As the NHL trade deadline approaches on March 8, activity begins to pick up.
Not actual trades, but rather a discussion about potential deals. Noah Hanifin, a Calgary Flames defenseman, will play a key role.
The extremely talented blue liner is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and he and the Flames are expected to part ways.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on Saturday that Hanifin is set to go public. Finding talented potential rentals around the deadline is nothing new, and any team that signs the 27-year-old will receive an exceptional player.
While goal scorers are more popular around the trade deadline, a solid defenseman may help a competing team advance deep into the playoffs.
Any team that signs Hanifin will have first dibs on trying to sign him to a contract extension, and Friedman stated that Canadian teams are interested, but American clubs are more confident in their ability to sign the Boston native.
We’ll keep that in mind as we look across the league for the best fit for Hanifin, but we won’t let it prevent us from selecting a Canadian team that would also be a good match.
Boston Bruins
Hanifin is not just a Boston native, but the Bruins might benefit from having a player of his caliber on their blue line.
We know the Bruins have been outstanding this season, and they aren’t as urgent for defensive help as others.
However, beyond Hampus Lindholm on the left side, they have two other imminent free agents in Matt Grzelcyk and Derek Forbort. Hanifin would be a significant advance over either of them.
With the pair becoming UFAs soon and their money falling off the cap, it would help clear the way to sign Hanifin to a potential deal.
Hanifin, who attended Boston College before turning pro, would join Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy (not to mention Brandon Carlo), providing the Bruins with the type of backline required to better compete in the Eastern Conference playoffs against Florida, Toronto, Carolina, and the Rangers.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are no strangers to finding a way to close a deal. Indeed, they excel at it.
The Bolts are solidly established in the postseason battle, but they will have to fight for it without Mikhail Sergachev, who is gone for the season due to a catastrophic leg injury.
There’s no doubt that you need quality defensemen to succeed, and Tampa Bay has Victor Hedman to lead the way. However, without Sergachev, things will be much difficult in the postseason.
Adding Hanifin would not only ease the pain, but the chance of signing him to a contract extension would also help ensure the Lightning do not fall back into the pack in future seasons.
The challenge for Tampa Bay in negotiating a deal is finding the perfect pieces to send to Calgary to make it happen.
The Lightning will not be afraid to give up what they believe will result in a deal (remember the Tanner Jeannot trade last year), but will they have what it takes to satisfy the Flames while also not putting themselves in a difficult position?
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are starting to get their act together, but they still have goaltender issues to deal with before the deadline and might improve their defense.
Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler have been out of the lineup for New Jersey for some time. While this has allowed rookies Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec to demonstrate their NHL abilities (the former has shined all season), the Devils entered the season as one of the Stanley Cup favorites.
There is pressure to get things right, and general manager Tom Fitzgerald is dealing with it.
If the Devils are unable to sign goalie Jacob Markstrom from Calgary, perhaps leaving the phone line open to attempt to entice Hanifin away will help make life easier for Vitek Vanecek.
Then again, maybe they can pull off another blockbuster move around the deadline and grab both Markstrom and Hanifin, letting the rest of the East know they’re serious about making the playoffs and going all the way.
Toronto Maple Leafs
If ever there was a Canadian team that bucks most trends and can make any player think twice about going to or staying in Canada, it’s the Toronto Maple Leafs.
And if ever there was a team in the NHL that could most definitely use a lot of help on the blue line, it’s also the Toronto Maple Leafs.
They will get Morgan Rielly back soon, but the Leafs also have all kinds of injuries piling up on defense that’s causing them to dig deep into their AHL roster just to make sure everything is covered on the roster.
Toronto needs help desperately on the blue line and adding Hanifin to the equation would help settle things down tremendously.
The Leafs always have picks and prospects to work with when it comes to making trades, and they’ve got their first-round selection this year to ensure they can keep the Flames on the phone at least.
And if Toronto wants to extend Hanifin, TJ Brodie’s contract is up after this season to potentially make that easier.
Whether the Leafs go for Hanifin or not, they must address their defense ahead of the deadline or else they’re going to be sweating it out in the playoffs.
They might even have to sweat out making it there in the first place
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders have had their issues in defense all season thanks to injuries. And while they’ve got Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock back, they could use a high-end injection of a talent to go along with Noah Dobson.
The addition of Hanifin could help make them a lot stronger on the blue line.While New York could stand to add more goals to its forward group, strengthening its defense would also ensure goalies Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov aren’t perpetually under fire.
The normally stout Islanders have been much less so this season, but Hanifin would help them in a big way and give them another adept passer to help spring their forwards.
The big question here is: If the Isles acquire Hanifin, would they be able to lock him up long-term? They already have a lot of money dedicated to their payroll next season and if they signed him to a lengthy extension, he’d be the fourth blueliner locked up long-term joining Pulock, Pelech and Scott Mayfield.
And they will have to get something done with Dobson sooner than later, too.
Vegas Golden Knights
Do you want to get nuts? Let’s get insane.
The Vegas Golden Knights don’t really need Hanifin. Their defense is already quite good, and several of their important players have long-term contracts.
However, Alec Martinez is set to become a free agency this summer, which might open the door to signing Hanifin to an extension if they land him.
The Golden Knights’ defense is loaded. With Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore, Martinez, Brayden McNabb, Zach Whitecloud, and Nicolas Hague already on the roster, bringing in Hanifin would be a luxury move that would certainly cost them one of those players as well as a number of prospects.
However, Vegas is truly a wild card operation. It will make whatever decisions it believes will benefit the team both in the long run and in the immediate term. There is little doubt that Hanifin would be a major asset to them, providing a great deal of assistance and stability. It undoubtedly helps that he is also good buddies with Jack Eichel.
It may be the least likely landing spot for Hanifin, but it would undoubtedly be the most exciting.
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