The Calgary Flames made a blockbuster of a deal last night sending Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks, just two months after they traded the disgruntled Nikita Zadorov to Vancouver. According to Elliotte Friedman, with the Flames in sell mode, there are still a few players they are gauging market interest for in Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin and Jacob Markstrom.
On The Jeff Marek Show today, Friedman touched on Hanifin, Tanev and Markstrom and the possibility of each of them being traded. He noted that Hanifin controls his own fate and has to decide if he wants to stay and that he can't see Markstrom being traded any time soon, or at least not right now. Tanev however, is another story. Friedman noted that Tanev may not be a fit for the Ottawa Senators currently, but that they would take a shot at him if he reached free agency in the summer. Toronto on the other hand, is still chasing the hard-nosed defenseman and could be in on another Flames defenseman as well.
As mentioned above, Hanifin controls his own fate to an extent and has to decide if he will stay in Calgary. If not, he will be on his way out and reading between the lines of Friedman and Marek's comments, the Leafs could be looking to acquire the pending UFA, either in a package deal with Tanev, or as a consolation prize if they miss out on Tanev.
If the Leafs go after both Flames defenders, fans will very likely be divided on it, as the package to acquire the pair of blueliners would be significant. We're talking 1st round picks, we're probably talking about a top prospect, and we may even be talking about a subtraction or two from the current roster.
