Some of the early favourite landing spots for Matthew Tkachuk
With rumours swirling, it seems inevitable that Matthew Tkachuk will be moved by the Calgary Flames or risk the result of losing him for nothing. With the situation that unfolded with Johnny Gaudreau, the Flames are in one tough spot and are looking at the quickest potential reconstruction of their team and rebuild just after contending for the Stanley Cup in 2022.
Tkachuk just wrapped up the final year of the bridge deal he signed in 2019, a contract engineered to give Tkachuk and his camp, as much long-term flexibility, leverage and money as possible. Tkachuk will be subject to wage arbitration thanks to the Flames.
By doing this, the Flames are positioning themselves for either a positive or negative outcome regarding Tkachuk's long-term future. He either signs a long-term contract extension or there's a trade, hopefully before his arbitration hearing, which is set for July 27 to August 11.
If the Flames make a trade, here are 7 potential landing spots as per The Athletic:
1. St. Louis Blues - Cap space: $625,000
The Tkachuk family has ties to the St. Louis Blues organization, so naturally, when a Tkachuk is rumoured to be hitting the market, the St Louis Blues are at the top of the list. Given the fact that Matthew and his brother Brady were both born in St. Louis, it would make sense that they'd want to play there at some point in their careers.
2. Nashville Predators - Cap space: $8.5 million
For one reason or another, Nashville has become a desirable location in recent years. Having just signed Filip Forsberg to a lengthy extension, and with a Vezina caliber goalie and a Norris caliber defenseman in the fold, the Preds are only a couple of pieces away from being a legit contender.
3. Detroit Red Wings - Cap space: $10.3 million
Cap space, a great prospect pool and an up-and-coming hockey club make the Detroit Red Wings are pretty desirable landing spot right about now. They may be a year or two away yet from really breaking out, but adding a player like Tkachuk is a huge push in the right direction.
4. New Jersey Devils - Cap space: $9.6 million
After missing out on Johnny Gaudreau, the Devils benig in on a player like Matthew Tkachuk would make a ton of sense. Like Detroit, New Jersey has a number of good young pieces coming up and some young talent who are already establishing themselves as the future of the organization in Hughes and Hischier. Having a competitor like Tkachuk on the team would only propel them further towards playoff contention.
5. New York Islanders - Cap space: $11.2 million
The Islanders have not made any significant moves this offseason whatsoever. They have cap space, though - so they must be looking to make a bold move. Can't get much bolder than bringing in a guy who hit 42 goals and 104 points last season.
6. Vegas Golden Knights - Cap space: Minus-$1.4 million
Vegas is in on everyone and they're not afraid to move anyone to make it happen. For that reason, they can never be counted out.
7. Dallas Stars - Cap space: $11.5 million
Probably the lowest likelihood of each of the 7 cities listed, Dallas has some cap space, but still needs to lock up Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger. Not sure how the Stars make this one work unless Calgary is willing to take on one of their bad contracts in the deal.
Plenty of time left in the summer for teams to enter and exit the discussions on Tkachuk. That is unless Flames GM Brad Treliving is in a rush to get a deal done and put this nightmare of a summer behind him.
