Hockey is back and so are the trade rumors. Two young stars North of the Border are at the forefront of the chatter. Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames and Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks are supposedly available.
Let’s explore why.
Johnny Gaudreau trade rumors
Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames has been in the NHL trade rumor mill a few times this season. The speculation started in The Athletic back in November but died down. Those rumors picked up at the deadline and went off the charts when Gaudreau temporarily took the Flames out of his Twitter bio.
The Flames left winger is going to turn 27 this August. He had a decent year with 58 points in 70 games, but a far cry from last year’s 99 point campaign. Surely that can’t be the reason why you would trade a player entering his prime years.
For the Flames it all comes down to money and the cap. Calgary operated with just under $1 million in space before the pause. Add on the fact the cap will remain flat at $81.5M for the next two seasons, and the Flames need to find some room. Heading into next year Calgary only has $16M in cap space with just 9 forwards, 4 defensemen, and 1 goalie signed.
If you do the math, that isn’t enough money to fill a roster. However, should the Flames trade Gaudreau, who has two years left at $6.75M AAV and will receive a $3.5M signing bonus before the start of next season, they could get it done.
Potential trade destinations for Gaudreau
- Philadelphia Flyers
- New York Rangers
- New Jersey Devils
- Carolina Hurricanes
Brock Boeser trade rumors
Brock Boeser is just 23 years-old and has shown tremendous chemistry on the Canucks top six. The Vancouver Canucks are believed to be seeking some cap wiggle room, and may look to trade rightwing, Brock Boeser. This is coming from Matt Sekeres of TSN 1040 in Vancouver and it has many people scratching their heads.
The Canucks were hard hit by the NHL pause, and coupled with a weak Canadian dollar had to cut operating costs. They will also have to pay Boeser a $3.5 million signing bonus along with his base salary of $3.125 million next season and $7.5 million in the third and final year of his deal. This was a back loaded contract that he inked back in September of 2019.
There are surely other ways to create cap space, but moving Boeser could help Vancouver financially and improve weaker areas of the team. The Canucks are said to be looking for a top four defenseman which are never easy to find or cheap to obtain.
Potential trade destination for Boeser
- New York Rangers
- New York Islanders
- Columbus Blue Jackets