NHL Rumors: Calgary Flames intent on trading a defenseman

Bob McKenzie is reporting the Calgary Flames will most likely trade either Travis Hamonic or TJ Brodie as they try to clear some cap space.

At each of the past two NHL Drafts, the Calgary Flames have made a trade involving a defenseman. They traded for Travis Hamonic in 2017 and Noah Hanifin (plus Elias Lindholm) in 2018. According to the latest NHL rumors from NHL insider Bob McKenzie, this tradition could continue, as they’re looking to move either Travis Hamonic or TJ Brodie.

“I’ve been hearing a lot that Calgary is very intent on moving a defenseman, either Hamonic or Brodie”, said McKenzie on his latest Bobcast episode. You can listen to the full episode here and he talks about it about 45 seconds in.

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Both defensemen have just one year left on their respective contracts and will be free agents following the 2019-20 season. Brodie has a $4.654 million cap hit while Hamonic’s is a shade under $3.86 million ($3,857,143 to be exact).

However, the latter is due more salary than the former. Brodie is due $4.838 million in salary while Hamonic is due $4.875 million.

The Flames likely won’t make a decision about which one they’ll trade until they have a better idea of how much it will cost to re-sign star forward Matthew Tkachuk. Calgary is tight against the $83 million cap ceiling, so it makes sense for them to trade either Hamonic or Brodie.

Of the two, Brodie is the most likely to be traded, in my opinion. First of all, the Flames saw Rasmus Andersson take a huge step forward this season, as he excelled when he got playing time with Norris Trophy Finalist Mark Giordano.

Secondly, there’s no reason to believe Tkachuk’s contract won’t be a significant one. It will likely be for at least six years and cost at least $7.5 million per season. The Flames will need to clear as much cap space as possible, so I’d wager they’ll trade the defenseman who has the higher cap hit, which is Brodie.

Thirdly, teams tend to be very slow to give up on players who they gave up a lot to get. The Flames traded a 2018 first-round pick, a 2018 second-round pick, and a 2019 second-round pick for Hamonic back in 2017. This has very little to do with Brodie, but regardless, history shows Hamonic will likely stay around through next season.

If history repeats itself, this trade could happen as soon as the NHL Draft. It would fit the modus operandi of general manager Brad Treliving.

Potential Suitors

The Toronto Maple Leafs would need to clear some salary. But seeing as how Justin Holl is, at the moment, penciled in as their experienced right-handed defenseman (assuming they trade Nikita Zaitsev as expected) going into next season, they’ll likely be interested in Brodie and Hamonic.

If the Florida Panthers are serious about trying to contend next season, they’ll have to add to their blueline. Much like the Leafs, they’ll probably have to clear some space to make it work, especially if they sign Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky.

Their in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, are likely going to be looking to add a top-four defenseman. A hockey trade featuring J.T. Miller or Tyler Johnson for one of the two Flames defensemen would make sense.

The Vancouver Canucks would probably like to add either Brodie or Hamonic. There’s a clear need in Vancouver for defensemen. Plus, they have the cap space to make it happen. However, would the Flames trade Brodie or Hamonic to a division rival?