or so games will do something like fire the head coach (hello, Toronto) or make a big trade. The Bruins obviously aren’t at this point, but they can be a willing trade partner for one of these teams.
One team that stands out as a trade partner for Boston is the Calgary Flames.
Like Boston, Calgary started the season with high expectations. The Flames finished at the top of the Western Conference last year, and after a first-round exit, they were ready to bounce back this year.
So far, the season has not gone on as planned for the Flames. Through 25 games, Calgary only has 10 wins and 23 points. This puts the Flames in fifth place in the Pacific Division and out of the playoff picture.
Every day, something new seems to go wrong for Calgary, and the players and coach can’t figure things out. According to TSN, there was a players-only meeting this past week to try to solve any issues.
Many analysts in Canada started to speculate that the Flames might shake up things with a coaching change or a trade. Darren Dreger of TSN mentioned that Calgary general manager Brad Treliving is likely to consider a trade at this point.
Which Calgary players are on the trade block? And do any of them make sense for the Bruins?
Believe it or not, one name that came up in the past week or so is Johnny Gaudreau.